A spinal cord injury changes your income, your home, and your medical future in a single moment. Paul Robinson Law Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers represents people across Raleigh who are facing paralysis, nerve damage, and a lifetime of care after someone else's negligence. Our team investigates how the injury happened, documents what recovery will actually cost, and handles the insurance companies while your family focuses on treatment.
North Carolina law is unforgiving in these cases, and one admission of partial fault can end an otherwise strong claim. Talk with a Raleigh spinal cord injury lawyer before you give a recorded statement or sign anything. Call (919) 438-0065 for a free case evaluation.
Spinal cord cases are not ordinary injury claims. The medical evidence is complicated, the future costs are enormous, and insurers push back hardest when their exposure is highest.
Our attorneys build these claims on documentation rather than argument. We gather the treating records, imaging, and rehabilitation notes that show exactly what changed and what will not come back.
Our founding attorney is a former prosecutor who is willing to take a case to trial when that serves the client's interests. That willingness shapes how we prepare a file from the very first week.
We handle spinal cord injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means attorney fees are paid from a recovery under the terms of the signed agreement. Our team answers calls 24/7 and serves clients in English and Spanish from offices in Raleigh, Apex, and Clayton.
Not every spinal injury carries the same consequences, and the difference drives what a claim must cover. Two people hurt in the same collision can face entirely different futures.
A complete injury means no motor or sensory function remains below the level of the damage. An incomplete injury leaves some function intact, and the extent varies widely from person to person.
Incomplete injuries are often harder to prove. Adjusters point to the remaining function and argue the harm is temporary, which is why early neurological documentation carries so much weight.
Where the cord is damaged determines what the body can still do:
Nationally, the average age at spinal cord injury has risen to 44, and roughly 78% of injured people are men, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center's 2025 data sheet.
Vehicle crashes and falls together account for nearly 70% of traumatic spinal cord injuries nationwide. How the injury happened determines which legal route applies:
North Carolina applies rules that are harder on injured people than the rules in most states. Knowing them early protects the claim.
North Carolina is one of a small group of states that still follow contributory negligence. Under this rule, an injured person found even slightly at fault recovers nothing at all.
The defense carries the burden of proving it under N.C.G.S. § 1-139. That protection matters little when a recorded statement hands the insurer its argument, and adjusters ask questions designed to produce exactly that kind of admission.
Limited exceptions exist. A claim may still proceed when the other party had the last clear chance to avoid the harm, or when that party's conduct rose to gross negligence.
Most spinal cord injury claims fall under the 3-year deadline in N.C.G.S. § 1-52(16), which runs from the date the harm becomes apparent. Other claims run on different clocks:
Waiting also costs evidence. Vehicle data, surveillance footage, and witness memory all degrade long before any filing deadline arrives.
North Carolina raised its minimum auto liability limits to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $50,000 for property damage, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
Underinsured motorist coverage is now included in all new and renewed policies. Coverage is calculated against the total damages a person sustained rather than against the at-fault driver's limits, and it cannot be reduced by a setoff except for workers' compensation.
That change matters enormously here. A minimum-limits policy covers a fraction of a single year of spinal cord care, so identifying and stacking every available policy becomes central to the work.
No attorney can put a reliable number on a case during the first call. Value depends on the level of injury, the strength of the medical proof, the insurance actually available, and how North Carolina's fault rules apply to your facts.
National cost data shows the scale these claims have to cover. First-year expenses run from roughly $460,224 for injuries with retained motor function to about $1.4 million for high tetraplegia, and lifetime costs for someone injured at 25 can exceed $6.2 million in 2024 dollars.
When a spinal cord injury proves fatal, N.C.G.S. § 28A-18-2 governs what the estate may recover, including medical and funeral expenses, the pain and suffering endured, and the present monetary value of the life lost.
Punitive damages are uncommon and require clear proof of fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct. Impaired driving cases sometimes meet that standard.
North Carolina caps these awards under N.C.G.S. § 1D-25 at three times the compensatory award or $250,000, whichever figure is greater.
Keep a written record of every treating provider, every piece of equipment ordered, and every call from an insurance company. Do not give a recorded statement or sign a medical authorization before speaking with an attorney. Photographs of the scene and the vehicle should be preserved immediately, because that evidence often disappears within days.
Take it seriously, because contributory negligence gives that argument real force in North Carolina. Our team gathers the physical evidence, scene data, and witness accounts that address the fault question directly. Never try to argue it yourself on a recorded call.
Often, yes, and sometimes through two claims at once. Workers' compensation covers medical treatment and wage benefits regardless of fault, while N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2 preserves your right to pursue a negligent third party. Your employer or its carrier will hold a lien against that separate recovery.
We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means attorney fees come out of a recovery under the signed agreement. The case evaluation itself is free. Ask us to walk through the entire fee agreement before you sign it.
A life care planner projects the treatment, equipment, therapy, and attendant care you will need across your lifetime. An economist then converts that projection into present-day dollars and adds diminished earning capacity. Without that work, an insurer will value the claim on medical bills incurred to date and nothing more.
Most personal injury claims resolve before trial, though we prepare every spinal cord case as though it will be tried. Civil matters in this county are heard at the Wake County Courthouse on Fayetteville Street in Raleigh. Thorough preparation is what gives settlement negotiations their weight.
A spinal cord injury does not wait for the legal system, and your claim should not either. Evidence fades, deadlines run, and insurers move quickly to limit what they pay.
Paul Robinson Law Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers represents injured people and their families throughout Raleigh, Wake County, and the surrounding communities, with offices in Raleigh, Apex, and Clayton. Founding attorney Paul Robinson and our team will explain your legal options honestly, including what can and cannot be known at this early stage.
Call our Raleigh spinal cord injury lawyers at (919) 438-0065 for a free case evaluation. We answer 24/7, we serve clients in English and Spanish, and we take spinal cord injury cases on a contingency fee basis.
Paul Robinson Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers - Apex
Address: 800 W Williams St #250 Apex, NC 27502
Paul Robinson Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers - Clayton
Address: 105 S Ellington St, Clayton, NC 27520
Paul Robinson Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers - Raleigh
Address: 124 St Mary's St Ste 201, Raleigh, NC 27605
