What Compensation Can You Recover for a Spinal Cord Injury or Electrical Accident?
A spinal cord injury or an electrical accident does not just hurt today. It changes the rest of your life, and the bills rarely stop after the first surgery.
If someone else caused your injury through carelessness, California law lets you recover the cost of that entire future, not just what you owe this month. That includes future surgeries, home modifications, lost income, and the pain of relearning how to live in a body that no longer works the way it used to.
At William D. Shapiro Law, Inc., our San Bernardino spinal cord injury attorneys have spent over four decades building catastrophic injury claims that account for a client’s whole future, not just this year’s medical bills. Call us at 909-890-1000 or fill out our confidential contact form to talk about what happened to you.
How Spinal Cord Injuries and Electrical Accidents Happen in San Bernardino
Paralysis and electrical injuries rarely come from one single cause. In San Bernardino, we see them after highway car accidents on the 215 and the 210, falls from scaffolding on construction sites, and contact with downed power lines after a storm. Older apartment buildings with faulty wiring create premises liability hazards that cause house fires and shocks. Defective tools and machinery send electrical current through a worker’s body before a safety switch ever trips.
Nationally, vehicle crashes and falls remain the two leading causes of spinal cord injury, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. That pattern holds true here. A driver who runs a red light on Waterman Avenue or a property owner who ignores exposed wiring can turn an ordinary day into a lifetime of medical care.
The Injuries We See Most Often
Paralysis and electrical trauma rarely limit themselves to one part of the body. The damage often includes:
- Partial or complete paralysis, known as paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Severe nerve damage and chronic pain
- Internal burns and cardiac arrhythmia from electrical current
- Traumatic brain injury from the same fall or collision
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
Some of these injuries show up immediately. Others, like nerve damage from an electrical shock, take days to reveal their full extent. That is exactly why you should wait until your doctors understand the whole picture before accepting any settlement offer.
What Your Catastrophic Injury Claim Can Cover
California law allows injured people to recover both the costs they can calculate and the ones that are harder to put a number on. The table below breaks down what a spinal cord injury or electrical accident claim typically includes.
- Medical care
- Lost income
- Home and vehicle modification
- Pain and suffering
- Long-term care
We work with your doctors and, when needed, life-care planners to project what your recovery will actually cost over your lifetime. Insurance companies rarely volunteer this math on their own.
Why Electrical Accidents Are Uniquely Dangerous
Electrical current does not stay where it enters the body. It travels through nerves, muscles, and the heart, often leaving damage that is not visible from the outside. A worker who touches a live wire may walk away feeling fine, then develop cardiac symptoms or nerve pain days later.
Workplace electrical accidents remain a serious hazard nationwide, with an average of roughly 150 electrical fatalities occurring each year on the job, and construction crews facing some of the highest exposure.
If you were shocked or burned on a job site, at an apartment complex, or by defective equipment, you may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a separate injury claim against a negligent property owner, contractor, or manufacturer.
Can I Still Recover If the Accident Happened at Work?
Often, yes. Workers’ compensation covers your medical bills and a portion of lost wages, but it does not pay for pain and suffering. If a third party, such as a property owner, subcontractor, or equipment manufacturer, contributed to the accident, our personal injury lawyers in San Bernardino can help you pursue a separate claim against them in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits.
What If I Was Partially at Fault?
California follows a pure comparative negligence rule. If you were 20 percent at fault for the accident and your damages total $500,000, you can still recover $400,000. Shared fault reduces your recovery. It does not erase it.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim in California?
You generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. Evidence like surveillance footage, wiring records, and witness memories fade long before that deadline arrives, so it pays to talk with an attorney early even if you are not ready to file yet.
A spinal cord injury or electrical accident asks more of you than almost any other kind of harm. It asks your body to heal, your family to adjust, and your finances to somehow keep up. You should not have to work out what your future costs are on your own while an insurance adjuster works just as hard to pay you less.
Contact Our San Bernardino Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys
If you or someone you love suffered a spinal cord injury or electrical accident in San Bernardino, our spinal cord injury law firm is ready to review what happened and explain your options honestly. Call William D. Shapiro Law, Inc. at 909-890-1000 or fill out our confidential contact form today.
William Shapiro has handled catastrophic injury/wrongful death actions for over 4 decades obtaining numerous seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements.
Honors include: 2025, 2022, 2016 and 2013 OCTLA “Top Gun” TLY; 2022 CAOC TLY Finalist; 2018 “Lifetime Achievement Award” Western State College of Law, 2021 & 2017 Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year; 2016 WSBCBA “TLY”; 2015 CAL-ABOTA “TLY”; 2014 “TLY” Consumer Attorneys of CAOIE; 2011 “Hall of Fame,” Western State College of Law; 2025 Charles Althouse Lifetime Achievement award (WSBCBA); Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers; International Academy of Trial Lawyers; International Society of Barristers; Diplomat, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); National Board of Trial Advocacy; specialist in Trial Advocacy, State Bar of California; “Best Lawyers in America” and “Tier 1 Best Law Firms” U.S. News; AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell; SuperLawyers; 2026 National ABOTA President; Past President of: Riverside chapter ABOTA; San Bernardino County Bar Association; Consumer Attorneys of Inland Empire; The Joseph. B. Campbell American Inn of Court; Consumer Attorneys of California; IE ; National Sec of ABOTA, Adjunct professor, Western State College of Law. Learn more here.