West Virginia Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers

By J. Brandon Shumaker and J. Tyler Slavey  ·  Slavey & Shumaker PLLC  ·  Morgantown, WV  ·  Last updated November 12, 2026

A spinal cord injury can change every part of a person’s life in an instant: the ability to walk, work, drive, care for family and live independently. The medical care often lasts for life, and the costs can be enormous.

Slavey & Shumaker PLLC helps people with spinal cord injuries and their families throughout the State of West Virginia, including Monongalia, Preston, Marion and Harrison Counties. For other life-changing injuries, see our serious injury page, our traumatic brain injury page and our burn injury page.

1. What Is a Spinal Cord Injury

The spinal cord carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body. When it is damaged, the result can be loss of movement, sensation or bodily function below the level of the injury. In general terms, spinal cord injuries are often described by how complete the injury is and where on the spine it occurred:

Injuries to the vertebrae and discs, such as fractures and herniated discs, can also cause serious and lasting problems even when the spinal cord itself is not severed. The outlook for recovery depends on the individual case and the medical evidence. This page is general information, not medical advice.

2. Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

3. Proving a Spinal Cord Injury Claim

Spinal cord injury cases are often among the largest personal injury claims, and insurers defend them aggressively. Building a strong claim usually involves:

4. Who May Be Responsible

Depending on the facts, responsible parties may include a negligent driver, a trucking company, a property owner, a contractor, the manufacturer of a defective vehicle or product, or a health care provider. You can recover as long as your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of everyone else responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault (W. Va. Code § 55-7-13c(c)). West Virginia generally holds each defendant liable only for its own percentage of fault (§ 55-7-13c(a)), but a defendant whose impaired driving was a proximate cause of the damages is jointly and severally liable (§ 55-7-13c(h)(1)). See our drunk driving crash page.

5. Seat Belt Evidence in West Virginia

Insurers often argue that an injured person who was not wearing a seat belt is to blame for a spinal injury. West Virginia law limits how that evidence can be used (W. Va. Code § 17C-15-49a):

• For an adult driver or passenger, evidence of not wearing a seat belt is not admissible to show his or her negligence. That limit does not apply in a claim against the manufacturer or seller of the vehicle or of a component or system in it (§ 17C-15-49a(b)(1), (2))
• The evidence may be admissible to show that not wearing a seat belt made the adult’s injuries worse, but the defendant’s proof must be supported by expert testimony that the court finds meets the requirements of Rule 702 of the West Virginia Rules of Evidence (§ 17C-15-49a(c)(1), (2))
• That rule does not apply if any driver with fault was driving in an impaired state, or if the driver is found to have also violated the provisions of § 61-5-17(h), (i) or (j) that make it a felony to flee from a law-enforcement officer in a vehicle and cause injury or death, or to do so while under the influence (§ 17C-15-49a(c)(4))
• Evidence that a child passenger was not wearing a seat belt is not admissible to show the child’s negligence or that it worsened the child’s injuries, although it may be admissible, subject to the Rules of Evidence, to show negligence of the driver of the vehicle the child was riding in (§ 17C-15-49a(b)(3), (c)(3))
• A claimant’s failure to wear a seat belt is an affirmative defense, and when the evidence is admitted, the court must instruct the jury on how it may and may not be considered (§ 17C-15-49a(d), (e))

These rules apply to collisions occurring on or after the effective date of the 2021 amendments (§ 17C-15-49a(h)). Whether the evidence comes in, and what it proves, depends on the facts of each case.

6. Compensation After a Spinal Cord Injury

Because a spinal cord injury can affect a person for decades, we work with medical, life care planning and economic professionals when needed to estimate future care and lost earning capacity. When punitive damages are allowed, the plaintiff must prove the required conduct by clear and convincing evidence, and the award may not exceed the greater of four times the compensatory damages or $500,000 (W. Va. Code § 55-7-29(a), (c)). When a spinal cord injury causes a death, the family’s claim is governed by the wrongful death statute; see our wrongful death page.

7. Spinal Cord Injuries at Work

An employer that is in compliance with the workers’ compensation law is generally immune from suit for an employee’s injury (W. Va. Code § 23-2-6). But receiving workers’ compensation does not prevent a claim against a third party, such as a negligent driver, contractor or equipment manufacturer, whose conduct caused the injury (§ 23-2A-1(a)). Slavey & Shumaker PLLC does not handle workers’ compensation or deliberate intent claims directly. We refer those claims to, and co-counsel with, other firms that handle the majority of that work. We can review whether you also have a claim against a third party, which is the part of the case we handle. See our factory and industrial accident page.

8. What to Do After a Spinal Injury

Our consultation checklist lists what to bring to a first meeting.

9. Deadlines

Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the right to sue accrues (W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b)). Claims involving children and government bodies have their own rules; see our West Virginia filing deadlines guide. A child’s claim generally may be brought within the same period after the child turns 18, but never more than 20 years after the right accrues (§ 55-2-15(b)).

10. Why Choose Slavey & Shumaker PLLC

Our attorneys, J. Tyler Slavey, J. Brandon Shumaker, Scott B. Harris and Kasey Libby, take the time to understand how a spinal cord injury has changed a client’s life, work with the professionals needed to document lifetime care, and pursue full compensation for future needs as well as past losses. No lawyer can guarantee a result. You can read what past clients say in our more than 100 Google reviews.

11. Frequently Asked Questions About Spinal Cord Injuries

This page is provided for general informational purposes about West Virginia law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.