Spinal Cord Damage
Spinal cord damage happens when the spinal column is severely injured in a car accident, railroad/train accident, or other types of a personal injury accident. The spinal cord connects the brain to all parts of the human body and relays messages about sensations received from regions such as fingers, toes, and limbs. The part of the spine where the injury occurs determines the extent of damage and injury. The most severe forms of spinal cord injury cause permanent paralysis, depending on where the damaged area is in the spine.
People with spinal cord injuries are generally classified as either completely or incompletely injured:
* Completely Injured – People with complete or a complete spinal cord injury are unable to move or feel their lower body and are paralyzed from the waist down. They may retain some sensation in their legs, for example, if they have an incomplete spinal cord injury.
* Incompletely Injured – People with incomplete or an incomplete spinal cord injury still have some movement and feeling below the level of injury. An incomplete spinal cord injury is more common than a complete spinal cord injury.
Treatment for people with a completely or incompletely injured spinal cord depends on where the injury occurs, how bad it is, and also on whether there are any complications resulting from trauma or other factors such as infection. Treatment options may include wearing an artificial device called a halo brace to stabilize the head and neck or surgery to fuse the damaged vertebrae together. In some cases, recovery is possible and may include the use of a wheelchair or other adaptive equipment such as braces or walking aids.
Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers
For people who have been diagnosed with spinal cord damage, their personal injury attorney will help them by making sure they receive compensation for medical costs and potential loss of wages. The spinal cord injury lawyers can also negotiate with the insurance companies of the at-fault driver or company in order to ensure fair compensation.
Spinal cord injuries are serious, life-threatening injuries that occur when a part of the spine is severely injured as a result of trauma such as an MVA involving a car accident, trucking accident, motorcycle accident, pedestrian accident, or railroad/train accident.
One of the main causes of spinal cord damage is a high-impact rear-end collision involving 2 automobiles. This scenario causes up to 20% of all spinal cord injuries in car accidents. The severity and extent of the injury depend on where in the spine which it occurs. In most cases, this would be in the lower back because of its large size compared to other areas, and it houses important parts of the body such as your spinal cord. If any part of this is damaged during a rear-end collision, you could be affected in different ways depending on how severe it was.
Get Professional Legal Assistance
If you have suffered spinal cord damage, talk to us today! We have been helping people with spinal cord injuries for years. Our dedication to ensuring that our clients get the compensation they deserve is why we are one of the top law firms Las Vegas.
If you or a loved
one has suffered a spinal cord injury, it probably seems as though every part
of your world has changed.
The spinal cord is
an intricate, sensitive structure that is about 18 inches long and about as big
around as your little finger. It’s surrounded and protected by the vertebrae
that run down your back. Contained within it is a network of nerve cells that
communicate messages of movement and feeling throughout the body from the neck
down.
When the spinal
cord is injured, the results can be profound and devastating, both physically
and psychologically. Basically, the brain’s communication system with the body
has been disrupted. An injury can mean temporary or permanent paralysis and
lack of sensation (such as pain, temperature and touch) everywhere beneath the
location of the injury. Spinal cord injuries are classified by location, sensory level,
motor level and neurological level; injuries are further classified “complete”
or “incomplete” depending on the level of preservation of any of these
functions.
A spinal cord
injury can happen anytime there is significant trauma to the head, neck or
back. The Mayo Clinic says
an injury “may stem from a sudden, traumatic blow to your spine that fractures,
dislocates, crushes or compresses one or more of your vertebrae. It also may
result from a gunshot or knife wound that penetrates and cuts your spinal
cord.” Symptoms can worsen over the days and weeks following the injury due to
swelling, bleeding, or fluid accumulation. This kind of trauma can result from
events like:
- a
car, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian accident; - a
dive or jump into a body of water; - a
trampoline accident; - a
serious fall; - being
shot or stabbed; - an
industrial accident; - an
injury at birth; - a
sports injury.
According to Johns Hopkins University,
about 12,000 new spinal cord injuries happen each year in the United States,
and about 250,000 people total are living with such an injury. While many
hospitals now have specialized centers for spinal cord injury care, and while
research continues on possible ways to repair spinal cords, regenerate spinal
cord cells, or restore function to paralyzed patients, the reality is that life
with a spinal cord injury often barely resembles a person’s life before the
event.
Actor Christopher
Reeve is perhaps the most well-known spinal cord injury patient; he was
paralyzed after a horse riding accident in 1995, and died in 2004. The Christopher and Dana Reeve
Foundation estimates that the cost of a spinal cord injury in
the first year can range from $300,000 to over $1 million. After the first
year, annual costs can range from $42,000-$200,000, depending on the injury
itself and the treatment needed; lifetime costs can range from $1.5 million to
$5 million if a person is injured at age 25, to $1.1 million to $2.6 million if
a person is injured at age 50.
With numbers like
this, it’s clear that few families could suddenly bear the expenses associated
with a loved one’s spinal cord injury. This is why it’s important to contact an
experienced attorney soon after the event happens if there is any question
about whether there might be some entitlement to compensation. Medical expenses
are only one part of the financial burden; a person’s earning potential also is
affected, and compensation for emotional pain and suffering may be appropriate
as well.
The attorneys at
Mazzeo Law, LLC are Las Vegas personal injury attorneys with over 29 years
litigation experience. Peter Mazzeo has extensive experience in the areas of
personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, traffic accident
injuries and criminal defense. We don’t just negotiate; we litigate cases for
our clients to obtain the maximum compensation possible. If you or a loved one
has suffered a spinal cord injury, we urge you to call.
How to contact us:
- Email
us at ask@mazzeolaw.com - Call
and talk to an attorney at (702) 382-3636. - Click here and
fill out our contact form, and we’ll get back to you right away..