If you were to injure your spinal cord, this is considered a severe injury that changes your life as you once knew it. A spinal cord injury refers to any part of the spinal cord or the nerves within the spine. A spinal cord injury is usually a life-changing injury that causes significant changes in your strength and feeling or sensation. This type of injury can affect other parts of your body below the site of the damage. Most times, this injury causes permanent paralysis.
Accidents that Can Cause a Spinal Injury
- Vehicle and motorcycle accidents are at the top of the list of ways in which common spinal injuries happen through the negligent actions of some other driver who causes your vehicle accident.
- Slip and fall accidents at work or in the public
- Violent attacks to the body by a gunshot wound or a stab to the back
- Sports injuries
- Recreational injuries such as a diving in shallow water or a boating accident
- Alcohol consumption impeding the thought process of someone, causing that person to be reckless with their life and those around them.
- Disease processes such as cancer, arthritis, and a weakening of the vertebrae of the spine.
- Inflammation in and around the spinal cord can cause damage to the area.
These situations can damage your spinal cord to the point of completely turning your life upside down. You probably will lose your job or income, either short-term or permanently. Spinal cord injuries can occur due to someone’s negligence or by a wrong decision or negligent action you made. If your injury is a result of a motorcycle accident in California, you need experienced Burbank motorcycle accident attorneys to help you fight for your rights and get the compensation you deserve. They can also help you during the process of filing a claim with the insurance company and getting financial assistance from them.
If you injure your spine in an accident, some medical approaches help you to live the highest level of life you can live. Researchers are constantly studying the effects of spinal cord injuries, and the medical field has developed unique treatments and rehabilitation options to help you live your life to the highest and most productive level possible after your spinal cord injury.
When your doctor determines that you injured your spinal cord, the diagnosis depends on two things, the location and the severity of the injury. The doctor must determine if the damage is,
Complete
You lose all your ability to control your movements below the site of the injury.
Incomplete
The injury leaves you with some movement below the injury. You realize some sensory functions as well. However, you will notice varying degrees of damage.
Tetraplegia
When a spinal cord injury occurs, you may experience some or complete paralysis below the site. This injury could leave you quadriplegia, meaning that your arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvis are affected with either complete or partial loss of control.
Paraplegia
A spinal cord injury can cause loss of function in the truck, legs, and pelvic organs thus causing you to be a paraplegic for the rest of your life.
When there is damage to the spinal cord due to an accident, you may experience a heightened stinging sensation due to nerve fiber damage. There are some signs and symptoms of a definite spinal cord injury, such as seen in,
- You may lose some or all of your movement in your extremities.
- You may lose the ability to control your bowels and bladder.
- You may lose the ability to feel heat, cold, and touch. This loss is known as altered sensation due to your spinal cord injury.
- You may experience some muscle spasms and heightened reflexes.
- You may experience sexual sensitivity, fertility and see changes in sexual function.
- You may experience difficulty in breathing, coughing, and clearing your lungs.
Immediately preceding your accident, you will experience some or all of the following signs of a spinal injury.
- Extreme pressure and pain in your back, neck, and head.
- You have an inability to move some or all of your extremities. If extremities’ movement is possible, there will be a weakness, incoordination, and impaired balance.
- You experience a numb feeling and tingling in hands, fingers, feet, and toes.
- You experience the loss of your bowel and bladder function.
- You may see your back or neck positioned unnaturally immediately following your accident.
When any of these signs and symptoms are present, you need an immediate medical evaluation by a doctor preceding a head or neck injury. Paramedics arriving on the scene of your accident stabilizes your spine, head, and neck for transport to the emergency room. It would be best if you assumed you have a spinal cord injury until the doctor proves otherwise. You must know that,
- Sometimes spinal cord injuries are not immediately identified due to the amount of bleeding and swelling of tissue at the site.
- If the doctor cannot determine you have a spinal cord injury immediately preceding your accident, the damages can quickly become more severe.
- When you have a spinal cord injury, treatment is time-sensitive, and injuries can become more severe in a short amount of time.
If you are sure you have a spinal cord injury, do not move because if you do not have paralysis, moving can cause permanent paralysis. Wait for the professional paramedics’ arrival to help you.
What Happens if Your Spinal Cord is Damaged?
The doctor determines injury to your spinal cord through an array of testing. The doctor must discover where the damage is in your spine such as, is it to the vertebrae, the ligaments, or the disks. An injury of this form develops from a traumatic blow to your spine. The doctor may also identify fractures, dislocations, crushed or compressed vertebrae. In the case of a spinal cord injury you quickly lose sight of what life was like before your injury.
A spinal cord injury usually develops due to an accident that can happen to anyone, anywhere, and anytime, especially if you participate in risky behaviors such as diving in shallow water. However, this type of injury is usually caused by someone else’s negligent actions.
This injury can cause you mounting medical bills, loss of income, and ability to live independently. If this happened to you, you need to seek an accident/injury seasoned in this legal field. Call this seasoned accident/injury attorney in Houston, Texas today at 713-973-8888 if someone caused your spinal injury. The person who caused your spinal cord injury must understand the financial consequences of your injury, and they must compensate you for your pain, suffering, and much more.
It takes this seasoned attorney’s expertise to calculate past, present, and future debts occurring from this spinal cord injury that happened to you due to someone else’s fault. This attorney works hard to get you a fair and just settlement to help you replace your income and pay for mounting medical bills.
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