Most of us are lucky enough to go through life without ever paying mind to the continuous stream of messages between brain and body—unless we or a loved one suffers a spinal cord injury.
The message stream between brain and body is conducted via the spinal cord a central bundle of nerves within the spinal column. The flow of two-way messages contains the sensory information and instructions that control all of our bodily functions, including:
- Muscle control
- Breathing
- Blood pressure and blood flow
- Bladder and bowel movements
- Sweating
- Digestion
- Sexual function
When the spinal cord is injured it can, in essence, shut down the communication system to the parts of the body networked to the site of the injury. It can also result in some abnormal muscle behavior, activities, and sensations above the point of injury, such as neuropathic pain, spastic movement and a life-threatening over-activity of the Autonomic Nervous System.
Spinal cord injuries can be devastating.Those that can be healed often require a great deal of time and rehabilitation. Those that cannot be healed forever alter and even shorten lives. Your ability to recover, and the degree to which you can recover, depends a great deal on your access to the best possible treatment both for your immediate and long-term care. It is possible that you will see incremental improvements continue for several years.
Nearly 70% of all back and spine injuries occur because of car, motorcycle, and other motor vehicle accidents. Victims in these accidents often suffer traumatic brain injuries as well. Other common causes include:
- Sports injuries
- Slips and falls
- Assaults and fights
In many of these incidents and accidents, the injuries were caused because someone else did not act responsibly.
Winning compensation to ensure your future
Your ability to access the best possible long-term treatment depends, to a great degree, on your ability to pay for it. Insurance company offers are often grossly inadequate to cover your long-term rehabilitation care and lost wages.
That is why many victims turn to personal injury attorneys for help. If your spinal cord injury was caused even in part by the negligence of another, you may be able to hold that party or parties liable.
A personal injury attorney who is experienced in prosecuting spinal cord cases understands the medical and rehabilitation complexities involved. He or she will assess your case and work closely with your medical team to ensure that you win all of the financial resources you will need, including:
- Medical expenses
- Rehabilitation
- Lost income
- Reduced earnings capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional damages
- Punitive damages (if applicable)
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you should talk to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible, because rehabilitative care needs to begin immediately. In addition, you only have a limited amount of time to pursue fair compensation before the statute of limitations expires. In most cases, our personal injury attorneys will not charge for their services unless and until they successfully settle or prosecute your case.
