Getting an injury to your spinal cord can be painful and debilitating. Your spinal cord is a bundle of nerves and fibers tasked with sending and receiving neurological signals from your brain to your body. The spinal cord is shielded inside of the vertebrae bones that make up your spinal column, with discs in between to provide for flexibility. When you suffer damage to your spinal cord, you risk temporary or permanent paralysis and other neurological injuries that can impact your life. If your spinal cord injury is caused by the actions or negligence of another party, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve. How do spinal cord injuries happen?
There are many ways that a person can suffer a spinal cord injury here in the Garden State. Just like in other states, New Jersey has its fair share of motor vehicle accidents. If you get hit by a car or motorcycle or are riding in a vehicle involved in a major collision, you may suffer an injury to your back that damages your spinal cord. Similarly, athletes who play contact sports like football, soccer, basketball, and hockey are at risk of spinal cord injuries. Getting hit in the back or landing awkwardly can damage this vital part of your body. This has also been known to happen to figure skaters, gymnasts, and divers, as well.
Your spinal cord can also get injured as a result of criminal activity. Gunshot wounds to the back, being pushed to the ground, or stabbed from behind can all result in acute spinal cord injuries. On the other hand, illness can also lead to these types of injuries. If you have an infection in your back that goes untreated, this can form an abscess in your spinal cord. Spinal cords can also be the result of medical malpractice in the delivery of a baby. What are the symptoms of a spinal cord injury?
The most obvious symptom is paralysis. This is the loss of feeling, movement, and reflexes in the area under the location of the spinal cord injury. So, if a person suffers an injury to the lower spinal column, he or she may lose all or most of the sensation below their waste. This can make it impossible to control their bowels and bladder, unable to move their legs, and incapable of sexual functions. This is referred to as paraplegia. Injuries to the higher parts of the vertebrae may make it impossible to breathe on their own without a respirator and lose the function of their arms as well. This is known as quadriplegia.
Depending on the severity of the injury, this paralysis and loss of function may be permanent. It often depends on whether the injury is complete, meaning the spinal cord is completely severed, or incomplete, where there is still some amount of movement and feeling below the site of the injury. Incomplete injuries are often harder to diagnose, with symptoms like muscle weakness, some loss of movement and sensation, and difficulty breathing. If you have any of these symptoms after suffering an injury to your back, you should go to a physician immediately to find out if you have suffered a spinal cord injury. Your physician will be able to diagnose whether you have injured your spinal cord by using an MRI, CT scan, and X-rays.
How can your attorney help you?
If you are injured in an accident that has resulted in a spinal cord injury, you are going to need hospitalization, medical care, and rehabilitation. This can be a costly endeavor that is not always covered by your health insurance. The party that caused your injury should be responsible for compensating you for these expenses, as well as your pain and suffering, lost wages, and other damages. An experienced personal injury can help you get the compensation you need to help put your life back together after suffering a spinal cord injury.
If you have suffered a spinal cord injury, call our firm today
Spinal cord injuries are some of the most debilitating injuries you can suffer in a car accident, sports injury, or other type of personal injury situations. The experienced personal injury attorneys at The Cassidy Law Firm will fight for your rights and help you get the compensation you need for your medical and rehabilitation expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.