Your spinal cord acts as an information highway, connecting your brain to the rest of your body. You might not think about it on a regular basis, but if it becomes injured, you’ll likely notice several problems in your daily life.
Oftentimes, suffering a spinal cord injury is outright devastating. And if another person’s negligence is what caused your injury, there’s an entirely separate layer of pain and betrayal to contend with. Thankfully, the personal injury lawyers at Neufeld & Kleinberg, PA, may be able to help.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury is any injury that causes bruising, partial tearing, or full tearing of the nerve bundle that connects your brain to the rest of your nervous system. It takes a considerable amount of force to cause such an injury, though, given that your spinal cord is protected by your vertebrae, the segments of your backbone.
Each year in the United States, there are about 17,500 new spinal cord injuries reported. That being said, these injuries vary in terms of severity. With an incomplete injury, a victim will still have some feeling or ability to move beneath the injured area of their spinal cord. With a complete injury, though, the spinal cord is totally severed, meaning sensations and movement are impossible.
You can’t undo damage to your spinal cord, but if the injury doesn’t cause much damage to your nerve cells, it’s often possible to recover almost completely. Furthermore, researchers are continually discovering new ways to help people with spinal cord injuries regain as much of their normal functions as possible.
Symptoms of Spinal Cord Injuries
The symptoms of a spinal cord injury can look quite different depending on the severity of the injury overall.
Nevertheless, if you experience any of these symptoms immediately following a major accident, they might be signs that you have a spinal cord injury and that you should get medical help as soon as possible:
- Issues with walking or balance
- A badly twisted neck or back
- Extreme pressure or pain in your back, head, or neck
- Trouble breathing
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Tingling, numbness, or lack of feeling in your feet, toes, hands, or fingers
Even if you don’t notice any physical symptoms, you should still seek medical attention after an accident. Many (if not most) people will go into shock after sustaining a severe injury, and the rush of adrenaline can make it nearly impossible to feel pain until it wears off.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
As mentioned earlier, your spinal cord is generally well protected by your backbone and the segments therein, but spinal cord injuries are unfortunately very possible. Below are some of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries each year:
- Car Accidents: The speed of a moving car, in addition to the force of a crash itself, can result in serious spinal cord trauma
- Physical Fights and Other Kinds of Violence: Gunshot wounds, stabbings, and other kinds of violence can easily cause partial or full-tear spinal cord injuries
- Falls: Falls from significant heights (like on construction sites) and even slip and fall accidents can cause spinal cord injuries
- Sports Injuries: Collisions with others in contact sports like football and rugby have the potential to severely and permanently damage the spinal cord
- Diseases: Osteoporosis and other conditions can cause weakness that leads to spinal cord damage
Keep in mind that not every kind of spinal cord injury makes you entitled to legal compensation. Still, each case is different, and legal cases are often more complex than they seem. When in doubt, it’s best to set up a free consultation. You have nothing to lose.
Have You Suffered a Spinal Cord Injury?
Even minor spinal cord injuries can be largely disruptive to your usual way of life. And if you’ve been unfortunate enough to suffer a severe spinal cord injury, you likely already know that it can be impossible to fully recover.
With that said, if someone else’s actions (or failure to act) caused your injury, you shouldn’t be the one held financially responsible. Money isn’t going to change what happened, of course, but it can cover your medical bills and make up for any wages you would have earned if you hadn’t been injured.
There’s a lot at stake after suffering from a spinal cord injury, so you shouldn’t leave your case to the amateurs. The motivated, experienced attorneys at Neufeld & Kleinberg, PA, have over 100 years of combined legal experience serving injured clients throughout Florida. We’ve recovered millions, and you’ll pay nothing unless we win.
If you have a spinal cord injury and think you might have a claim, we encourage you to get in touch with us today and schedule a free case review.
