Every year in California and throughout the United States about 7,800 people experience a spinal cord injury, reports the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA). According to the NSCIA, between 250,000 to 400,000 people are living with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) or Spinal Dysfunction today. Many know first hand that spinal cord injuries are some of the most devastating personal injuries suffered.
Experts and those who have SCI will tell you about the importance of learning as much as you can about your injuries and the steps toward recovery. You also need to seek the resources you’ll need to help you move forward. If the injury was caused by someone else’s negligent or intentional actions, then it’s crucial to get skilled legal help to try and secure full compensation from the responsible parties.
Effects of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
A spinal cord injury can cause you to lose feeling and affect your ability to move. This is because the spinal cord is made up of nerves that carry messages between your brain and other parts of your body.
How much an SCI affects someone depends in part on whether the spinal injury is complete or incomplete. It also depends on how high up the injury was to your spinal cord. A back injury doesn’t always result in a spinal cord injury, because sometimes the spinal cord isn’t damaged even though the bones around it are. Examples of other injuries that are not spinal cord injuries include pinched nerves, and herniated or ruptured disks.
Common causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Many of these serious spinal injuries are caused by:
● Car accidents, motorcycle collisions, or truck accidents (44% according to the NSCIA)
● Slip and fall accidents
● Workplace injuries
● Dangerous conditions on a property, including a business or construction site
● Being physically attacked
● Medical negligence/mistakes (sometimes causing more damage to an existing spinal injury)
● Sports accidents
Dealing with the expenses and losses
The lifelong effects of a spine injury can be long-lasting, which also means continuing expenses as you work toward rehabilitation. When an insurance company offers you a quick settlement, they don’t like to include all your long-term costs or fairly compensate you for your personal losses. But if you take the settlement, it will virtually always prevent you from seeking the rest of what you need later.
So don’t forget, if you or someone close to you has suffered a serious spine injury, here are a few examples of what you can often seek compensation for:
● Current and future lost wages
● Therapy and physical rehabilitation
● Immediate and future medical costs
● Loss of companionship
● Emotional and physical pain and suffering
● Cost of mobility and modification services for your home and vehicle
● Other recovery costs
How we can help
You can depend on our experienced back and spinal cord injury lawyers to have the commitment needed to help you get the compensation you need and deserve. We know you and your family need to focus on your recovery to the greatest extent possible. Our experienced personal injury attorneys also help those with other serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors.
Start your case on the best possible track by contacting us right away, and before the deadline to file your personal injury lawsuit expires. To reach San Diego Law Firm, call (619) 794-0243 for a free consultation in your accident and injury case.
