The spinal cord relays messages between the brain and the body, enabling the body to move and function as normal. Severe spinal cord injuries can change the victim’s life forever, perhaps drastically limiting his or her mobility and quality of life.
An experienced Dallas spinal cord injury lawyer at the law firm of Reyes Browne can assist you and your family to gain the financial compensation necessary to adjust to your new lifestyle and make every effort toward recovery. If your injury was due to another person’s negligence, whether as a result of a car accident, slip and fall, medical error, or other cause, you may be legally entitled to substantial compensation to cover past, present, and future medical bills, lost wages from time missed at work, lost quality of life, and more. Contact a friendly and knowledgeable Dallas spinal cord injury attorney today at our firm who has the experience in these matters to guide your case to a successful conclusion. All initial consultations are free of charge, and you owe us nothing unless we recover money damages on your behalf.
What Causes a Spinal Fracture?
Spinal cord injuries are usually caused by a traumatic blow to the spine that dislocates or fractures vertebrae, which leads to tearing or bruising of the tissue in the spinal cord. Whether it is a spinal cord injury from a car accident or another cause, these injuries often result in some degree of paralysis.
Here are some of the more common accidents where spinal cord injuries occur:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- DWI accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Construction site accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
Spinal Cord Injuries Can Be Fatal
Two additional pieces of information shed more light on just how serious these injuries are. In an article published in 2016, investigators from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a study of paralysis in the United States in 2013. It found that spinal cord injuries are the second-leading cause of paralysis at 27.3 percent. According to the World Health Organization, people who have sustained a spinal cord injury are two to five times more likely to die prematurely than those without a spinal cord injury.
Common Effects of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries typically result in a loss of mobility and sensation everywhere below the place where the impact occurred. The victim may lose all control of his or her limbs and/or lose functioning within expansive regions of their body. What does this mean for the victim? Consequences of spinal cord injuries may include the following:
- Loss of mobility or muscle control
- Loss of sensation, such as cold, heat, or touch
- Paralysis
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Limited sexual functioning
- Exaggerated spasms and reflexes
- Breathing, coughing, or clearing of the throat may become challenging
- Painful and stinging tingling sensations caused by damage to the spinal cord’s nerve fibers
What Are Your Treatment Options?
While, to date, there are no known cures for spinal cord injuries, there are a number of different treatment options both immediately following the accident and in the long term that can help maximize the victim’s quality of life. Here is a non-exhaustive list of those options:
- Medications aimed at reducing inflammation or pain, or restoring bladder and bowel functioning
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Back and neck braces, wheelchairs, walkers, and other assistive devices
- Surgery can help remove anything that is compressing the spine, and can also minimize the degree of pain or deformity in the future
- Shock prevention
- Various methods or devices to facilitate breathing
- Traction may help stabilize the spine and enhance alignment
What Type of Spinal Cord Injury is it?
As with most injuries, some spinal cord injuries are more serious than others. In a complete spinal cord injury, the victim loses all ability to sense or voluntarily move anywhere below the area on the body where the trauma occurred. In an incomplete spinal cord injury, the victim still retains some degree of sensation or ability to intentionally move below the region of the body that was impacted.
When paralysis occurs, there are two designations to indicate the level of severity:
- Tetraplegia is when all limbs, the core, and the pelvic structure are all impaired.
- Paraplegia is when all or part of the pelvic structure, core, and legs are affected by the injury.
What Can a Dallas Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Do for You?
At Reyes Browne, we understand how physically, psychologically, and financially devastating spinal cord injuries can be both to the victim individually and to the victim’s loved ones. The victim’s life will likely never be the same, and it is often the loved ones of the victim that end up permanently rearranging their lives in order to care for the injured victim.
Given the astronomical costs associated with that, it is imperative to receive the most financial compensation possible in a spinal cord injury claim. That’s where a compassionate and dedicated Dallas spinal cord injury lawyer at Reyes Browne comes into the picture. With over 30 years of experience, our firm is proud of our 98 percent success rate.
You Can Reach Us 24/7
If you have questions about a spinal cord injury, contact the Angel Reyes – Reyes Browne Law Firm 24 hours a day to coordinate your free case review. We stand firm in our policy to not charge fees to our clients unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
