- August 30, 2018
- Personal Injury
Spinal cord injuries are some of the most damaging, life-altering types of injuries out there. Individuals with spinal cord injuries can become paralyzed, lose control of their lower limbs, suffer severe brain damage, or worse. The spinal cord, a bundle of nerves that travels along the vertebrae in the back, is extremely susceptible to injury, and if it becomes damaged, the repercussions can be serious and long lasting. In some cases, these injuries may even be permanent.If you or someone you love suffered a spinal cord injury, make sure you understand how this could influence the rest of your life.
What Can Cause a Spinal Cord Injury?
Any type of injury to the spine or head could cause a spinal cord injury. The spinal cord runs all along the back, starting from the head and neck all the way to the tailbone. Because of the spinal cord’s location, any serious trauma inflicted on the body could twist, bruise, puncture, or otherwise harm the spinal cord by default.
Most spinal cord injuries are caused by the following types of accidents:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Slip or trip and fall injuries
- Acts of violence
- Sports injuries
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, most spinal cord injuries, approximately 36.5%, are caused by car accidents. Roughly 276,000 people currently live with spinal cord injuries in the United States, and an estimated 12,500 new cases occur each year.
The Physical Consequences
The consequences of a spinal cord injury varies drastically depending on the severity of the injury, the area that was wounded, and several other factors. There are 33 vertebrae in the human spine, and more than 120 muscles and 220 ligaments work to make the back function properly. So, when a spinal cord injury occurs, any number of muscles, ligaments, bones, and nerves could be affected. The spinal cord acts as the command center, sending commands to the rest of the body, so depending on which area of the spine is damaged, the injury could affect different parts of the body.
Spinal cord injuries can result in:
- Headaches
- Chronic pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Problems with bladder and bowel function
- Partial or full paralysis
- Infections
- Loss of fertility
- Loss of sexual function
- Frequent cases of pneumonia
These physical changes might interfere with your career, preventing you from returning to the work you once performed. A spinal injury could also have a significant impact on your personal life. The new physical limitations caused by the spinal cord injury could prevent you from participating in sports and activities you once enjoyed, it might affect your relationships, and it could significantly affect your quality of life.
Additional Repercussions
Dealing with the physical repercussions of a spinal cord injury can be devastating, but there are several other ways a spinal cord injury could affect your life. First of all, treating a spinal cord injury is usually extremely expensive. Between doctor’s visits, surgeries, medications, physical therapies, and other treatments, the medical bills can be extensive. You may also have to remodel parts of your home and purchase a new vehicle to better accommodate your injuries, especially if the injury left you paralyzed or limited to a wheelchair.
If the spinal cord injury affected your sexual function or your fertility, you might no longer be able to have a family in the way you had always planned. This could significantly affect your quality of life and could cause other emotional or mental issues. Also, this could put additional strain on your relationships.
Spinal cord injuries should never be taken lightly, especially if your injury was caused by another person’s negligence or carelessness. If you were harmed in an accident due to another person’s error, our firm wants to help you seek justice and compensation from the liable party.
Contact Goodman Acker P.C. today to get started on your Detroit personal injury case.