Spinal cord injuries are serious, and they can seriously impact the way you live your life. After experiencing an injury, you may no longer be able to work or live your life the way you used to. This guide will help you understand spinal cord injuries and what to expect if you have been injured.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
Spinal cord injuries occur when a sudden impact shocks, harms, or severs the spine. In some cases, the spinal cord is completely severed. In cases involving complete severing of the spine, individuals may become paralyzed and unable to move their limbs. Paralysis can be temporary or permanent based on the type of injury you experience.
Keep in mind that a spinal cord injury is much different from a typical back injury. Spinal cord injuries impact the nerves and spinal cord of the body rather than the discs and vertebrae of the back. Spinal cord injuries are expensive and difficult to deal with. In fact, Americans spend more than $9 billion on spinal cord injuries every year.
What Causes Spinal Cord Injuries?
Spinal cord injuries result from many different types of accidents. For example, spinal cord injuries often result from car accidents. Auto accidents can jar the spine on impact, leading to severe injuries.
Slip and falls can also lead to spinal cord injuries, especially if the patient hits a blunt object on the way down and it reaches the spinal cord.
Gunshot wounds also commonly lead to spinal cord problems based on the location of the wound.
In some cases, spinal cord injuries are the result of an illness. Polio and spina bifida are both causes of spinal cord issues.
How Does a Spinal Cord Injury Impact Your Life?
If you become paralyzed as a result of a spinal cord injury, you may lose most of your mobility. Loss of mobility can make it much more difficult to get or maintain a career, for example. Plus, those who are unable to get out of bed easily may experience bed sores, which can lead to infection.
Spinal cord injuries also cause a great deal of pain. The pain is neuropathic, and it could affect your body anywhere. The pain can also lead to muscle spasms and contractions throughout the body, which can become painful and difficult to live with.
Spinal cord injuries also affect the way your body functions. For example, many people experience sexual dysfunction. Additionally, some people with these injuries report that they have changes in their bowel functioning. These patients may require additional care in order to eliminate waste from the body properly.
Depression, psychological trauma, and other mental health concerns can result from spinal cord injuries too. Any sudden changes to one’s way of life can pose a difficult challenge, but losing quality of life can impact one’s ability to be mentally well.
What Should You Do If You Have a Spinal Cord Injury?
You should speak to an attorney if you have a spinal cord injury, especially if another party was the cause of your injury. You may be able to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, disability, and other financial concerns.
You should take action as soon as you know you have a spinal cord injury. In Illinois, you have to work around a statute of limitations of two years. You must file a lawsuit against the at-fault party within two years of experiencing the injury.
Randall A. Wolff & Associates, Ltd., understands what you are dealing with if you have suffered from a spinal cord injury. If you are struggling with such an injury, give us a call. We can help your pursue compensation for your injuries and the resulting medical bills and lost wages in court.
