Spinal cord injuries significantly change a person’s life forever. An individual may be unable to work or return to normal activities after suffering a spinal cord injury. Specifically, a person’s quality of life, financial situation, and emotional well-being can be negatively impacted in ways that can be difficult to understand. A Tennessee spinal cord injury attorney can clear up some of the issues related to spinal cord injuries and compensation you may receive by filing an insurance claim.
Spinal Cord vs. Spinal Column Injuries
The spinal column protects the spinal cord because it is made up of the disks and vertebrae that run down the length of the spine. Also, the spinal cord is the bundle of nerves that make it possible for the brain to send messages to the rest of the body. The spinal cord is essential for all bodily functions. First of all, messages carried by the spinal cord are responsible for regulating breathing, heart rate, and temperature. Additionally, those messages also coordinate reflexes and many other regular bodily functions.
Back injuries often involve damage to the vertebrae or soft tissues. For example, back injuries include whiplash, muscle strains, or mild ligament strains. These injuries also cause dislocations or fractures to the vertebrae. Permanent impairments often result.
Unfortunately, a damaged or severed spinal cord will cause permanent and debilitating injuries. Sadly, most of the damage to the nerves within the spinal cord cannot be repaired. This is one reason why getting the right attorney to help you makes a big difference.
Understanding the Severity of a Spinal Cord Injury
Currently, there is no cure for permanent paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries. Consequently, after such an injury occurs, medical providers focus on preventing further damage to the spinal cord and assisting the individual in learning how to function and cope with a debilitating injury. Quite often, consequences of a spinal cord injury include:
- Paralysis
- Loss of muscle movement and control
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of control of the kidneys and bowels
- Chronic pain that may radiate from the site of the injury
- Loss of sensation
- Numbness
- Loss of grip strength
Simply, the location of the spinal cord injury determines the effect it will have. Significantly, injuries to the higher sections of the spinal cord cause the greatest loss of physical functions. A “complete injury” occurs when a bodily function is lost below the level of the injury. When this occurs, the person is unable to move voluntarily or feel sensations. In contrast, a person with an “incomplete injury” maintains some sensory ability and some movement below the injury site.
Compensation for Spinal Cord Injuries
A spinal cord injury often causes substantial financial losses. For example, a permanent impairment requires a person to pay a lifetime of expensive medical care.
If someone negligently caused you to suffer a spinal cord injury, you are entitled to receive compensation for damages. Those damages include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Medical expenses for past, present, and future medical care and personal care
- Past, present, and future loss of income, including lost wages, salary, bonuses, commissions, and other compensation
- Loss of earning capacity
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Emotional and mental suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Tennessee Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
Consequently, you should contact a Tennessee spinal cord injury attorney to help you build a strong case against the person who caused your injury.
Contact the spinal cord injury attorneys at Cummings Law today. It is important to fight for the maximum compensation for a spinal cord injury because the financial losses over a lifetime can be financially devastating for the victim and the family. Therefore, getting the right attorney to help you makes a huge difference.
Posted in: Personal Injury