Spinal Cord Injury

Your spinal cord contains the nerves that carry messages between your brain and body. The cord passes through your neck and back. A spinal cord injury is very serious because it can cause paralysis below the site of the injury. A spinal cord injury usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae. Most spinal cord injuries result from trauma, such as a motor vehicle accident, assualt, or a fall and most of these injuries occur in men.

The damage begins at the moment of injury when displaced bone fragments, disc material, or ligaments bruise or tear into spinal cord tissue. Most injuries to the spinal cord do not completely sever it. Instead, an injury is more likely to cause fractures and compression of the vertebrae, which then crush and destroy the axons, extensions of nerve cells that carry signals up and down the spinal cord between the brain and the rest of the body. An injury to the spinal cord can damage a few, many, or almost all of these axons. Some injuries will allow almost complete recovery. Others will result in complete paralysis.

Spinal cord injuries are classified as either complete or incomplete.  An incomplete injury means that the ability of the spinal cord to convey messages to or from the brain is not completely lost. People with incomplete injuries retain some motor or sensory function below the injury.  A complete injury is indicated by a total lack of sensory and motor function below the level of injury.  People who survive a spinal cord injury will most likely have medical complications such as chronic pain and bladder and bowel dysfunction, along with an increased susceptibility to respiratory and heart problems. Successful recovery depends upon how well these chronic conditions are handled day to day.

Common Causes of Spinal Injuries:

• Car accidents
• Bullet or stab wound
• Direct trauma to the face, neck, head, or back (e.g., hitting head in an accident)
• Electric shock
• Extreme twisting of the trunk
• Sports injury (landing on head) 
• Major blow to the head or chest, car accident, fall from a great height
• Head held in unusual position

Symptoms include:

• Numbness or tingling that radiates down an arm or leg
  Weakness
• Difficulty walking
• Paralysis of arms or legs
• No bladder or bowel control
• Shock (pale, clammy skin; bluish lips and fingernails; acting dazed or semi-conscious)
• Unconscious
• Stiff neck, headache, or neck pain

A person with SCI typically has some paralysis and decreased or loss of sensation below the level of injury. Depending on the severity of a person's spinal cord injury, an occupational therapist can provide treatment in a hospital, clinic, or at home that allows the person to become as independent as possible. With proper treatment, thousands of people with SCI have continued to lead happy and productive lives.

Improved emergency care for people with spinal cord injuries and aggressive treatment and rehabilitation can minimize damage to the nervous system and even restore limited abilities.  Respiratory complications are often an indication of the severity of spinal cord injury   About one-third of those with injury to the neck area will need help with breathing and require respiratory support. The steroid drug methylprednisolone appears to reduce the damage to nerve cells if it is given within the first 8 hours after injury.  Rehabilitation programs combine physical therapies with skill-building activities and counseling to provide social and emotional support. 

If you or someone you know sustained a spinal cord injury as a result of the negligence of another,  you may be entitled to monetary compensation.  Please fill out the form below for a free evaluation of your claim by an experienced attorney.  There is no cost or obligation for this service.