Car and motorcycle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries, accounting for more than 40 percent of new spinal cord injuries each year, the Mayo Clinic says.
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most serious injuries a person can suffer. Damage to the spinal cord or the vertebrae, disks and ligaments in the spinal column is likely to cause some loss of function or paralysis. Even the least severe SCI can cause chronic pain and a significantly reduced quality of life.
Contact the Ginarte law firm if you’re dealing with spinal cord injury after a car accident in New York or New Jersey. The 150-plus years of combined experience that our car accident attorneys have can help you obtain compensation for the losses you have suffered and will face in the future.
What is a Spinal Cord Injury?
The Mayo Clinic defines “spinal cord injury” as damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal. An SCI often causes permanent damage to the victim’s strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.
A spinal cord injury can be caused by a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine – such as the impact of a car accident – that fractures, dislocates, crushes or compresses one or more vertebrae. Additional damage from bleeding, swelling, inflammation and fluid accumulation in and around the spinal cord often occurs over days or weeks after the injury happens, the Mayo Clinic says.
Perhaps the most frightening consequence of an SCI is paralysis, or the inability to move parts of the body. Paralysis is referred to as “paraplegia” if it affects one or more limbs in the lower half of the body. Paralysis from the neck down, including both arms and legs, is called “tetraplegia” or, more commonly, “quadriplegia.”
Quadriplegia may include the loss of function in such organs as the bladder, bowels and sexual organs and in the respiratory and circulatory systems.
Paralysis from severe SCIs requires ongoing medication and physical therapy, plus personal assistive devices and in-home care for many patients. Families of patients living with paralysis may need to renovate their homes for a wheelchair-bound or bed-ridden SCI victim.
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) reports that the lifetime costs of living with paralysis can range from more than $1 million for a patient with the slightest loss of mobility who was injured at age 50 to more than $4.6 million for a quadriplegia patient injured at age 25. The estimate does not include lost income and fringe benefits, the NSCISC says.
Coping with all the changes a spinal cord injury brings, including living with pain, causes some people to experience depression, the Mayo Clinic advises.
Suffered a Spinal Cord Injury in a Car Crash? Our Lawyers Can Help
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury in an NJ or NY car accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your current and future medical expenses, lost income and your pain and suffering. The car accident lawyers of the Ginarte firm have helped many spinal cord injury and paralysis patients obtain the financial assistance they deserved after being injured in car crashes that were not their fault.
Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd L.L.P., has offices in Newark, New York City, Union City, Elizabeth, Clifton, Perth Amboy and Queens. We can also meet with you in your home or at the hospital if your injuries prevent you from traveling.
Sources:
- Mayo Clinic – Spinal cord injury
- NSCISC – Spinal Cord Injury Facts and Figures at a Glance