Charleston Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

A spinal cord injury is one of the most serious effects of an accident that you could possibly suffer. You may not even be able to function on your own, let alone do things like work and physical exercise.

Trey Harrell Auto Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer can work for you to receive the highest possible compensation for a spinal cord injury if someone else’s actions caused you to be hurt. Contact us to begin your catastrophic injury case.

How Do Spinal Cord Injuries Occur?

Spinal cord injuries usually result from some type of direct trauma that breaks a vertebrae and damages the cord. In other cases, there may be direct damage to the spinal cord itself.

SCIs may be caused by:

  • Car accidents
  • Falls
  • Work-related accidents
  • Physical violence

Each year, there are nearly 20,000 cases of traumatic SCIs in the United States. Most people who suffer these injuries will never be the same again. Those who are have undergone an extensive period of rehabilitation.

Symptoms and Complications of an SCI

The spinal cord transmits the following types of messages to the rest of the body:

  • Autonomic: messages that you do not have to think about, including heart rate and incontinence
  • Sensory: feelings like pain and numbness
  • Motor: messages from the brain that control things like movement

Depending on the severity of the spinal cord injury, all of these functions could be impacted.

Types of Paralysis Resulting from an SCI

The type and extent of paralysis that results from an SCI depends on where the injury actually occurs on the spinal cord. The higher the injury, the more paralysis the accident victim would suffer. The spinal cord carries the brain’s messages to the rest of the body. Once the connection is severed, the parts of the body below the injury would have their movement affected.

The following types of paralysis result from an SCI:

  • Cervical: this is usually the most serious type of spinal cord injury, since it affects the upper part of the spinal cord. A cervical SCI can lead to quadriplegia.
  • Thoracic: an injury to the middle part of the spinal cord, which primarily affects the legs and genital area
  • Lumbar: an injury to the lower part of the spinal cord, which primarily affects the legs and can make the accident victim a paraplegic
  • Sacral: the sacral region of the spinal cord is located below the lumbar region. Sacral spinal cord injuries affect the hips, thighs and buttocks. These types of spinal cord injuries are rare.

Treatment for an SCI

There have been major medical advances recently in how SCIs are treated. The course of treatment would depend on the nature of your injury. During the initial phase after your injury, the focus would be on stabilizing the area, and it would often require surgery.

Once the immediate danger has passed, the medical care team would settle on a course of treatment. You may manage your injury through medication, while undergoing rehabilitation to help you adapt to your injury and regain strength if possible. These days, researchers have been developing experimental treatments that may even repair SCIs or help patients regain functions, even with their injury.

Compensation for an SCI

Spinal cord injuries can lead to significant medical costs and other impacts on the victim’s life. The compensation for these injuries can be considerable. The size of your settlement or award depends on the type of SCI that you have suffered and your own damages.

Your SCI compensation would include:

  • Medical expenses
  • Lost wages
  • Pain and suffering
  • Scarring and disfigurement
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Embarrassment and humiliation

You must know the value of your case before you file your claim or lawsuit, or else you may not get enough money. Our experienced Charleston personal injury attorney, Trey Harrell, can take a careful look at your past expenses and future damages to calculate the full value of your spinal injury claim.

Contact Our Charleston Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Today

The stakes of the legal process are extremely high if you have suffered a serious injury. If you can prove that someone else was to blame for your injury, you could be entitled to a large amount of compensation that you would need in the future.

Take the first step to contact an experienced Charleston spinal cord injury attorney to learn more about your legal rights. Call Trey Harrell Auto Accident & Personal Injury Attorney at 843-636-8739 or message us online to schedule a free initial consultation.

Spinal Cord Injury Case FAQs

Can a spinal cord injury heal on its own?

The spinal cord is unable to heal itself after it has been injured, as the nerve cells do not regenerate.

Does a spinal cord injury reduce life expectancy?

The impact that a spinal cord injury has on life expectancy depends on the severity of the injury. Usually, it will cut life expectancy. A 20-year old male who has suffered a spinal cord injury, and survives the first year, would have a life expectancy of approximately 31 years.

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