A Spinal Cord Injury From A Car Accident Can Change Your Life Forever
Your brain relies on your spinal cord to carry messages to other parts of your body. Without this intricate delivery system, you would not have control over bodily functions. Injuries to the spinal cord range from mild to traumatic, depending on the type of injury and the location of the injury. For some people, spinal cord injuries result in permanent disabilities.
You can suffer a spinal cord injury in a variety of ways. Falls and vehicle accidents are two of the most common cases of spinal cord injuries. The physical force of the impact in a motor vehicle collision can easily cause a spinal cord injury, especially in collisions at high rates of speed. In traumatic cases, the accident victim may require long-term medical care and personal care. For some, life is never the same after a spinal cord injury from a car accident.
Complete and Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
A spinal cord injury can result in complete or incomplete damage. Trauma from car accidents can result in dislocation, fractures, compression, hyperflexion, or hyperextension of the spinal column. When the spinal cord is damaged, it can lose the ability to transmit messages from the brain. The result is a complete or incomplete loss of autonomic, sensory, and motor functions. The parts of the body affected by the spinal cord injury depends on the location of the injury on the spinal column. The higher up the injury, the more of the body that will be affected by the injury.
An accident victim who suffers an incomplete spinal cord injury retains some movement and sensation in the area of the body affected by the injury. When an accident victim suffers a complete spinal cord injury, all movement and sensation are lost. The result is complete and total paralysis. In most cases, complete spinal cord injuries are irreversible. However, some recent research may offer some individuals hope.
Calculating Damages In A Spinal Cord Injury Claim
Because spinal cord injuries from car accidents can result in major life changes, the damages in a spinal cord injury claim can be substantial. In addition to the significant medical expense incurred because of a spinal cord injury, victims may require permanent personal care because they are unable to take care of their personal needs.
Victims may also require special medical equipment and upgrades to their homes to accommodate their new living situation. In many cases, the person is unable to work. Therefore, damages for lost wages is a substantial portion of economic damages in a spinal cord injury claim.
In addition to the economic damages, the non-economic damages are high in a spinal cord injury claim. Compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, loss of quality of life, emotional stress, physical pain, and mental anguish must also be added to the value of the claim. It is imperative that you contact a Fresno spinal cord injury attorney if you have sustained an injury in a car accident to protect your right to full compensation for your damages.
Contact A Fresno Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
To recover compensation for your damages, you must prove that your spinal cord injury was the result of another person’s negligence. Negligence in car accident cases often results because of speeding, aggressive driving, distracted driving, disobeying traffic laws, drunk driving, or fatigued driving. It is crucial that you have an attorney on your side who understands how to use the accident evidenced to establish fault.
Never assume that a traffic accident is “clear cut.” Insurance companies aggressively fight spinal cord injury claims due to the high value of these claims. Contact the Fresno spinal cord injury attorneys of Torem & Associates by telephone at (888) 500-5000 or use our convenient online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
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