Spinal Cord Injuries

Effects of a Spinal Cord Injury

When one thinks of a spinal cord injury, what usually comes to mind is some kind of a traumatic injury such as someone who has been injured in a car accident, someone that has had a fall, or someone that is a victim of an act of violence. When someone suffers a spinal cord injury, it's similar to a bruising injury where if you hit someone hard enough, they will get a bruise.

With a spinal cord injury, it's as if the spinal cord has taken a punch. When the victim sustains a spinal cord injury, they develop a small amount of bleeding as well as bruising and swelling, which can cause the nerves to stop functioning normally, and therefore block the signals transmitted to and from the body; that's what a spinal cord injury is.

Damage to any part of the spinal cord or the nerves at the end of the spinal canal can cause permanent changes in the person's sensation, strength and other important bodily functions below the site of the injury. For the victim, it may seem as if every aspect of their life is affected, especially when the spinal cord injury results in paralysis.

The severity of a spinal cord injury is determined by the "completeness" of the injury. A complete injury means that almost all feeling and the ability to control movement is lost below the injury site, whereas with an incomplete injury the individual still has some motor or sensory function below the injured area; there are varying degrees of an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Contact a Redlands Personal Injury Attorney

Spinal cord injuries can lead to lifelong disability, exorbitant medical costs and a huge loss of income over the victim's life. You should not have to face these enormous burdens if your accident was caused by someone else's negligence. Our Redlands spinal cord injury attorney is here to help hold them responsible.