If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to an accident that wasn’t your fault in North Port, Florida, speak with a spinal injury lawyer as soon as possible. If you are suffering from a spinal cord injury in Florida, our North Port personal injury lawyers can help you.
As personal injury attorneys, we have years of experience helping injury victims like you recover millions in compensation. We’ve served thousands of clients, and the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys has recognized our firm as one of the 10 Best Law Firms in client satisfaction. Our spinal cord injury lawyers can assist you.
Contact our North Port spinal injury attorneys today for a free consultation. If you need legal advice, we can examine your case, answer any questions you may have, and provide you with honest legal guidance.
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How Does a Spinal Cord Injury Affect Your Body?
An injury to the spinal cord may also damage the nerve fibers that carry signals to and from the brain. When the spinal cord is severely damaged, the spinal nerves below the injury may still receive signals, but they will be unable to communicate with the brain.
A severe spinal cord injury can result in permanent loss of sensation and strength below the point of injury. In the unfortunate event that you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of the negligence of an individual or corporation, you do not have to deal with it by yourself.
What Accidents Can Cause a Spinal Cord Injury?
There are few injuries as life-changing as spinal cord injuries. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis reports 17,810 new spinal cord injuries annually in the U.S. This is a staggering number. Spinal cord injuries can cause paralysis and many other complications that are very costly for the victims to deal with.
There are many causes of spinal cord injuries, including:
Car Accidents
Car accidents cause many spinal cord injuries (SCI). Although many of us take driving for granted, driving is risky. SCIs don’t only happen in tragic accidents – even seemingly minor collisions like whiplash or airbag deployment can cause spinal cord damage.
In Florida, there is a no-fault system, meaning that the driver’s insurance pays for their medical bills and other economic losses. Suppose a driver causes another person’s injury due to negligence (e.g., drunk or careless drivers). In that case, they may be held liable in a lawsuit for additional damages, such as pain and suffering.
Slip and Falls
Almost anyone can suffer a spinal cord injury from a slip and fall, but unfortunately, the elderly are most vulnerable. Additionally, a fall that occurs with an elderly person can have devastating effects on that individual’s health and well-being. A nursing home or other facility might be legally liable for medical expenses and other damages if a fall caused an SCI.
Medical Malpractice
Sometimes, a person visits a health provider or undergoes surgery or a procedure for an injury or illness, only to sustain worse damage through negligence or mistake which is considered medical malpractice.
Any number of errors a doctor makes can cause SCIs, including:
- Failure to follow proper safety measures, resulting in a fall
- Failure to diagnose or treat a spinal infection
- A stroke or tumor that goes undiagnosed or untreated
- Errors during neurosurgery or orthopedic surgery
- A mistake in administering a spinal anesthetic or block
- Delaying surgery
- Contributing to birth injuries
Assault and Violence
When a person injures you intentionally or due to gross negligence, you may be eligible for compensation if you file a lawsuit. Injury caused by fights, sexual assaults, gun or weapon violence, etc., falls into this category.
In addition to motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, boating accidents, sports injuries, defective products, and premises liability, there are many other ways in which an SCI can occur. Our spinal injury lawyers can guide you through the complicated legal process so you receive compensation for your losses regardless of the cause.
The effects of spinal cord injuries can be dramatic. Our spinal injury attorneys have experience handling the different types of lawsuits that can arise from a spinal cord injury, notably those involving negligence or defective products. Regardless of how minor the impact is, an acute spinal cord injury can result from an accident.
Compensation for Spinal Cord Injuries
Our spinal injury attorneys will seek the following types of compensation:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Health care
- Rehabilitation
- Wheelchairs and similar devices
- Home modifications
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
A spinal cord injury can occur in an accident, no matter how minor. There are many possible ways your spinal cord can be injured, including:
Complete Spinal Cord Injury
If the spinal cord is completely damaged, it can no longer communicate with the brain. A person who suffers such an injury will lose all motor and nerve functions and sensation and movement below the injury. They will suffer total paralyzation. This is called paraplegia.
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
When some degree of movement and sensation remains after a spinal cord injury, some signals can still travel from the spinal cord to the brain. The severity of the spinal cord injury entirely determines the amount of movement.
The five categories of spinal cord injuries are:
- Anterior cord syndrome
- Central cord syndrome
- Posterior cord syndrome
- Brown-Sequard syndrome
- Cauda equina syndrome
Spinal Bruising/Nerve Damage
Usually, there is a quick recovery process after a temporary spinal cord injury.
Spinal Cord Injury Symptoms
- Legs, arms, or chest are numb.
- Inability to move
- Exaggerated reflexes and spasms
- Inability to control bladder and bowel movements
- Weakness or loss of function of muscles
- Breathing difficulties that may require a ventilator
- Sexual dysfunction
- Burning pain caused by nerve damage.
Treatment for a Spinal Cord Injury
Checking the victim’s breathing is the first step in treating spinal cord injuries. Using a ventilator or breathing tube may be necessary if a spinal cord injury occurs in the upper neck.
The next step is to immobilize the victim by using a cervical collar backboard to prevent any movement to the spine, which may lead to further damage. Medical care will then be limited to forming a correct diagnosis by emergency medical technicians.
A doctor may prescribe a very high dose of steroids to reduce swelling and inflammation, which can mitigate some spinal cord damage.
Doctors place spinal cord injury victims in traction or a cervical halo to prevent further spinal injuries. Surgery is the next step in spinal cord injury treatment.
Spinal cord surgery aims to relieve pressure on the spinal cord by removing fractured vertebral segments that may be compressing it. Doctors use rods, plates, and screws to stabilize the spine during spinal cord surgery.
They hold all vertebral segments together until the bones have healed. Healthcare workers administer physical and occupational therapy to restore function as much as possible after surgery.
All of this can cost thousands—if not millions—of dollars that you shouldn’t have to pay if someone else caused your injury. That doesn’t even come close to including the pain and suffering your spinal cord injury caused you.
Call Boohoff Law to find out how to recover compensation for all these damages.
Who Can I Hold Liable for an SCI?
These parties can cause SCIs due to their misconduct or negligence:
- An employer or driver who is negligent in causing a traffic accident
- A surgeon who injures the spinal cord during a procedure or surgery
- A doctor who does not act immediately to treat an infection, clots, or injury to the spinal cord when they discover it on x-rays or radiology imaging
- Landlords who don’t fix hazardous conditions in buildings that can cause people to fall or become injured
- Medical staff misdiagnosed a broken back, causing paralysis when improperly moved.
North Port Spinal Injury Lawyer
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The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
