Discover The Long Term Effects Of Suffering From Spinal Cord Injuries
The impact on the lives of people suffering from serious personal injuries such as SCI has life long traumatic effects. It often costs lives or entails expensive life-long treatments. Refer: Oklahoma City spinal cord injury
Paralysis of limbs immediately below the area of a spinal injury is one of the most common symptoms of spinal cord injuries. The body can no longer make intricate responses to sensations as well as an awareness of the outer and inner environments.
There are major differences between a spinal cord injury and other types of bodily injuries. A broken bone will eventually restore. A new skin may regenerate in case of a burn injury. In a spinal cord injury, the effects are devastating and permanent.
What Are The Most Common Causes Of SCI
Car crashes, sporting injuries and awkward falls account for a lot of spinal cord injuries.
You may be surprized to learn that SCI can also occur as a result of imflamation from tumors impacting on the spinal cord and not just from physical injuries. Some patients have spinal stenosis or a smaller than normal spinal canal and are at a higher risk of injury to the spinal cord.
The Horrific Consequences of Spinal Cord Injuries
When cells inside the spinal cord are damaged by any traumatic event, signals may no longer be able to be transmitted along the spine, resulting in SCI. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association Resource Center, there are between 260,000 to 410,000 Americans living with a spinal cord injury. About 15,000 additional people are injured each year.
It has been observed that there is a rising trend of SCI sufferers who die from non SCI related medical conditions such as various forms of cancer and heart diseases. Mortality rates are considerably higher during the first year after injury than during subsequent years. Two of the many consequences of this kind of injury are paraplegia and quadriplegia.
Paraplegia refers to damage to the motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. On the other hand, quadriplegia is the symptom of having to suffer paralysis of all four limbs. If there is near total loss of feeling and movement below the location of the spinal injury, it is termed complete. However, it does not necessarily mean the cord has been severed. On the other hand, incomplete injuries result in partial loss.
One cannot say for certain if cases of quadriplegia and paraplegia will result in complete or incomplete injuries. Generally, slightly more than 50% of all injuries result in quadriplegia. However, the proportion of quadriplegics rise markedly after age 45, consisting 66% of all injuries after age 60 and 87% of all injuries after age 75.
Compensation Awards For Spinal Cord Injuries
As SCI can result in extensively different levels of paralysis, the correct evaluation and presentation of your case depends largely on engaging the services of experts such as a spinal cord injury lawyer and a doctor. Employing an experienced spinal cord injury attorney Oklahoma City can make a significant impact in assisting you to cope with this traumatic injury. It can help you establish your claim, determine if the offending party can be sued and if so, the extent and amount of compensation.
If you are properly represented by a lawyer, you may be entitled to the maximum benefits allowed by law. Some of the factors influencing awards can include compensation for loss of wages, past and present medical treatment and rehabilitation, damages and payment for the injury itself. Compensation claims for spinal cord injuries are best handled by a competent spinal cord injury attorney Oklahoma City.