Spinal Cord Injuries, or SCIs, are one of the most common, and most debilitating personal injuries that result from auto accidents. These injuries not only can severely limit an individual’s range of motion, but can also cause paralysis. While spinal cord injuries can be the result of many different things, car accidents are often the cause. More specifically, 44% of SCIs are the result of some sort of auto accident. Slip and fall accidents at 22% and sport-related accidents at 8% are the next most common.
There are approximately 450,000 people in the United States with some form of a Spinal Cord Injury. Each year, there are about 10,000 new SCIs with the majority of them being caused by auto accidents.
Spinal Cord Injuries can be separated into two categories: complete and incomplete. A complete injury means that there is no sensation, no voluntary movement and, sadly, no function below the level of the injury. An individual with an incomplete SCI will have different symptoms which might include the ability to move one limb more than another, they may feel parts of the body that can’t be moved or they may have more functioning on one side of their body than the other. Clearly both categories are life changing and extremely unfortunate, especially when caused by someone else’s carelessness or negligence in an auto accident.
The truth of the matter is that Spinal Cord Injuries are very common and often are not the fault of the injury victim. When dealing with a Spinal Cord Injury, an injury victim must cope with the serious physical effects and also other things that will no doubt change an individual’s everyday life. Most likely the injury victim will require lengthy and expensive hospitalization and care. Rehabilitation will be needed to some extent to help the recovery process. Spinal Cord Injuries often cause symptoms that will temporarily, or permanently affect a person’s ability to earn an income. In addition, there is the pain and emotional damage that they and their family and friends will face for the rest of their lives.
As stated before, SCIs are very serious and very difficult to recover from in more ways than one. If a Spinal Cord Injury was caused by someone else’s negligence in an accident, whether that be car, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian, an individual should receive all of the help and reimbursement that they deserve. With the assistance of a professional and experienced personal injury attorney, Spinal Cord Injury victims can hold the responsible person accountable and receive justice for their loss.
