When someone sustains a spinal cord injury, their lives will likely change in drastic ways. Returning to their career, participating in activities and sports, and even walking may no longer be plausible. Dealing with spinal cord injuries takes a heavy physical and emotional toll on a person—and it can take years to recover.
If someone’s negligent actions led to the accident that caused your spinal cord injury, you have the right to take legal action. Protecting your rights and your future is paramount to a successful recovery. Having the Midland spinal cord injury lawyers from Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm on your side will give you the strongest chance of receiving maximum compensation for your injuries. While we cannot undo the accident, we can provide a path forward.
Defining a Spinal Cord Injury
When the spinal cord suffers trauma, the vertebrae either fracture or dislocate. The bone fragments and material from discs or ligaments can harm the spinal cord tissue. A person can lose partial or permanent movement, feeling, and function from below the injury site.
There are different types of spinal cord injury, which may be classified as incomplete or complete. If the injury is incomplete, the spinal cord can still send messages to and from the brain. Sensory and motor function may still be possible. Those with an incomplete injury have a better chance of recovering some feeling or function of limbs affected by the injury. A completed injury means the brain and spinal cord can no longer communicate from below the injury site.
The extent of the injury depends on where the spinal cord is affected. Tetraplegia is when the cervical cord is harmed, which can result in paralysis in the arms, legs, and trunk. Paraplegia is when the thoracic nerves are damaged, which affects the feeling and function in the trunk and lower parts of the body.
In addition to losing function in parts of the body, there are also other issues that may occur. Those with spinal cord injuries may experience circulatory problems, lose muscle tone, develop pressure sores, and experience burning or stinging in the injury site.
When you learn about the extent of your injuries, you may be wondering what happened that caused this result. Let’s take a look at what can cause spinal cord trauma and how negligence contributes to it.
How Do Spinal Cord Injuries Occur?
There are several kinds of accidents that can cause these severe injuries. They include:
Whether it’s a car, truck, motorcycle, or pedestrian accident, any time a motor vehicle crashes, the resulting injuries can be devastating, especially when the person who caused the accident may have not harmed you if they hadn’t acted negligently. Cell phones, adjusting dials in the vehicle, fatigued driving, and rubbernecking are all distractions that make driving unsafe. If a driver is following too closely or speeding, they’re putting others around them in danger of an accident that can cause a spinal cord injury.
Construction zones are supposed to have safety precautions, protective equipment, and informed people on the premises to protect anyone from injury. However, if those in charge don’t give workers the correct safety gear or training to operate equipment, there’s a higher chance of an accident happening. Construction workers who are on scaffolding or ladders can severely damage their spines in a fall. If someone is operating heavy machinery but they don’t have the training, or there’s a flaw with the machine that causes it to malfunction, they can lose control of the equipment and harm themselves or others.
Patients undergoing surgery may suffer an injury if the surgeon in charge makes a mistake that results in severing the spinal cord.
When someone else causes your injuries, they should be held accountable for their actions. Our spinal cord lawyers in Midland will carefully review how the other party acted negligently, how their negligence caused your accident, and how the accident resulted in your injuries.
While it may seem like a lot to add a legal claim to your responsibilities, having a lawyer fight for your rights will give you the room you need so you can adjust to your new normal without worrying about how you’re going to afford rent or mortgage, food, and other regular bills.
Living with a Spinal Cord Injury
Adjusting to living with a spinal cord injury can feel like an upheaval. You may have received the news that you’re not going to walk again and will need a wheelchair to be mobile. You will likely have to relearn how to do everyday tasks, like getting items from shelves, your hygienic routine, making the bed, and more. These adjustments will take time.
Living with a spinal cord injury can cause more than a major lifestyle change. It’s possible for some to develop psychological issues as well, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. When everything seems to be on your shoulders at once—the physical injury, the emotional toll, affording the care you need, and thinking about the future—you need someone you can rely on. Our attorneys understand that after a spinal cord injury, you will have extensive medical bills. We’ll fight for you to recover for all the damages of your injury.
The cost of medical care, including the future, rehabilitation, recovering lost wages and loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life are all taken into account when your attorney is calculating your compensation.
Our Spinal Cord Attorneys Are Here for You
While a spinal cord injury can cause many changes in your life, a dependable lawyer can help you have a more certain future. Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm will help you hold the person who caused your injuries accountable for their actions and will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
It’s important to get started on your case as quickly as possible. Call our office today for a free consultation. The sooner you start the legal process, the sooner you can reach its conclusion and move forward with your recovery.
