According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, there are approximately 288,000 people living in the United States with spinal cord injuries and there are approximately 17,700 new spinal cord injury incidents each year. Spinal injuries happen when someone sustains damage to his or her spinal cord or nerves. Spinal cord injuries are life changing for the injured person and his or her loved ones. These injuries are not only physically impairing, they can also have distressing emotional and social effects.
Spinal injury symptoms and complications are not the same for everyone. Some after effects of spinal cord injuries may include the following:
Many things can cause spinal injuries, but the most common cause of spinal injuries is trauma. Car accidents, falls, acts of violence (such as gunshot wounds), sports and recreation injuries, and shallow water diving accidents are all trauma related accidents that sometimes cause spinal cord injuries. Non-trauma related spinal cord injuries may include infection, inflammation, compression, aneurysm, and prolonged blood pressure drop.
Often spinal cord injuries are caused by someone else’s negligent or intentional conduct. People at fault for spinal cord injuries may include the following:
Someone who caused the injury such as a negligent driver who caused an accident, a violent perpetrator who shot or stabbed you, or a medical professional who failed to diagnose and treat a spinal infection.
Someone who made the injury worse such as an emergency medical professional who failed to recognize your potential for a spinal injury and did not properly protect your spine when treating you.
Someone who designed, manufactured, or sold a defective product that caused your spinal cord injury.
Recovery in spinal cord injury cases means physical, emotional, and financial recovery to help compensate you and your loved ones for your injuries and damages. Physical and emotional recovery can be helped when you are able to receive a financial recovery that compensates you for past, present, and future injuries and damages resulting from your spinal cord injury. Compensation may include pain and suffering, lost wages, lost future earning capacity, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and medical bills (past, ongoing, and future).
If you have sustained a spinal cord injury that was caused or exacerbated by someone else’s negligent or intentional conduct, contact spinal injury attorney in Philadelphia, Daniel S. Doyle, to schedule a consultation. Our Philadelphia spinal injury lawyer at the Dan Doyle Law Group understands the stress and devastation involved in spinal cord injury cases and how much these injuries can affect you and your family in your everyday lives. We will work to see that you and your family receive the compensation that you deserve in order to help you recover for your injuries and damages and offer you some peace of mind regarding your future financial security and physical recovery.