Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in NYC
According to the Mayo clinic, auto accidents are the most common causes of spinal cord injuries in the United States followed by falls, acts of violence, sports, and recreational activities. These spinal cord injuries are usually immediate and obvious. However, ask any spinal cord injury attorney and they will be quick to point out that any back pain or back injury (from the neck on down) should never be ignored or under-estimated because the spinal cord can be involved. Approximately 11,000 people suffer from spinal cord injuries each year. Many of these serious, life-altering injuries are caused by negligence. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact Mark L. Bodner, P.C. for a free consultation.
What is the spinal cord?
The spinal cord is a tight collection of nerves linking the brain’s communications with the rest of the body. When these nerves are injured, the brain-to-body communication is affected. If the spinal cord injury is serious enough, communication stops. Vertebrae protecting the spinal cord can be broken, fractured, compressed, or severed.
What is a spinal cord injury?
A spinal cord injury can result in physical impairment and serious disabilities. If all communication is stopped between the brain and the body, the victim can be paralyzed in either the legs, arms, or both. Quadriplegics and paraplegics are examples of victims of spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injuries are extremely painful. They may also interfere with the use of the lungs, bladder, and/or bowels. Spinal cord injury victims can have pressure sores (bedsores), jerking muscle contractions, and loss of sexual activity.
Types of spinal cord injury
Spinal cord injuries range in disability, depending upon the location of the spinal cord injury. The spinal cord has three sections: cervical, thoracic, and the upper-most part of the lumbar spine thereafter, becoming nerve roots.
- The cervical section controls everything below the neck
- The thoracic section controls the chest, abdominal muscles, and the legs
- The lumbar section controls the lower extremities
The most serious spinal cord injuries occur when the higher sections of the spinal cord are damaged and cause body paralysis, incontinence, and loss of sensation.
Categories of spinal cord injury
There are two categories of spinal cord injury: complete and incomplete.
- A complete spinal cord injury usually causes complete paralysis (a total permanent loss of sensation and movement) below the site of the injury and loss of bowel and bladder control.
- An incomplete spinal cord injury is usually a permanent injury to the spinal cord that does not cause paralysis (a total permanent loss of sensation or movement). Incomplete spinal cord injuries can cause individual nerve cell damage, spinal contusions, temporary loss of sensation and movement, weakness and pain, and some bowel and bladder involvement.
What Happens After a Spinal Cord Injury?
Any spinal cord injury can have serious consequences. Most have a variety of severe complications. Depending on where the spinal cord injury occurred and whether it was an incomplete or complete spinal injury, victims can experience one or more of the following:
- Paralysis
- Urinary tract problems (incontinence)
- Bowel problems (loss of bowel function)
- Pressure sores (bed sores)
- Deep vein thrombosis (sometimes known as DVT or “economy class syndrome”)
- Pulmonary embolism (blockage of the pulmonary artery)
- Lung and breathing problems
- Autonomic dysreflexia (constriction of blood vessels)
- Muscle spasms
- Sexual dysfunction
- Weight control problems (obesity)
- Pain (this can be severe)
- New injuries caused by the lack of sensation (such as burns)
- Depression and other psychological issues.
What If You or a Loved One Suffer a Spinal Cord Injury?
Spinal cord injuries change the lives of both their victims and the victim’s family. These are usually severe, life-threatening injuries leaving spinal cord injury victims permanently disabled in some way. Quadriplegics and paraplegics are the victims of spinal cord injury.
Every spinal cord injury victim and their loved ones will have to adapt to a new and different way of life. Many people suffering from a spinal cord injury require lengthy rehabilitation, lifelong medical care to prevent further damage, as well as intense psychological help and permanent, adapted home accommodations.
Seeking Legal Justice for Spinal Cord Injuries
When faced with the reality that someone’s negligence was the cause of a spinal cord injury, it is important to discuss your case with an attorney. A common thread that links personal injury cases in New York is the fact that the victim will need to make a case for the lawsuit. A legal principle called the burden of proof requires that the plaintiff in the case provide evidence of negligence. For car accidents, it could be as simple as referencing a police report. Other times, the matter is a bit more complicated and a thorough investigation and the preservation of evidence is necessary.
Spinal cord injury attorneys understand how to pursue lawsuits and claims in order to obtain justice for those who have been injured due to the wrongful acts of another. They can also point families to various agencies (state and federal) which can assist spinal cord injury victims and their families with the exorbitant expenses involved in this type of long-term care.
Cases involving spinal cord injuries require substantial monetary compensation. There are significant medical expenses to consider with a spinal cord injury, as well as evaluation of pain and suffering, lost wages, and future earnings, and the impact the spinal cord injury has upon relationships.
Contact an experienced spinal cord injury attorney
Mark L. Bodner, P.C. is an experienced New York spinal cord injury law firm with a history of successfully representing victims and their families forced to deal with the impact of spinal cord injuries. In spinal cord injury cases, early action is essential for the proper and thorough pursuit of your claims. Recognizing this, our firm offers victims and their families the opportunity of a free, initial consultation. For a consultation, contact Mark L. Bodner, P.C.