July 24, 2023
How an Injury Lawyer Helps Spinal Injury Victims
Spinal cord injuries are just one of the few injuries considered serious or life-threatening since the spinal cord is home to the nerves that enable your body to transmit signals to your brain. A spinal cord injury can potentially result in partial or complete paralysis or motor skill debilitations.
Motor-vehicle accidents are perhaps the most common causes of spinal cord injuries. If you or a loved one suffered from a serious spinal cord injury due to a car accident, your choice of personal injury lawyer in Oshawa is extremely crucial in getting the best possible legal help.
Why Are Spinal Cord Injuries Prevalent in Car Accidents?
There are various factors that increase the risk of serious spine injury in car accidents—the absence of sufficient safety measures, poor driving quality, and poorly designed roads.
A sudden blow during a vehicular accident can cause severe trauma to the spinal cord, discs, ligaments, and vertebrae, causing sensitive tissues around the spinal column to be dislocated or crushed. Sometimes, these injuries can cause the spinal cord to bleed. Even if the spinal cord is not severed, the damage can impact your nervous system, which affects your motor function and skills.
The severity of the injury depends on different factors—the force of the accident, part of the injured spine, and your overall health. Due to the complexities associated with the injury, you need to find a personal injury lawyer after consulting a medical professional if you are qualified for a personal injury claim for a car accident.
What Are the Serious Effects of Spine Injuries?
The complications of a spinal cord injury can have devastating effects on your daily functioning. These include:
- Loss of Bladder and/or Bowel Control – People who sustained spinal cord injuries need to regain their ability to empty their bladder and bowels when they lose the urge to go.
- Loss of Muscle Tone – The inability to move and use your arms or legs can cause the muscles to shrink (atrophy) and become weak. This can result in the decline of your physical fitness
- Muscle Spasms – An injured spinal cord can cause muscle contraction, contributing to uncontrolled movements and spasticity.
- Nerve Pain – Spinal cord injuries can lead to long-term nerve pain. It can occur in body parts that still have feeling or areas with little to no sensation.
- Skin Sores and Injuries – People who lost sensation in certain body parts may be unaware of cut, sores, or burns sustained in those areas.
- Lung Problems – When coughing or breathing becomes a challenge after a spinal cord injury, your ability to clear your lungs becomes compromised, increasing your risk of pneumonia.
- Blood Clots – Some people may experience hypotension (low blood pressure), which puts them at a higher risk of blood clots and swelling.
- Cardiac Arrest and Stroke – Certain types of spinal cord injuries can lead to autonomic dysreflexia. This condition causes your blood pressure to suddenly go dangerously high, resulting in seizures, heart attacks, and strokes.
- Obesity – Inactivity can make a person more likely to gain more weight or become obese, and develop obesity-related health problems, such as type-2 diabetes and heart disease.
- Changes in Sexual Function – People with spinal cord injuries may struggle with getting an erection or becoming sexually aroused. This results in difficulty in having an orgasm.
- Infertility – Spinal cord injuries can reduce women’s infertility rate and prevent ejaculation in males.
- Mental Health Issues – Various studies claim that people with spinal cord injury are more likely to experience a decline in mental health, such as depression.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do?
Spinal cord injuries can have a drastic impact on your quality of life, as well as your family’s. Injured patients who lose the ability to take full control of their body often require other people’s help for support.
While there is no shame in needing support, it can have practical ramifications. Victims of a car accident who sustained serious spinal cord injury will require assistance accessing medical and health care, dealing with insurance issues, and advocating for their legal rights for fair compensation. In this case, an experienced personal injury lawyer is your trusted ally in your struggles.
Here are some reasons why you should consider hiring one.
- Providing Sufficient Healthcare
Truth is, seeking medical treatment after a motor vehicle accident can be expensive. Sadly, without sufficient money or insurance, you will end up with substandard medical care. Filing a personal injury lawsuit enables you to recover funds to pay for your medical and rehabilitation needs.
- Ensuring Accountability for Negligent Individuals
Whether it is a car crash or pedestrian accident, being injured due to other people’s negligence can be upsetting. When the injury sustained causes impairment, it can lead to feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and frustration.
Seeking legal help does not only help recover the funds you require to live a normal life, but it also helps you regain a sense of efficacy. When you got injured due to someone else’s negligence, they should be held accountable. Finding a personal injury lawyer whom you can trust ensures you a fair and efficient process in seeking justice.
- Ensuring the Safety of Your Loved Ones
Unless you have fully recovered, you may be unable to do your normal activities with ease—doing household chores, going to work, and playing sports. However, you can protect your and your family’s welfare by filing a personal injury lawsuit.
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- Using the compensation you earned to invest in their future.
- Paying for in-home caregivers to enable your family to resume their daily routines.
- Getting high-quality medical care to ensure full recovery
- Allowing you to pay for grocery shopping, childcare, and other services to continuously support your family.
- Recovering Lost Wages
Suffering from a serious spinal cord injury can inevitably mean lost wages. Even if you will regain your health and return to your job, you will need several months to recover. That is why you are entitled to fair compensation to cover the lost wages. In the event that your injury has caused a lasting impact on your ability to generate income, pursuing a spinal cord injury lawsuit can help you obtain compensation to address the resulting decrease or loss in your earning potential.
- Empowering You Through Advocacy
Spinal cord injury lawyers offer more than just legal representation. They are an integral part of the spinal cord injury community, equipped with extensive knowledge and connections. An experienced personal injury lawyer possesses a network of experts in the field of spinal injuries. Beyond legal matters, your lawyer can refer you to skilled doctors, facilitate connections with fellow spinal cord injury survivors, suggest support groups, and provide valuable insights into the life you can anticipate after experiencing a spinal cord injury.
- Restoring Your Sense of Efficacy and Control
A devastating injury has the ability to strip away your sense of control. When you depend on others for your care, this feeling of efficacy can diminish even more. Engaging the services of a lawyer provides you with a means to regain control. You will have the opportunity to pursue justice, gain a comprehensive understanding of your rights, and commence the process of rebuilding your life.
Spinal injuries can have severe consequences, profoundly affecting the lives of everyday individuals. If you have suffered a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, a personal injury lawyer in Oshawa is here to support you during this challenging period.
At Michelle Linka Law, our personal injury lawyer and legal team will collaborate closely with you to ensure you obtain complete and rightful compensation for your injury. Reach out to us today at (416) 477-7288 to schedule a complimentary consultation.