Approximately 291,000 people live with spinal cord injuries in the United States, and about 17,700 people sustain a spinal cord injury (SCI) each year. The majority of these injuries are preventable, and up to 90% of SCIs occur during traumatic accidents or events.

Sadly, many people suffer spinal cord injuries due to another’s negligence. When this occurs, personal injury attorneys like those at Woron and Dhillon, LLC step in to try and balance the scales of justice. While nothing we can do will change what happened, we can help you secure your future as you adapt to your spinal cord injury. With the right resources, an SCI does not have to stop you from living a full and complete life.

Contact us today or call us at (803) 626-1345 to learn more about what our firm can do for you.

Spinal Cord Injuries, Defined

According to the World Health Organization (WHO): “The term ‘spinal cord injury’ refers to damage to the spinal cord resulting from trauma (e.g. a car crash) or from disease or degeneration (e.g. cancer).”

Spinal cord injuries typically begin with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine, and while most injuries do not sever the spinal cord, fractured and displaced vertebrae can crush or destroy axons. Axons are the extensions of the nerve cells that help your brain communicate with the rest of your body. When this communication is interrupted, you may face partial or complete paralysis, as well as other, sometimes life-threatening complications.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

Doctors classify spinal cord injuries in a few different ways.

First, your injury will be either complete or incomplete. In complete SCIs, your spinal cord can no longer send signals to your body below the level of injury. This means you will not be able to feel or move any part of your body below the level of injury. Complete SCIs are also referred to as ASIA A injuries, per the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale. Incomplete SCIs, on the other hand, allow some function below the primary level of injury. These injuries make up B through D on the ASIA grading scale:

• ASIA B injuries allow for some sensation but reflect a complete loss of motor function
• ASIA C injuries allow for anti-gravity motion in less than half the muscle groups
• ASIA D injuries allow for anti-gravity motion in more than half the muscle groups

In this context, anti-gravity means that your muscles can lift up against the force of gravity with a full range of motion. Additionally, you may want to note that ASIA E injuries indicate a full recovery after an SCI, which does happen for some individuals.

Unfortunately, the more severe your spinal cord injury is, the less likely you are to recover.

In addition to complete/incomplete injuries and the ASIA Impairment Scale, doctors classify SCIs by the level of injury, which can sometimes indicate the extent of a patient’s paralysis, as well. Cervical spinal cord injuries affect the neck and typically result in loss of function in the arms and legs, which often results in quadriplegia or tetraplegia. Injuries in the thoracic region tend to affect the chest and legs, resulting in paraplegia. Finally, lumbar and sacral SCIs affect the lower back and the pelvis and can result in some loss of function and the hips and legs.

Sustaining an SCI of any kind is a serious matter, even if you do eventually recover.

If you have suffered an SCI due to someone else’s negligence, call our Columbia spinal cord injury lawyers today.