According to the data, around 18,000 new spinal cord injuries occur every year across the United States, and approximately 300,000 Americans are currently living with the long-term effects of these conditions. These injuries range in severity from temporary loss of function and chronic discomfort to permanent paralysis, quadriplegia, or even death, and because they are among the most severe traumas a person can suffer, they are exceptionally expensive to treat, often requiring intensive physical therapy, surgery, and a lifetime of pain management. While you or your family member is going through this challenging time, you should not have to worry about hospital bills and other medical expenses, which is why you need an experienced Oakland spine injury lawyer who has litigated catastrophic injury cases. Venardi Zurada is dedicated to helping those who have suffered severe and catastrophic personal injuries in Oakland, and our personal injury team is ready to bring their experience and tenacity to bear in protecting your rights and the well-being of your family; contact us today for a free evaluation of your claim.
Effects of Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries tend to be severe, although the ultimate severity depends on a few factors. Injury to the spine severs the flow of communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Damage to the spine is somewhat like a kink in a hose — body systems below the kink no longer get the proper flow of nerve signals, so they do not function appropriately. The higher on the spine the injury occurs, the more parts of the body are affected. Damage to the lower spine can limit or prevent the use of the legs (paraplegia). In contrast, damage to the base of the neck can cause all limbs to stop functioning (quadriplegia) and affect the functioning of organs vital to sustaining life.
Spine injuries can be “complete,” meaning permanent damage to the affected area and, accordingly, permanent damage to the affected functions. Injuries can also be incomplete, meaning partial damage to the spinal cord and a limited ability to continue using the affected organs, limbs, and bodily functions. If left untreated, spinal cord injuries can become exacerbated and get worse over time. If you have suffered an injury to the spine, do not take the matter lightly. See a doctor immediately for diagnosis and treatment. If that injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, reach out to a personal injury lawyer for help ensuring that your medical costs, pain and suffering, and other expenses are adequately compensated by the parties that harmed you.
Spine Injuries Are Expensive to Treat
Spinal cord injuries tend to be very expensive to treat. The average cost of medical care in the United States for a person with paraplegia is $550,000 for just the first year. For people with quadriplegia, first-year medical expenses range from $800,000 to over $1.1 million, depending on the location of the injury. The average lifetime expense for a person with paraplegia injured at age 25 is over $2.45 million. People with quadriplegia likely face double that amount in medical costs over a lifetime.
If you or a loved one suffered a severe spinal cord injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you must speak with a qualified and effective spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your legal rights. You and your family should not be forced into poverty because of someone else’s negligence. An Oakland spine injury attorney at Venardi Zurada can help ensure that your medical costs are covered by insurance or negligent defendants.
What Causes a Spinal Cord Injury?
Spinal cord injuries can result from either impact-based events (trauma) or non-impact, non-traumatic events. While car accidents and slip-and-falls can certainly injure a spine, spinal injuries can also occur as a result of degenerative diseases and other ailments.
Spinal cord injuries resulting from traumatic events include the following:
- Traffic accidents (car, bike, motorcycle, pedestrian, truck)
- Slip-and-falls
- Scaffolding collapse
- Workplace accidents
- Construction accidents
- Physical violence, including assaults and gunshot
- Swimming pool accidents
- Sports and other recreational activities
- Medical and surgical errors
- Cancer and other degenerative illnesses
The Oakland spinal cord injury attorneys at Venardi Zurada will help you identify the responsible parties and hold them accountable for your spinal cord injury, whatever the cause. You should not have to bear the burden of medical costs, lost wages, and other expenses yourself, on top of dealing with recovery. Our spinal cord injury legal team will help ensure that you are paid the damages you are owed for the harm you have suffered.
Neck and Back Injuries
In other cases, the spinal cord is able to survive the trauma preserving a person’s mobility but the trauma damages the discs, vertebrae, facet joints, and other structures and nerves around the spine, causing nerves to send pain signals back to the brain. Damage to the cervical (neck) spine can cause pain to radiate into the head and shoulder, damage to thoracic (mid-back) spine can cause pain to radiate into the arms, and damage to the lumbar (lower back) can cause pain to radiate into the legs. These injuries usually cause chronic pain that can be reduced but not eliminated through expensive injections and surgeries. The chronic pain often gets worse over time.
Call for Help From a Passionate and Understanding Oakland Spine Injury Lawyer
If you or someone you care about has suffered a spinal cord injury in Oakland, the dedicated and trial-ready spinal cord injury lawyers at Venardi Zurada, LLP, are ready to help. Call 833-893-6763 or contact us online today for a free consultation. Discuss your claims with us and let us see how we can help you get the compensation you deserve.
