Denver Back and Spinal Cord Injury

A Denver back and spinal cord injury attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve following a major car accident or other injury. If the medical bills resulting from a recent car accident are difficult to manage, it’s time to seek legal assistance. Compensation for a spine or back injury is often substantial to help you manage these bills and any lost wages resulting from the injury.

Back and spinal cord injuries can have a devastating impact on victims. Depending on the type and severity of the injuries, victims can suffer numbness in their extremities, loss of grip strength, and decreased function of internal bodily systems. In the most severe cases, victims can suffer partial or complete paralysis.

When these injuries happen because of another person’s negligence, victims have the right to seek compensation for any losses they suffer. In these cases, the insurance companies that cover the negligent drivers will do anything they can to attribute the injuries to something other than your accident or place the blame for the accident on you.  Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at The Paul Wilkinson Law Firm today to discuss the value of your case and your right to compensation.

Injury law can be complex because there are many different causes of these types of back and spinal injuries. However, certain activities and risks are commonly associated with these injuries. These are some of the most common causes:

• Car accidents and motorcycle accidents
• Falling
• Sports or other physical activities
• Electrical accidents
• Severe twisting of the back or abdomen
• Violent attacks

Depending on the severity of your back and spinal cord injury, you may experience various symptoms. No one symptom is a guarantee of your injuries, which is why it’s important to seek out a medical professional following any injury. However, these are some of the most common symptoms experienced by victims following a back or spinal cord injury:

• Loss of movement
• Altered sensations (ability to feel cold, heat, or touch)
• Muscle spasms
• Tingling in the hands or feet
• Intense pain
• Difficulty breathing and coughing
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Difficulty with balance or walking

Your back is a complex system of bones, muscles, tendons, and other tissue, and it is susceptible to moderate or severe injuries. Many people have experienced mild back injuries, such as a strain or sprain. Some back injuries are more severe and can cause long-term, irreparable damage. Examples of critical back injuries include herniated disks and fractured vertebrae.

Spinal cord injuries are divided into two groups: complete and incomplete. An incomplete spinal cord injury means the victim can still move some or all body parts below the injury. Complete spinal cord injuries, on the other hand, are more severe and describe injuries where a victim loses movement below the injury, such as paralysis.

Over 60 percent of spinal cord injuries are incomplete and retain some movement for the victim. Common incomplete spinal cord injuries include Anterior Cord Syndrome, Central Cord Syndrome, and Brown-Sequard Syndrome. Complete spinal cord injuries are much more severe. Common complete spinal cord injuries include Tetraplegia, Paraplegia, and Triplegia.

• Researchers have estimated that, as of 2019, 17,730 new spinal cord injury (SCI) cases occur each year, and between 249,000 and 363,000 people are currently living with SCI in the United States.
• The average age at injury has moved from 29 years in the 1970s to 43 years in 2018.
• The length of hospital stays is declining, with the average stay in hospital acute care at 11 days – down from 24 in the 1970s – and rehabilitation stays at 31 days – down from 98 days in the 1970s.
• Approximately 291,000 Americans suffer from spinal cord injuries.
• 39.5% of spinal cord injured individuals are considered paraplegic, and 59.9% quadriplegic.
• Nearly half (47.6%) of all injuries occur between the ages of 16 and 30.
  The average age of a spinal cord-injured person is 43.
• The average age of a spinal cord-injured person is 43.
• 87.4% of all SCI individuals are discharged from hospitals to private homes, and 6.7% are discharged to nursing homes.

Stats from: Spinal Cord Injury Information Pages

Every case has a unique combination of medical expenses, damages, lost wages, and insurance coverage that alter the value of a settlement. However, back injury settlements can be among the highest-value accident injury settlements due to the severity and potentially life-altering nature of the injury, likewise with spinal cord injury settlements. We’ve helped our clients win settlements for motor vehicle accident cases worth up to $3.2 million.

Low-impact car accident back injury cases can still result in substantial settlements that help you manage the bills after an accident. To find out how much your case is worth, schedule a free consultation with our experienced team of lawyers.