Paraplegic Injury Questions
What is paraplegia and quadriplegia?
Paraplegia is the condition where you’ve lost the partial or complete ability to move your legs, resulting from an injury to the spinal cord below the neck. Quadriplegia is paralysis of your arms and legs resulting fro injury to the neck. Both paraplegia and quadriplegia can be temporary or permanent conditions.
What defines a spinal cord injury?
A spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when a traumatic event either damages the cells in the spinal cord or severs the nerve tracts that relay signals to the brain. The most common types of SCI include contusion (bruising of the spinal cord), compression (caused by pressure on the spinal cord), and lacerations (severing or tearing of some nerve fibers, such as damage caused by a gun shot wound). Severe SCI often causes paraplegic injury and loss of feeling and reflex function below the point of injury.
Is there a cure for spinal cord injuries?
Damage to the spinal cord due to an injury can be permanent and presently, there is no cure. However new research proves that spinal cord repair and regeneration is possible. Scientists and doctors are optimistic that new breakthroughs will soon lead to a cure.
What are my treatment options?
You may undergo immediate treatment for acute SCI to relieve cord compression, prompt drug therapy with corticosteroids to minimize cell damage (this must happen within eight hours of the injury), and surgery to stabilize the of spine’s vertebrae and prevent further injury.
How is sexuality affected by spinal cord injury?
Because sexual function is controlled by the central nervous system, an injury to that system will affect sexual function. For each person, those affects will vary depending on the point of injury and degree of severity.
What do I need to know to protect my right?
Your individual rights and specific obligations depend on the circumstances and severity of your injury. You should consult with an experienced paraplegic lawyer who specializes in paraplegic injury law to help you understand your rights and tell you what you must do to protect them.
THE PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS