An untimely spinal cord injury can completely change somebody’s life. Their dreams, their career, and even their relationships can be negatively affected by the injury, and it’s easy to feel hopeless and lost when juggling your medical conditions with your personal life.
Though potentially catastrophic to someone’s life, it’s important to understand where to find help and support when you need it. A spinal cord injury shouldn’t be something that you have to face alone. With professional advice and assistance from the Everett personal injury lawyers at Wells Trumbull, you could get the help and compensation that you deserve.
At Wells Trumbull, our primary goal is to assist people who have experienced serious permanent injuries. We understand the difficulties that people can face during these troubling and challenging situations. This is why we position ourselves as legal experts who will stand up for you in court. Our team refuses to back down until we reach a conclusion that we are happy with, and we dedicate ourselves entirely to ensure that you receive the respect and compensation you deserve.
If you’d like to learn more about our services, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. Contact us at (360)435-1663 for a free consultation.
What is a Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury refers to damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal. The result of a spinal cord injury is usually permanent changes in strength, feeling, and other functions around the injury area.
As you can expect, a spinal cord injury has the potential to completely change someone’s life. Your ability to perform daily tasks may change, you might feel emotionally impacted, and you can even find yourself shying away from social interactions due to your injury or the circumstances around it.
Symptoms of a Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries can cause a number of symptoms, including but not limited to:
- Loss of movement around the affected area
- Loss of sensation around the affected area
- Altered sensation
- Loss of bladder control
- Spasms
- Reflex problems
- Changes in sexual sensitivity or function
- Intense stinging caused by nerve damage
- Breathing difficulties
In some extreme cases of a spinal cord injury, you may experience the following:
- Extreme pain in the back, head, or neck
- Paralysis in any part of your body
- Numbing across the body and joints
- Weakness in the body
- Difficulty walking or balancing
- Twisted neck or back
If you experience any of these symptoms following physical trauma, then it’s important to immediately contact a doctor. Once you have been diagnosed, we suggest speaking with an Everett spinal cord injury lawyer. This can help you seek compensation for your injury, but it’ll also give you professional advice on what steps to take next. We know that coping with a spinal cord injury can be extremely difficult, which is why our services are tailored for you and your needs. We’ll help you feel more comfortable and confident as you deal with the uncertainty and future challenges that lie ahead.
Simply get in touch with us today to learn more about our professional spinal cord injury attorneys in Everett and how they can help you both cope with your condition and seek compensation.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
After a spinal cord injury, you may be able to still control parts of your body. This is often categorized by two different types of spinal cord injury; complete and incomplete spinal injuries.
- Complete spinal cord injuries typically mean that you have lost all feeling and movement ability below the site of the spinal cord injury.
- Incomplete spinal cord injuries mean that you still have some sensory function below the affected area. In this case, there are varying degrees of incomplete spinal cord injury.
In addition, there are other names for a spinal cord injury:
- Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, means that your arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs have been affected by your spinal cord injury.
- Paraplegia which affects the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.
When you are diagnosed with a spinal cord injury, your doctor will perform a series of tests to help determine the neurological level and completeness of your injury.
What Causes a Spinal Cord Injury?
There are a number of different causes for spinal cord injury. In many cases, a spinal cord injury occurs when there is damage to the vertebrae, ligaments, or discs of the spinal column. In some cases, it can also occur when there is damage to the spinal column itself. Traumatic physical injury can also cause a spinal cord injury, especially if the injury area is located around the spine. This can include a gunshot, a fall, or even a knife wound.
Additional damage can also occur as a result of the initial injury. For instance, you may experience bleeding, swelling, or inflammation. This can exacerbate the situation and cause further damage to your spinal cord. It can take weeks for this damage to surface, but it can also occur in days if the damage is particularly severe or if there has been a lack of care when examining your situation. One can also face a spinal cord injury that isn’t caused by trauma. This usually occurs as a result of arthritis, inflammation, infection, or cancer.
Some of the most common examples of accidents that cause spinal cord injuries include:
Physical Activity
Physical activities such as sports can cause spinal cord injuries due to physical trauma. In fact, around 10% of spinal cord injuries are said to be caused as a result of recreational activity. By practicing property safety and wearing protective equipment, it’s possible to drastically reduce the chances of facing physical trauma.
Falling
If you fall and land in a position that damages your spinal cord or the area around it, then it could lead to a spinal cord injury. This is most common in older adults and seniors.
Violence
Violent acts can often lead to physical trauma. It’s estimated that around 12% of spinal cord injuries are the result of a violent encounter. This can include gunshot wounds, knife wounds, and other physical trauma that is caused by someone else or an object wielded by another.
Motor Accidents
Everett car accidents and motorcycle accidents are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries. This is due to the physical trauma that is inflicted on someone as a result of crashing their vehicle or colliding into another object as a result of their motor accident. Make sure to seek legal help from a motorcycle accident attorney in Everett if you were involved in a motor accident.
Diseases
While not as common, there are a number of diseases that can cause a nontraumatic spinal cord injury. This can include arthritis, inflammation, infection, or cancer.
Many of these risk factors aren’t the fault of the afflicted individual. For example, there are cases where construction workers have fallen and injured themselves not because of their own mistake, but due to the neglect of their co-workers or the lack of safety measures implemented by their employer. Another situation would be a motor vehicle accident that wasn’t your fault. For example, an irresponsible driver that is on their smartphone while driving fails to react when they see your vehicle.
In these situations, contacting a spinal cord injury lawyer in Everett is often the best course of action. Our experts at Wells Trumbull will not only help you seek compensation to cover all of the current and future costs of your spinal cord injury, but we’ll also help you seek justice when it comes to accidents and situations that weren’t your fault. Not only does this ensure that you get the financial support you need, but it also means you’ll have peace of mind knowing that justice has been served. Simply get in touch with a spinal cord injury attorney in Everett, WA if you’ve been affected by an accident that wasn’t your fault.
Financial Complications Following a Spinal Cord Injury
A traumatic spinal cord injury can create many financial complications. Not only will it demand your personal savings, but it can also become a burden on your partner and family members. Here are a couple of examples of financial complications that you can face as a direct result of a spinal cord injury:
Medical Expenses
Medical expenses are usually the most immediate cost that you are concerned about. Hospital bills can create a large dent in your personal savings even if your insurance plan covers it. However, contacting your insurance company and arranging your insurance payments can be troublesome. That’s where an Everett spinal cord injury attorney can help. We can help speak on your behalf to your insurance company and make sure that you’re getting the maximum payout that you’re entitled to.
Rehabilitation
Recovering your lifestyle can seem almost impossible without assistance from your healthcare provider. However, many of these services can cost a lot of money. Rehabilitative treatments and equipment are often not covered by insurance plans, hence why this can be an unexpected financial complication for many.
Emotional and Physical Pain
While typically not associated with financial complications, emotional and physical pain can be something that you receive compensation for under certain circumstances. We highly suggest you speak to our train advisors and legal experts to help you determine if you could be eligible to claim compensation for the emotional and physical damages that you’ve experienced post-injury.
Loss of Income
Whether you’re an employee at a company or a self-employed business owner, facing a spinal cord injury usually means that you’ll be unable to work for an extended period of time. In this case, you may also want to claim for loss of income. This can include lost wages due to being unable to work or loss of income due to having to close your company down for a long period of time.
Assistive Technologies
To help you settle into a post-injury lifestyle, it’s important to make use of assistive technologies. This can include home modifications, wheelchairs, and computer devices to help you live an independent and productive lifestyle.
Coping with a spinal cord injury can create a heavy burden on your finances. From medical expenses to loss of income and investing in assistive technologies, there are a large number of expenses that you need to account for. For many people, these expenses are just too much to cope with even if they live a frugal lifestyle and dig into their savings.
This is why we believe it’s important to contact a spinal cord injury attorney in Everett if you’re facing financial difficulties as a result of your condition. With our professional advice and direction, we’re confident that we can help mitigate many of the financial concerns that you might face following your injury. We’ll help you seek the maximum compensation that you’d be entitled to. This will help offset all of the costs related to your injury and will ensuring that you can live a productive and independent life following your injury.
Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about our spinal cord injury lawyers in Everett, WA.
Technologies Can Help Those With Spinal Cord Injuries
New medical devices are being invented all the time. A large portion of those inventions is dedicated to those who have been permanently affected by their injuries. For those who are facing spinal cord injuries, there are a number of options such as:
Mechanical Assistants
This can include computers and robotics that can help perform both basic and advanced functions.
Computer Assistants
This refers to computer adaptations such as voice recognition software to operate computers. These are generally used when someone’s limited dexterity or hand function limits their ability to use computer devices.
Modern Wheelchairs
Light and sturdy wheelchairs are a great option for those with spinal cord injuries. It helps give them more mobility and many modern options can climb stairs and traverse elevated areas without the need for additional help.
Smart Home Devices
Smart home devices have become incredibly popular among those who have experienced spinal cord injuries. This is because they allow you to control various functions in the home by using your voice or a simple control panel. This includes turning devices and lights on and off with convenient remotes or having automated systems to regulate the temperature in your home.
These technologies can be expensive to purchase, but they are typically lifelong investments that can drastically improve your lifestyle if you are facing a spinal cord injury.
When claiming compensation for your spinal cord injury, it’s possible to receive funds that will help pay for current and future costs. In most cases, this includes the above-mentioned assistants and devices that could help you acclimate to life post-injury. This can greatly improve your lifestyle and will certainly help improve your emotional situation.
Hire a Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Everett, WA today
We understand that dealing with a spinal cord injury can be daunting on your own. Even with support from friends and family members, it’s hard to seek justice for your injury and compensation for the pain you have experienced. Thankfully, there is legal recourse to help you out of this difficult financial and emotional situation.
At Wells Trumbull, we can help you through the most difficult and complicated injury cases. Our compassionate Everett spinal cord injury attorneys will help offer you the advice that you need in order to live the life that you deserve. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today and we can guide you through the process of claiming compensation and seeking justice for your injury.