Boulder Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
Treating the Damage – What Options are Available?
Whether someone you love suffered an awful and disfiguring injury in a truck accident or bicycle collision, you want serious help to obtain fair compensation for the medical bills, lost work time, pain and suffering and other damages sustained.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the majority of spinal cord problems start with traumatic and acute injuries. Sometimes, broken or dislocated vertebrae will send bone fragments or ligaments into the tissue of the spinal cord itself. Fortunately, most of these types of injuries do not lead to the severing of the spinal cord. However, even incomplete damage to the spinal cord can kill the axons that transmit nerve signals, thus inhibiting the brain’s ability to communicate signals to the rest of the body.
Spinal cord injuries can lead to paralysis as well as disruption to organ function. Research shows that approximately 33% of serious neck related spinal injuries also inhibit breathing and require patients to go on a ventilator or other support for respiration. Sometimes, the true extent and nature of the harm done does not become clear for weeks or event months after the accident.
Treating the Damage – What Options are Available?
Studies conducted by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have yielded some positive results for spinal cord injury victims. Researchers hope that electrical simulation therapy, skill building rehabilitation programs and other novel therapies can help victims in some circumstances eliminate symptoms and regain function. However, our collective understanding of the neurology of the spinal cord is in its infancy, and neural tissues do not regenerate with the same ease that bone and muscle tissue regenerate.
Whether a medical procedure backfired, causing paralysis and damage to the spinal cord of someone you love, or a serious truck or other accident caused a painful and disabling condition, you may be able to take action against one or multiple parties to obtain compensation. First, get proper medical treatment from qualified professionals: the first hours and days after a serious spinal cord injury can be crucial in terms of long term prognosis. You will also need to collect information about the incident that led to the injury, including pictures, witness statements and other types of documentation. Some treatment options given right after an injury can help maintain or assist nerve function.
Finally, if you haven’t yet obtained legal representation, consider contacting a respected Boulder spinal cord injury attorney today with our team to schedule a free and confidential consultation.