Articles Tagged with California spinal cord injury attorney

Spinal injuries are often severe and life-threatening and can happen without warning. In many situations, spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur in accidents caused by another party’s negligence. At the same time, spinal cord injuries can also result from intentional wrongdoing, such as assaults or other acts of violence. When spinal cord injuries occur in accidents, it is essential to know that many different types of accidents can result in severe and debilitating spinal cord injuries in Escondido. If you or someone you love got hurt in an accident and suffered an SCI, you should seek advice from an experienced Escondido personal injury lawyer about filing a claim for financial compensation. In the meantime, the following are some key things you should know about spinal cord injuries.

Spinal Cord Injuries Can Take Different Forms

Spinal injuries can affect many different parts of the spinal area, according to the Mayo Clinic, and thus these injuries can take many different forms. Whether or not a spinal cord injury results in paralysis depends on where on the spinal cord the injury occurred and the severity of that injury. As the Mayo Clinic clarifies, the “lowest part of your spinal cord that remains undamaged after an injury is referred to as the neurological level of your injury.” Further, the “severity of the injury is often called ‘the completeness,’ and it can result in a loss of all sensory feeling (a complete injury) or a partial loss that leaves a person with some motor and sensory functions (an incomplete injury).

Catastrophic injuries can happen in nearly any type of accident in Poway, and spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are no different. In most situations, spinal cord injuries are classified as catastrophic because they result in severe and often permanent disabilities. As the Mayo Clinic explains, spinal cord injuries include any type of injuries that result in “damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal,” which typically result in “permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.” Most medical professionals classify spinal cord injuries as “complete,” in which there is a total loss of feeling below the spinal cord injury, and “incomplete,” in which a person has some functions below the site of the injury. 

In many kinds of accidents that lead to spinal cord injuries, another party’s negligence is to blame for the accident. What kinds of accidents most commonly result in these injuries?

Motor Vehicle Collisions

91px-Galago_spine_Mivart-46x300According to a recent study conducted at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and reported in Digital Journal, certain hospital-acquired infections at San Diego healthcare facilities can have a long-term negative impact on spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. SCI patients who acquire pneumonia and other infections while at the hospital being treated for their catastrophic injuries see a drastic impact on their ability to recover. Specifically, the report indicates that “hospital-acquired pneumonia and wound infections negatively affect the clinic long-term outcome after acute traumatic spinal cord injury.” The study appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology.

Importance of Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infections in California

One of the most significant takeaways from the recent Ohio State study is that hospitals must do more to prevent hospital-acquired infections if they are going to see spinal cord injury patients recover to the best of their abilities. Patient protection demands that hospitals take additional steps to reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infections if they are going to take patient safety seriously. As the report explains, “rates of microbial infections in hospitals, although falling due to improved hygiene, remain problematic.”

Football field

When our children head onto a high school sports field or court, we don’t anticipate that they will sustain a catastrophic injury.  However, many high school athletes suffer from traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, particular when they play contact sports like football or hockey.  Last November, a Riverside County high school linebacker, Jordan Walker, suffered serious trauma to his spinal cord and neck that left him paralyzed.  Walker was featured in a recent article in The Press-Enterprise because it looks as though he may be able to return home to continue rehabilitation in Southern California.  Since the accident, the high school football player has been receiving treatment in Colorado.

Have you or a loved one sustained a catastrophic injury to the head or neck?  Has your child suffered from a traumatic brain injury or a sports-related spinal cord injury?  You may be able to file a claim for compensation.  While each case is different, an experienced San Diego spinal injury lawyer can examine your case for you today.

High School Football Serious Injuries

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