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Through no fault of your own, your life has been impacted negatively by a debilitating spinal cord injury. Life is not as you once knew it. You might be unable to work, and you may require the help of others to assist you in your daily life activities. You may be feeling overwhelmed, devastated, and wondering how to move forward in life. You need help from a Kansas City spinal cord injury lawyer at Joseph, Hollander & Craft.

What is a Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury?

A traumatic spinal cord injury may come about from a significant impact that breaks, dislocates, pushes, or crushes vertebrae. It may also be the consequence of a penetration wound, such as from a gunshot or knife. Either way, it damages the nerve tissues in the back. This damage can result in the loss of movement and physical sensation and a limited range of motion. Since the spinal cord delivers messages between the brain and the rest of the body, a spinal cord injury can severely interfere with the brain’s ability to communicate with and control the rest of the body. The closer the spinal injury is to the head, the more likely it can affect more areas of the body.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

The most common injuries to the spine include contusions, compression, and fractures. Common side effects of these injuries can include emotional trauma and depression, respiratory problems, and, in severe cases, paralysis. Injuries involving paralysis can leave a person living life as a paraplegic (paralyzed from the waist down) or a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the neck down). When a person suffers an incomplete spinal cord injury, they maintain some level of feeling and motor control in the area impacted by the injury. A complete spinal cord injury results in a loss of all sensation and movement control in the part of the body affected by the injury.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of back injuries, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC). However, spinal cord injuries can also be the result of a slip-and-fall due to a dangerous property condition, swimming pool injuries, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, boating accidents, and other personal injury accidents.

If you have experienced any of these circumstances, JHC’s Kansas City spinal cord injury attorneys urge you to be mindful of spinal cord injury symptoms.

Spinal Cord Injury Symptoms

After experiencing an injury to your spinal cord, you might feel loss of consciousness, shock or disorientation, extreme pain, pressure, or a burning sensation in your neck, head, or back. Other symptoms involve weakness, muscle twitching, and lack of muscle control. This can affect coordination, the ability to control your muscle and extremities, loss of bladder and bowel control, and even paralysis. Spinal cord injuries can also result in a loss of sensation, including temperature and touch, or a tingling sensation in your arms, legs, hands, and feet. In some instances, symptoms of a spinal injury may not appear for a few days or weeks.

Costs Associated with Spinal Cord Injuries

Recovery from spinal cord injuries can take an extended period of time and is usually very costly. Treatment for a spinal cord injury generally includes:

• Immediate care, including surgery, hospitalization, and acute care
• Rehabilitation and physical therapy to regain function
• Injections
• Assistive devices, depending on the severity and location of the injury
• Living needs, including an assisted living facility or ongoing home health care
• Medication

As a result, a personal injury claim may need to address future/ongoing health care, rehabilitation, assistive devices, modifications to a victim’s home and vehicle, and life-long personal care and assistance.

Your personal injury claim should also address how the injury has affected your way of life. For example, spinal cord injuries can also affect a victim’s ability to work and earn wages in the future. A victim of a spinal cord injury may require education and training for a different line of work. Many people who experience a severe spinal cord injury are unable to return to work and are never able to earn a living again.

JHC’s skilled Kansas City personal injury attorneys will work with you to assess whether you have a claim and help you obtain financial compensation to address all the costs of your injury—financial, physical, and emotional.

Count on JHC’s Kansas City Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers

When JHC’s Kansas City personal injury lawyers take your personal injury case, we keep the legal aspect from being a disruption to your life so you can focus on moving on from your injury. We know how to make your case and maximize your recovery, so you can heal without worry.

An initial consultation with us is free, and we do not charge attorneys’ fees unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us today.

Common Questions About Spinal Cord Injuries

How long does a spinal cord injury take to show signs or symptoms?

The signs and symptoms of a spinal cord injury are typically instantly apparent. However, depending on the injury’s severity, some indicators may not be noticeable until days or weeks following the injury. The period immediately following an injury to the spinal cord is most critical in terms of receiving medical treatment. Anyone suspected of having a spinal cord injury should be evaluated by a medical professional as soon as possible for the best possible medical outcome and recovery.

In addition, anyone who has experienced a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s fault should quickly contact a qualified personal injury attorney. When you hire a lawyer early in the process, you’ll have guidance to protect and preserve important evidence and information necessary to make your best case as well as a buffer between you and the insurance company.

How much can I recover for my spinal cord injury?

Injuries to the spinal cord often require extensive medical treatment and long-term, even life-long, care. As a result, significant compensation may be in order for someone whose spinal cord is injured as a result of someone else’s fault. How much will be awarded in your case depends on the extent of your damages. The starting point, however, is health care costs. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation estimates that the average yearly health care costs and living expenses for a spinal cord injury range from $379,698 to $1,163,425 in the first year and $46,119 – $202,032 in each subsequent year. Lifetime costs are estimated to range between $1,217,226 and $5,162,152. These estimates don’t account for lost income, pain and suffering, and other items that should be considered in your claim.

At JHC, our personal injury attorneys are committed to helping you recover everything you are owed. We dedicate ourselves to finding each at-fault party and preparing a thorough case so that you do not pay for someone else’s errors. Contact our attorneys today.