Brentwood Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys
The spine is a complex and delicate part of the human anatomy. When injuries occur to the spinal cord, it can result in devastating health consequences for the victim. A spine injury can permanently change the victim’s life.
Constant neck or back pain can be debilitating, preventing the victim from participating in their normal work and social activities. In more serious cases, paralysis may occur, creating serious debilitation, loss of enjoyment of life, and heavy medical costs.
Even in cases where liability is clear, you will need a proven spinal cord injury lawyer if you want fair compensation. You don’t need just a lawyer with experience, but a lawyer who understands the full magnitude of harm caused by spine injuries.
Insurance companies should not be expected to pay fair compensation unless they are forced to do so through a settlement or jury verdict. Don’t fight for compensation alone when you can have the team at Biren Law Group behind your case.
If you have suffered any type of spinal cord injury in the Los Angeles area, don’t wait to contact Biren Law Group at (310) 774-0078 to schedule your free consultation.
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Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries have many causes and occur in a great many contexts, including:
- Vehicle accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Recreational accidents (sports, outdoor activities, etc.)
What all of these circumstances have in common is sudden movement of the spine, compression of the spine, or a blunt force directly to the spine. The injury may take place near the neck (cervical spinal cord injury), in the lower back (lumbar spinal cord injury), or more rarely in the mid-back areas (thoracic spinal cord injury).
Symptoms of a Spinal Cord Injury
When a traumatic accident causes a spinal cord injury that results in paraplegia or quadriplegia, these symptoms are often very unmistakable. However, other spinal injuries may be less obvious and take more time to develop before a person realizes that they have suffered something more serious.
However, most spinal cord injuries do have this in common: the victim will suffer from significant pain and be unable to engage in normal, everyday activities like they used to.
Sometimes spine injuries cause unrelenting neck or back pain but do not cause neurological deficits. Other times, the individual may start experiencing neurological deficits like a drop foot due to a low back spine injury or hand dysfunction from a neck injury. If neurological symptoms develop, often surgical intervention is the only solution.
If you notice any of the following symptoms, make sure you get help:
- Numbness in legs, hands, arms, or elsewhere
- Loss of control of the bladder
- Pain or stiffness around the neck
- Tingling sensation in limbs
- Difficulty walking
Why do the symptoms of spinal cord injuries vary so much?
Every spinal injury is different. Every injured victim is different. A person who has had pre-existing neck or back pain, degeneration, or even arthritis is more vulnerable to suffering serious consequences following an accident.
Everyone’s spine is constructed differently; some people have abnormally narrow spinal canals, which means the same injury that might only cause transient problems for one person can cause debilitating pain and suffering for another.
Complete Vs. Incomplete Spine Injuries
An incomplete injury means that the spinal cord still has the ability to transmit messages from the brain to other parts of the body below the injury, although in a reduced capacity. Limited movement and sensation are still possible with an incomplete injury.
A complete injury is one that totally and permanently destroys sensory and motor function below the injury site. This also means a greater amount of financial compensation may be needed.
The American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) has created a standardized neurological classification of all types of spinal cord injuries that includes evaluation of muscle grading and scale of impairment.
The impairment scale is split into five categories, covering three levels of impairment:
- Complete spinal cord injury (A)
- Incomplete spinal cord injury (B-D)
- Normal function (E)
Of all spinal cord injuries, it is estimated that around 45% are complete, while the other 55% are incomplete. This can make a serious difference for an individual, especially in regard to the type of medical care needed, costs of rehabilitation, physical mobility, and dependency on others.
Categorizing an Incomplete Spine Injury
Incomplete spinal cord injuries are categorized based on sensory and motor functions, with motor functions tested against the muscle grading scale. The tests associated with these scales help to then determine the level of injury and type of treatment. The more serious an injury, the more medical care, and support, are likely required.
Incomplete spinal cord injuries may be so mild that the individual has almost no muscle weakness or signs that he or she has a spinal cord injury. In other cases, an incomplete injury can be so severe that it seems like the victim has a complete spinal cord injury. Most cases fall somewhere in between.
Types of Paralysis
Paralysis resulting from a spinal cord injury typically falls into one of two primary categories:
- Paraplegia, affecting the legs and lower extremities
- Quadriplegia, affecting the upper and lower extremities
However, spinal cord injuries and their effects are more complex than a division into upper and lower injuries.
- Cervical spinal cord injuries, also known as quadriplegia or tetraplegia. These injuries occur from C1-C8 in the spinal cord and can affect all regions below the level of the injury, including paralysis or weakness in the arms and legs. Loss of physical sensation, breathing problems, and bowel and bladder problems may all occur.
- Thoracic spinal cord injuries. These injuries are less common because they occur from T1-T12, an area that’s protected by the rib cage. Paraplegia, or weakness and paralysis of the legs can result, along with bowel and bladder problems and loss of physical sensation. Muscles in the back and part of the abdomen may also be affected.
- Lumbar spinal cord injuries. These injuries occur in the lower back, from L1-L5, and can cause paraplegia. They can also cause loss of physical sensation, sexual dysfunction, and bowel and bladder problems. Typically, the shoulders, arms, and hands are not affected.
- Sacral spinal cord injuries, in which the spine is injured from S1-S5. These injuries can cause weakness or paralysis of the hips and legs and can also cause bowel, bladder, and sexual problems.
Quadriplegics, paraplegics, hemiplegics, and paralyzed individuals will likely require around-the-clock nursing care. Unfortunately, nursing care is not the whole picture; paralyzed plaintiffs generally require other types of care. We know that this can all add up quickly, making it necessary for you to retain fair compensation for your injury.
Loss of Motor Function
Motor function, or muscle control, is regulated by two distinct areas of the body: the brain and the spinal cord. A trauma to either area can cause mild to total loss of motor functions.
In order to obtain maximum compensation for your injuries and suffering, you must be able to prove the extent of motor function you have lost due to the accident. This can be determined according to the muscle grading scale.
The scale measures active movement along a scale of E to A:
- Grade A: Total paralysis or loss of motor functions
- Grade B: Some sensation/feeling below the injury
- Grade C: Limited muscle movement below injury (50% cannot move)
- Grade D: Most (more than 50%) muscle movement below injury
- Grade E: normal, active movement with no impairment
Even more important is proving every way in which your life has been impacted as a result of the injury. Our attorneys know how to identify all of the losses our clients have suffered, working with specialists and experts to get our clients the medical care and courtroom support they need.
Sensory Loss
Most individuals who suffer catastrophic injuries do not immediately recognize the long-term effects. Unfortunately, it is often those long-lasting effects that can cause the most significant harm. From daily activities to medical dangers, sensory loss can have a devastating impact on a victim’s life.
Sensory loss can lead to an inability to sense:
- Pain
- Temperature
- Touch or vibrations
However, for many individuals suffering from paralysis in the form of paraplegia or quadriplegia, sensory loss does not equate to the inability to feel pain. In fact, most paralyzed individuals often complain of something called “phantom pain,” which is pain associated with a limb they can technically no longer feel.
Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries
If you have suffered a serious spinal cord injury, you most likely began your treatment in a hospital emergency room; possibly even in emergency surgery to fuse vertebrae and stabilize your back and/or neck. Treatment options will commonly vary tremendously depending on the type of spine injury you have sustained.
If your injury is not acute, you will likely go through a course of conservative care:
- Non-inflammatory and pain medication
- Physical therapy
- Epidural injections
- Tens machine
- Bio-Feedback
- Acupuncture
- Nerve ablation
In more severe cases, surgery is mandatory so that the nerves will not be permanently damaged. In other cases, surgery is a lifestyle decision. If a person feels that their disability will greatly interfere with their life activities, they may decide to pursue this option. When spine injuries become extremely disruptive, more extreme measures may be required.
Identifying the Negligent Party in Your Case
Nearly any incident involving severe motion of the spine can lead to a serious injury. Whether or not you secure compensation for your injury can rest heavily on the cause—more specifically the party who is deemed responsible. Did someone else’s negligence lead to your injury? Did their recklessness or carelessness aggravate an existing condition?
Often, insurance companies will argue that a spine injury is the result of a pre-existing condition, unrelated to their policyholder’s negligence or recklessness. At Biren Law Group, we have been successful in proving that negligence caused our clients’ present injuries and resulting damages, regardless of even when conditions existed before.
Our attorneys have obtained more than half a billion dollars in compensation for spine injury victims, many of whom had pre-existing back problems.
We Fight for Maximum Compensation
At Biren Law Group, we have years of experience working with medical specialists, certified life care planners, and other experts. We know which professionals are required to establish the full extent of your damages. We also know how to present your case to defendants and their insurance carriers in a manner that warrants maximum compensation.
We take the time and care necessary to document everything in detail.
This means we interview friends and family members, neighbors and co-workers, and professional expert witnesses to develop a strong case on your behalf. Our lawyers aggressively advocate for your right to fair restitution for your pain, suffering, and other damages. Our main goal is to help you rebuild a rewarding life.
Our legal team at the Biren Law Group has the experience and know-how to help you obtain full compensation for your spine injury. Contact us at (310) 774-0078.
Spine Injury FAQs
What is the difference between a broken back and a spinal cord injury?
The term broken back generally refers to a fracture or dislocation of the vertebrae in the back. While these injuries can be extremely serious, if they do not impact the spinal cord, they can often heal without significant residual problems. A spinal cord injury, on the other hand, involves an injury to the spinal cord, which can cause neurological deficits and paralysis.
Where can I get the most effective treatment and therapy?
Doctors and rehabilitation facilities that specialize in treating spine injuries are generally the best treatment resources. Biren Law Group has resources and connections that can help direct you to the appropriate specialists.
What is a typical timeline of recovery for a spinal cord injury?
As every patient’s injuries will vary, the typical timeline will also vary. Soft tissue injuries to the back or neck generally recover within weeks or months with conservative care. Some neck and back injuries that involve irritated nerves respond relatively quickly to conservative care. Other times, more serious injuries can take months or even years, but eventually respond to conservative care ranging from anti-inflammatory medications to physical therapy to epidural injections.
In other situations, there is no resolution until surgical intervention. However, some unfortunate spinal cord injury victims may never fully recover, suffering permanent symptoms, like paralysis, as a result of their injury.
How will my family and I cope with the costs of my spine injury?
Health insurance will pay at least some of the costs for medical treatment. If you are disabled enough, you may be able to qualify for state disability or Social Security Disability. However, a majority of the most significant costs will not be covered by these options. If your accident was caused by another’s negligence, then you have a strong chance of recovering compensation for your damages. Biren Law Group can review your case for free and direct you on the next steps.
Contact Biren Law Group Today
A patient’s needs are financial and practical. To maximize recovery of damages after a spinal cord injury, contact our spinal cord injury attorneys in Brentwood. Our legal team advises and represents people who have suffered serious injuries due to catastrophic accidents. It is our goal to be as accessible as we can to potential clients and existing clients.
We do this through a three-step approach:
- Bring in respected medical experts who examine the client, review their medical history, and explain to the jury how the accident was responsible for the injury.
- Ask the treating doctor to explain our client’s condition and how it affects their daily life, as well as to outline the future medical care that the patient will require.
- Present testimony from our client’s friends, acquaintances, and co-workers who can describe how the person behaved before and after the injury.
Are you ready to take the first step? Contact Biren Law Group at (310) 774-0078 to discuss your legal options with our Brentwood spinal cord injury lawyers.
