Spinal cord injuries

You live only once.

If you have been in an accident and have suffered a severe spinal cord injury you will be angry and confused, but lucky to be alive. If somebody else’s carelessness caused your spinal cord injury, you're likely to be even angrier, and more depressed. Somebody dared to be negligent with your life and your health, and dared to interfere with the way you usually function every day.

I am a Spinal Injury Lawyer, and I understand how you feel and what you are going through. It's not just my job to understand and know what to do when people have spinal cord injury questions; I have remained friends with many of my spinal injury clients; I am a Spinal Injury Lawyer who knows how you are feeling and I want to help you try to get compensation for your spinal cord injury.

Your central nervous system and peripheral nervous system needs to be in fantastic shape to enable you to move and function properly and as best as is possible. An injury to your spinal cord or spinal nerves removes your ability to function as fully as you are supposed to. If somebody else caused your accident, a spinal cord injury lawyer's main job is to help you receive compensation to help you cover the costs of past, current and future surgery, rehabilitation and treatment, and changes that have to be made in your everyday life.

Where is the spinal cord and how is it usually protected?

The bony column of your spine is made up of backbones, or vertebrae, with discs between each vertebra to help with flexibility. If your spine had no flexibility you would not be able to bend your back. The spinal column, with its vertebrae and discs, offers much protection for the spinal cord and its spinal nerves running down most of the inside of the length of your spine. The discs also serve as cushions between the vertebrae - so that your back and backbones do not take too much strain when doing activities such as running and jumping. However, during an accident, the vertebrae or discs can be severely damaged, and the full protection for the spinal cord is removed or altered.

The most vulnerable points offering the spinal cord the least protection are found between the vertebrae where the discs are, as this is also where some of the spinal nerve roots leave the main bundle of nerves that make up the spinal cord to go to the rest of the body, through small openings called foramina.

Because you've been injured, it may seem like a cruel twist of fate or circumstance that the very discs that enable you to bend your back and help you function normally are also what are most easily injured in a serious accident, often causing severe traumatic spinal cord injury. However, nobody should ever tamper with your health, life, and everyday mobility.

The start of the spinal cord is at the bottom of the brain and skull in the cervical or neck part of the spine. The 7 cervical vertebrae are also known as C1 to C7.

The thoracic spine is in the middle area of the back, in the region of the chest, and the 12 vertebrae of this thoracic spine area attach to the ribs. These 12 vertebrae are also called T1 to T12. The space on the inside of the spinal column tunnel is quite narrow in this thoracic area and makes the spinal cord in this area very vulnerable to injury. Injury to this area can result in respiratory problems.

The end of the spinal cord is in the lower back where the lumbar spine starts. Although there is no spinal cord below the area where the lumbar spine is, the spinal nerve roots still extend into the sacral and coccyx parts of the spine. The group of spinal roots exiting the lower lumbar region of the spinal column and spinal cord are known as cauda enquina. Cauda equina syndrome is the serious bladder and bowel problem syndrome sufferers of an injury to the spinal roots in this area have to deal with.

What is the purpose of the spinal cord and the spinal nerves?

The connection between the brain and the spinal cord should not be severed or damaged if one is to enjoy full control of one's body.

The spinal cord consists of millions of tiny nerve roots that exit the spinal cord and spinal column between some of the vertebrae, and these nerve roots transport messages between the brain and the rest of the body. Bundles of nerves exit the spine between cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral levels of the spine. Each lot of nerves takes care of the proper functioning of certain parts of the body as messages are carried along them, between the brain and the parts of the body that they relate to.

What can go wrong with me if I have injured my spinal cord?
What are the symptoms of spinal cord injury?

Acute cauda equina syndrome:
Loss of bladder and bowel control, which is very serious

You could die Breathing may be stopped or impaired

You may never walk again
A complete SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) means that you have a complete loss of feeling and ability to move anywhere beneath the area of the injured vertebra or vertebrae, or spinal nerve roots area.

You are likely to struggle to recover or ever return to your normal way of life
An incomplete SCI means that not all proper functioning or feeling has been lost beneath or close to the affected area

You could suffer financially
Spinal cord injury rehabilitation and treatment is expensive

You may suffer from depression
Even the activities and tasks you are able to do will not be easy to concentrate on or of much use to benefit you, and your recovery or improvement, if you are depressed

You may suffer or even die from infected bedsores or pneumonia
Being immobile and not being able to cough properly can present many problems

What can I do about my spinal cord injury?

You can learn about the problems you need to learn to cope with

You can talk to people who are in the same boat as you or who deal with helping people with spinal cord injuries

You can know and understand that you can get financial help for your spinal cord injury expenses by speaking to a spinal cord injury attorney

You can get compensation for the expenses that wouldn’t be there had it not been for the negligence of somebody else

You can be inspired to be strong and brave by watching videos about other spinal cord injury victims or by watching old Superman movies and learning about the courage of Christopher Reeves

You can know that you are not alone and that there are people who can help you cope with all aspects of your disability, and who want to.

I have over 30 years experience as a Spinal Injury Lawyer, and I have assisted hundreds of clients in that time, contact me via my contact form, or call me, Toll Free, on 888 446 1999, to arrange your first free consultation with me. I won’t charge you for any costs or fees if I am unable to secure money compensation for you.

The purpose of these web articles are not to make comment about an individual's personal choices, but are intended to educate you about the possible paths of outcome of various spinal injuries.

This website is provided as a public service regarding the topic of spinal injury and is not to be relied upon as medical or legal advice. The information supplied is of a general nature only, and is not intended to be relied upon. This information is not represented to be the most up to date or to cover your particular circumstances.

Before deciding to obtain care, treatment, or to determine a diagnosis, please consult with a licensed physician, and concerning your legal rights please consult with a lawyer.

Warning: Do not let any medical or legal concerns wait because of any information you have read on this website.

Do you want to learn about your legal rights?

Have you, or someone you know, had an accident resulting in a spine or spinal cord injury?

Call Mr. Leeds directly at (954) 683-0355, or contact Mr Leeds via email.
All inquiries will be promptly responded to.