What Are the Types of Spinal Cord Injuries from Car Accidents?

Car accidents are increasing day by day, which results in multiple injuries and losses. Major car accidents can be devastating that can change victims’ lives completely. One of the life-changing damages that a person gets is a spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury takes place when a person suffers from blunt force in a collision. The spinal cord is the damage to the spine that is strongly connected with the brain.  

If you suffer from spinal cord injury, you must know the types of spinal cord injuries from car accidents. Different types of injury take place in vehicular accidents, but the deadly one is spinal cord injury. Spinal ranges from mild to severe. You may need medical attention immediately to avoid fatal risks in extreme cases. Spinal cord injury can affect your life differently, so that you may experience further medical conditions.  

To know which type of injury is caused by a car accident, continue reading.  

What is Spinal Cord Injury?  

Spinal cord injury is one of the serious injuries that take place in a severe car accident. When a person experiences forth and back motion or severe jerk when the car hits a solid object, the spinal cord absorbs the whole burden. Because of the intense pressure puts stress on the lumbar, cervical, or thoracic spine of the body. The fracture or damage of the spine can cause different complications and the worst-case paralysis to the car crash victim.  

In most cases, people experience spinal cord injury because of car accidents. The spinal cord plays a great role in changing and affecting the lives of car accident victims. To provide detailed information about spinal cord injury, below are the types of spine injuries that take place in car accidents.  

Types of Spinal Cord Injury  

The spine is an important and complex component of the body. It is connected with the brain that controls the functioning of the body. If you have any of the injuries, you can claim compensation with the assistance of an accident lawyer in Houston TX. There are different types of spinal cord injuries. The common ones in car accidents are the following.  

Cervical Spine Injury  

The cervical spine makes up the vertebral column that is located in the neck. When a person drives a car, a seat belt supports your chest and restrains the waist. However, the neck and head are still unsafe from any danger. Therefore, injuries in this area are common in car accidents. 

 If your car is hit on its front or side, or if you are thrown out of the vehicle, it makes them more frequent. You will not experience any symptoms of this injury if you get hit on the car’s rear side. This type of injury can take place in minor to severe accidents that completely depend on the severity of the car crash.  

Spinal Fractures  

The spinal cord consists of 33 bones that are strongly connected with different parts of the body. A spinal fracture is a fracture of one or several of these bones. In addition, if you sustain a fracture in the broken bone, it is possible either way that you will get damage to the spinal cord. During an incident such as a car accident, where you are forced to bend forward, this may occur due to the pressure of the vertebræ in your spine.  

Spinal fracture symptoms usually involve loss of sensation and pain in affected areas. Movement can even make it more painful when you experience a fracture in your vertebrae. You may also have issues such as problem urination and bowel issues if you have damaged your vertebra.  

Herniated Disc 

In a car accident, when the victim experiences sudden pressure, it ruptures the outside of the disc, which may allow the inside materials to leak out and create a condition of herniation.  This condition, known as a herniated disc, can also occur elsewhere along the spine and frequently occurs in the lower back.  

When you have a herniated disc in your lower back, it can lead to pain, tingling and numbness, which radiates down through your legs to your buttocks. A herniated disc, which is also known as a slipped disc, may cause significant pain and discomfort that worsens depending upon one’s movement or posture.  

If you already have lower back issues before a car accident, it can make your case more complex. Thus, it is advantageous to seek medical attention at the start.  

Whiplash Injury 

Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissues, such as tendons, muscles, and ligaments that are located in the neck. Such a type of motion stresses out the neck muscles and may end up causing more problems.  

During high-speed collisions with large objects or other cars, the body of the person in the moving automobile experiences a blunt impact, especially on the neck.  

However, when the neck gets strained with too much pressure. The intense power inflicts injuries on the surrounding tissues, ligaments and muscles of the neck, which is very torturous and traumatizing. 

Compressed Nerves

The other typical damage to your spinal cord that may occur is a pinched or compressed nerve. A neighboring nerve is painfully squeezed or pressed, usually by a herniated disc. It happens mostly in the lower part, where many people suffer due to extra weight or experience deadly car accidents. 

Due to pinched nerves, a person may feel sensations in the spine, and these feelings may extend into your arms and legs through burning or tingling sensations. Similarly, having a pinched nerve on the neck can result in a shooting pain that radiates downwards through the shoulder arm. Moreover, a person may experience burning pain together with muscle spasms in the lower back. 

Paralysis  

Serious damage to the spinal cord nerves caused by any accident may result in either paralysis from the neck downwards or from the waist down. The results of the car accident can be devastating as most victims suffer permanent paralysis, leaving them incapable of taking care of their essential daily routines or walking. The most frequent signs of paralysis are insensitivity, inability to move, and in the worst cases, breathing issues.  

Symptoms of Spinal Cord injury  

The spinal cord is a collection of tissues and nerves that help in functioning of the body. When the spinal cord suffers intense damage, it may affect the functioning of the body. People may experience a partial or complete loss of sensation and movement that can turn anybody’s life upside down. If you have suffered in a deadly car crash, it is important for you to know the symptoms of spinal cord injury. Below are the common symptoms of spinal cord injury from car accidents.  

• Loss of consciousness 
• Inability to movement 
• Pain  
• Tingling sensation 
• Numbness 
• Loss of control of bowel and bladder 
• Severe pain 
• Pressure around the neck and back 
• Tiredness 
• Dizziness 
• Headache  
• Difficulty in walking or standing 
• Weakness 
• Paralysis in any part of the body 

Treatment of Spinal Injuries from Car Accidents

In order to treat spinal injuries from car accidents, there must be an accurate medical examination first. A doctor will first carry out a physical examination to test for movement, muscle capability, tenderness, and inflammation. 

Furthermore, they will then issue a medical report, which involves ordering imaging such as X-rays, CT scans or MRIs.Depending on the injury severity, a spinal injury will have multiple treatment options, including:

• Surgery: It may also lead to severe damage that requires surgery for full healing. Surgery reduces the effects of spinal cord injury resulting in car accidents. 
• Medications: The patient may need pain relievers, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatory drugs, or other medications that restrict symptoms until the injury heals. 
• Physical therapy: The injured part should regain complete movement through exercise, massage, and physical therapy. It is one of the effective ways to heal from a deadly car accident injury.  

How Can an Accident Lawyer Assist You After a Car Accident? 

Spinal injury is a complex medical condition that takes place in horrible incidents. Especially in a car accident a person experiences severe damage to the spinal cord. To recover from it, the victim needs medical attention. To treat spinal cord damage, extensive medical care is needed which is quite costly.  You need compensation from the liable party to manage the medical expenses after a car accident.  

If you’re badly suffering because of someone else’s negligence, you don’t need to pay it from your finances. It is the responsibility of the liable party that has negatively impacted your life. To seek fair compensation, you need complete guidance of the lawsuit and legal system.  

The legal system has its own complexities that it is important to know before filing a case for compensation. To provide complete guidance, a lawyer will be there with you at every legal step. A lawyer will make a strategy according to your case to claim the maximum damage from the responsible party. 

 According to the study of Mokaram Law Firm, it showed that people who file compensation with the guidance of experienced lawyers received fairer compensation than people who fight independently. 

The Bottom Line 

Spinal cord injury is one of the life-changing injuries, especially when it takes place in car accidents. If you are suffering from any of these injuries, you should file compensation to get justice against your pain and suffering.  For more information, feel free to call us at (281) 609-9224