Why Spinal Cord Injuries Often Require a Lifetime of Medical Care
A spinal cord injury can happen in an instant. They’re often due to car accidents, slips and falls, violent acts, and workplace injuries. Medical malpractice by doctors, hospitals, and chiropractors can also cause a spinal cord injury. For example, chiropractors manipulate a person’s spine. If the chiropractor injures the patient, fails to inform the patient of known risks, or fails to refer the patient to someone with more skill when necessary; the chiropractor may be liable for medical malpractice
While some spinal cord injuries heal with time, many victims live with a lifetime of chronic pain. Victims often need treatment with a range of doctors including:
- Pain management doctors
- General practice physicians
- Physical therapists
- Rehabilitation therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Psychologists
- Nutritionists
- Neurosurgeons
- Neurologists
Common spinal cord injuries
The spinal cord is the collection of nerve fibers, ligaments, tissues, vertebra, and discs that extend though the neck and down the back. The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system.
According to the Mayo Clinic, spinal cord damage symptoms include:
- Inability to move
- Inability to control a person’s bowel or bladder
- Inability to feel heat, cold
- Insensitivity to touch
- Spasms
- Loss of or changes in sexual function
- Problems with breathing and clearing one’s lungs
- Intense pain due to damaged nerve fibers
Spinal cord damage is classified as “complete” if the accident victim loses all sensory feeling and motor function below the point of the injury. The damage is “incomplete” if the patient has some sensory or motor function. Injuries are not always immediate, so it is important to see an emergency room or treating physician as soon as possible after an accident – even if you feel well.
Spinal injuries can include cord injuries, but they may also include:
- Quadriplegia, also called tetraplegia, where the victim’s arms, legs, hands, trunk, and pelvic organs are damaged are affected.
- Paraplegia, where the patient’s trunk, legs, and pelvic organs are affected
- Herniated discs
- Bulging discs
- Compression fractures
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Muscle damage
- Whiplash
It may be best to wait to settle or try a damage claim after the patient’s full prognosis is known, so that we can help you make a claim for the amount of compensation you will need. Our experienced Mississippi spinal cord injury lawyers work with your team of doctors. We also may refer you to other physicians.
At Merkel & Cocke, P.A. our spinal cord injury attorneys have been advocating for the injured since 1982. We have the experience and resources to help you get justice. Our Mississippi trial lawyers represent clients across the entire Gulf Coast region including Clarksdale, Oxford, and Jackson. To make an appointment now, please call us at 662-627-9641 or complete our contact form.
Since 1982, Merkel & Cocke, P.A. has offered thorough, aggressive legal representation on behalf of clients throughout Mississippi. As one of the largest plaintiffs’ personal injury law firms in the state, we consider it our duty and our honor to serve the people of our communities, and to uphold their rights in court. Our reputation is such that other law firms turn to us when they need legal counsel, and our business has grown through the years because of the referrals of these attorneys, who trust us with their needs and the needs of their clients. We are the firm you can trust when there are challenges ahead. To schedule a free consultation, please complete our contact form.