Washington Spinal Cord Injury Attorney - Lawyers Helping Victims of Spinal Cord Injuries

If you or someone you love has suffered a spinal cord injury in Washington, you are likely looking for somewhere to turn for help. The spinal cord is one of the areas of the body, along with the brain, that continues to mystify the medical world in several respects. As such, many spinal cord injuries leave behind a lifetime of pain, devastation and suffering in many different ways.

Below you'll find an overview of spinal cord injuries. You'll find information regarding the common causes of spinal cord injuries, common types, typical diagnoses, lifestyle results and of course how to proceed in order to obtain the information you need regarding your legal rights and options.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

Below are a few examples of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries:
  • Auto accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Gunshot wounds
  • Knife wounds
  • Slip and falls
  • Sports injuries
  • Diseases
There are obviously additional causes of spinal cord injuries, but statistics indicate that approximately 50% of all reported spinal cord injuries in the United States are caused by auto and motorcycle accidents.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

While the field of medical science has yet to find a way to restore all of a patient's faculties after severe spinal cord injuries, their studies have led to classifications of them, and they appear below.

Complete Spinal Cord Injuries

Complete spinal cord injuries are those that result in complete paraplegia or tetraplegia. Complete paraplegia is the condition that occurs when the patient loses control of motor and nerve functions at the T1 level or below, which basically means that he or she is paralyzed below the waist. Tetraplegia is more severe, as it describes a patient who is paralyzed above the waist as well.

Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries

Incomplete spinal cord injuries are generally less severe than complete injuries, and they do not normally result in the total loss of motor and nerve functions. However, these injuries can be painful given the tingling sensation that seems to accompany them, and many of these injuries are not measurable in terms of duration.

Diagnoses of Spinal Cord Injuries

The diagnoses of spinal cord injuries obviously depend on the nature of the injury. Many diagnoses are relatively positive in nature, as incomplete spinal cord injuries are more numerous than complete spinal cord injuries. However, regardless of the severity, the patient can expect the need for ongoing rehabilitation, much in the way of pain and suffering and most likely an undetermined amount of time until recovery.

Some spinal cord injuries can be, if not completely corrected, at least improved by surgery, and many of the new surgical techniques were never thought to be possible even a few years ago. Unfortunately, surgery on the spinal cord is almost always an enormous risk, as this remains an incredibly sensitive area of the body where one millimeter can make all the difference between walking and life confined to a wheelchair.

Lifestyle Results after a Spinal Cord Injury

Once again, the lifestyle of the patient after a spinal cord injury depends on the severity of the damage done to the area. If a person suffers a complete injury, then he or she will likely face a lifetime of immobility. This means that the patient will likely need to depend on wheelchairs, ramps, special lifts to get into vehicles for transport and other accommodations to live as normal a life as possible.

Other daily and routine functions can also become huge tasks for the patient. Tasks that most of us take for granted - taking a shower, getting dressed, even feeding ourselves - cannot be done by some spinal cord injury patients without the aid of machines, braces or even on-hand human assistance, and this clearly makes life more difficult.

Contact a Seattle Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Additionally, and aside from all of the measures that will need to be taken in order to give a spinal cord injury patient a dignified quality of life, all of these measures are extremely expensive. These are not one-time costs, but rather ongoing costs that almost always far exceed any health insurance policy limits. It's estimated by some that living as a paraplegic, for example, for 20 years can cost upwards of $3 million just for basic care and equipment.

If this has happened to you or someone you love, you need to take action if your injuries are the result of someone else's negligence or recklessness. You likely have legal rights and options at your disposal, and you'll need to at least evaluate them in order to obtain the financial, physical and emotional help you'll need to build a happy and high-quality life after such a tragic injury.

Contact the spinal cord injury attorneys at the Washington law firm of Phillips Webster today to schedule a free initial consultation and to get this process started.
 



Injury Blog Updates

1-800-ABOGADO

Phillips Webster es la firma de abogados de Washington y nuetros abogados experimentados lo pueden ayudar.   Si usted se ha lastimado en un accidente,  si necesita declararse en bancarrota o necesita que le ayudemos a negociar su deudas, podemos ayudarlo.

Hablemos Españo; 1-800-226-4236

 

 

Submit your request for a FREE evaluation by phone, no office visit required.

* First Name:

* Last Name:

* Email:

* Phone:

Comments:

*Accept Terms


*Denotes Required Field


Woodinville Law Office
13303 NE 175th Street
Woodinville, Washington 98072

Renton Law Office:
 900 S W 16th St Suite 300 | Renton, Washington 98057

Seattle Law Office
Washington Mutual Tower
1201 3rd Ave. Ste. 3080
Seattle, Washington 98101