Lawsuits for Back and Spinal Cord Injuries
Accident and injury victims in Oklahoma City have a friend in Tawwater Law Firm, PLLC. Our lawyers are highly experienced and will fight diligently for clients every step of the way. This level of commitment is especially important in catastrophic injury lawsuits, especially when a lasting disability leads to dramatic changes in your quality of life.
Acute spinal cord injuries that result in paralysis are perhaps the most serious kind of catastrophic injury. We'd like to cover the basics of these sorts of cases right now.
All Back and Neck Injuries Should Be Taken Seriously
If you suffer any sort of spinal cord injury, it's important that you take these matters seriously. Even back injuries that are not catastrophic in nature can have a major impact on your mobility and wellness for the months and years ahead.
Back injuries can occur anywhere and may be the result of many different things. Some potential causes of back injuries include:
- Auto accidents
- Workplace injuries
- Serious slips and falls
- Sports accidents
- Physical assaults
Less Severe Spinal Cord Injuries
With regard to less severe spinal cord injuries, these may include herniated discs, pinched nerves, damage to muscle tissue or ligaments, and whiplash. These are serious, though our primary focus is on acute spinal cord injuries.
Acute Spinal Cord Injury
An acute spinal cord injury refers to severe spinal cord damage that results in paralysis and lasting disability. These kinds of accidents leave accident victims bound to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives, in addition to requiring major medical treatments and physical rehabilitation.
There are, broadly, two kinds of acute spinal cord injuries: paraplegia and quadriplegia (tetraplegia).
Paraplegia
Paraplegia refers to the loss of use of the lower extremities as well as the loss of sensation in the area of the body below the spinal cord injury. This is typically the result of major spinal cord damage in the lower-to-mid-back.
Quadriplegia
Quadriplegia refers to the total loss of the use of all limbs as well as the loss of sensation in the body beneath the neck. This kind of spinal cord injury is the most severe, with the spinal cord injury typically occurring in the neck. The higher up the neck the injury, the more serious the quadriplegia. For quadriplegia related to an acute injury of the topmost vertebrae, injury victims may require a mechanical respiration machine simply to breathe.
How Paralysis Changes Your Life and Your Loved Ones' Lives
No matter which acute spinal cord injury a person suffers from, the injury will have a tragic and lasting impact. Most victims of these injuries will need to change their career paths to account for their disabilities. For quadriplegics, they may no longer be able to seek a career simply given the limitations that have been imposed on them due to the injury.
The loved ones of these accident victims will also face many hardships. A family's life can change in an instant, and it may take the emotional support and actual physical support of your loved ones in order to accomplish simple tasks you had once taken for granted.
Our Attorneys Can Help You
Given the dramatic changes to you life and livelihood, it's important to seek legal action if your spinal cord injury was the result of another person's negligence. Our lawyers will fight diligently on your behalf to help ensure that you receive compensatory damages for medical bills and lost earnings. We will also seek to punish the negligent party for the egregious nature of the incident. We offer peace of mind during the legal process so you can focus on living life and moving forward.
Contact Tawwater Law Firm, PLLC
To learn more about your legal options following a serious back injury, be sure to contact our personal injury law firm today. The lawyers of Tawwater Law Firm, PLLC will fight diligently for you and your legal rights.