A Spinal Cord Injury Can Cause Lifelong Disability For Virginia Car Accident Victims.

Tidewater Region car crashes often result in serious injury. Among the most serious types of accident-related injuries is spinal cord injury or SCI. SCI is defined as damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of bodily function, such as loss of mobility or loss of sensation.

The spinal cord is a long, thin bundle of nerves and their supporting cells that runs from the brain down the spine.

The spinal cord transmits nerve signals from the brain to the rest of the body. It is responsible for sensory perception and both voluntary and involuntary reflexes and movement.

So, when the spinal cord is injured, the signals from the brain are interrupted before they reach the lower body. The victim becomes paralyzed and may lose movement in the lower body (paraplegia) or in the entire body (quadriplegia).

The effects of spinal cord injury depend what part of the spinal cord was injured as well as the severity of the injury.
Quadriplegia:

• When cervical vertebrae C1-C4 are injured the victim suffers from quadriplegia and will often require a ventilator to breathe.
• When cervical vertebra C5 is injured, the victim may have shoulder and biceps control, but no wrist and hand movement.
• When cervical vertebra C6 is injured, the victim may have shoulder and biceps control and wrist control, but hand movement.
• When cervical vertebra C7 or thoracic vertebra T1 is injured, the victim may be able to straighten his arms, but may have dexterity problems with hands and fingers.

Paraplegia:

• When thoracic vertebrae T1-T8 are injured, the victim may have poor trunk control as a result of the lack of abdominal muscle control.
• When thoracic vertebrae T9-T12 are injured, the victim has good sitting balance from abdominal muscle and trunk control
• Injuries to the lumbar (lower back) and sacral regions of the spinal cord may results in stiffness and a decrease in control of the hip flexors and legs.

Other symptoms of spinal cord injury include:

• Loss of bowel and bladder function; incontinence
• Loss of sexual function; involuntary erection in males
• Difficulty breathing which may require mechanical ventilators or phrenic nerve pacing
• Inability to regulate heart rate and blood pressure
• Inability to regulate body temperature
• Spasticity
• Neuropathic pain
• Atrophy of muscle
• Superior mesenteric artery syndrome
• Osteoporosis and bone degeneration
• Gallbladder and renal stones

If you or your loved one has sustained a spinal cord injury in a Virginia traffic accident, you are entitled to insurance compensation for your injury. To learn more, contact Norfolk accident attorney Lawrence Land at 757-251-0198. When you call, request our free guide: “5 Deadly Sins That Can Destroy Your Injury Claim.”