Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers in College Station, Texas
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Spinal Cord Injury Claims
One medical issue that causes doctors to shake their head in concern is a spinal cord injury. There are over 250,000 SCI patients under treatment in America. Just under half of these are quadriplegic, with the remainder paraplegics. Unfortunately, an additional 11,000 cases of SCI occur annually, and motorcycle accidents are the single biggest factor in many of these injuries. There are two primary causes of SCI. The first is the damage caused by the initial accident. The spinal column is a series of stacked vertebrae that provide protection to the spinal cord. The cord is essentially a very delicate collection of nerves and blood vessels. Any traumatic impact on the spinal column causes immediate swelling, damaging or destroying the nerves. Fractured bone segments often penetrate and further damage the cord.
Dealing with the SCI Victim
This is commonly the source of secondary SCI. The training of first responders stresses that proper care of SCI victims is vital to prevent further injury at the scene or during transport. While the spinal cord is seldom severed, it is often twisted and further damaged with improper care. This danger is so great that suspected SCI victims should only be moved by non-professionals if their life is in immediate danger. Upon arrival at a medical facility, the victim receives carefully prescribed care. Doctors may use certain forms of steroids to deter further damage to the spinal cord. Other than this, there is very little done for an SCI victim until swelling goes down over a day or so. Treatments for SCI are limited. The spinal cord is unable to heal itself, and actions such as surgery generally only reduce pressure and/or pain. The focus after early healing is rehabilitation and prevention of the many secondary complications that commonly result from the injury.
The Importance of Proactive Legal Advice
The nature of SCI means a lifetime of medical care for survivors. A person of the age 27 will incur over $1,000,000 in medical bills during their lifetime, in addition to other costs and expenses. These future costs make it essential to protect your rights if involved in an accident causing SCI. Jack Zinda has established a firm of experienced and aggressive attorneys who fully understand the processes involved in protecting the rights of their clients. This process begins with a full, no-obligation explanation of what steps victims of SCI must take. Act today to get the best possible legal representation.
