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Spinal Cord Personal Injuries

BY Robert Webb | 08-05-2009 | 1:16 PM
This blog is written by a member of our blogging community and expresses that member's views alone.
Injury to the spinal cord, the actual injury itself, is called myelopathy – damage to the white matter (myelinated) fiber tracks that transport signals up and down the spine from the brain.

Spinal cord injuries are far more complicated than one would think.

Injury to the spinal cord, the actual injury itself, is called
myelopathy – damage to the white matter (myelinated) fiber tracks that
transport signals up and down the spine from the brain. Interestingly
enough, there is also another area of the body, that when damaged, is
also referred to as a spinal injury – the grey matter at the central
part of the brain.

Generally speaking, the most common reason a person sustains a
spinal cord injury is due to trauma of some sort, such as falls, car
accidents, diving accidents, gunshots, and even war injuries. Tumors
also cause spinal injury – metastatic cancer, astrocytomas and
meningiomas, etc., as does spinal bifida. There is a need to know the
precise reason for any injury, as it directly relates to treatment and
management of the condition.

If you've been diagnosed with spinal cord injuries, you were likely
told that the injury was either complete or incomplete. Complete
injuries are those where the patient doesn't have any function below
the level of the injury, or in other words, there is no mobility.
Incomplete injuries are not as severe and many patients will have some
movement below the injury site.

Surprisingly, there are a great many of these injuries reported
every year, and in the U.S. alone there are approximately 450,000
Americans living with this condition in one form or another.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for damages done to the spinal cord.
However, having said that, after the initial treatment when the spinal
cord injury presents in the ER, the intervention given will have an
enormous effect on the outcome.

Living with a spinal cord injury is not an easy thing to do, and if
you did not consult a personal injury attorney, you may be having a
very difficult time paying bills and getting therapy. If you're faced
with a spinal cord injury diagnosis, it's imperative you speak with a
competent personal injury attorney who knows how to properly valuate
your injuries for a lawsuit. You may be eligible for quite a sum of
money based on the severity of your injury, and the costs involved to
manage it now and in the future.

Robert Webb is an Atlanta personal injury lawyer with Webb &
D’Orazio, a law firm specializing in Atlanta personal injury,
malpractice, criminal defense, and business law. Learn more about Atlanta personal injury lawyer, Atlanta personal injury, Atlanta business law, Atlanta criminal defense at Webbdorazio.com.