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Spinal cord injuries (SCI) in kids before the age of 15 years is a relatively rare occurrence in Canada (the exact frequency is unknown, but the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center indicated less than 5%b annually in the US – Canada unknown) but when it happens, it can have terrible lifelong consequences for both the child that is hurt and his or her parents a loved one.
What is an infant spinal cord injury?
Think of your spinal cord as a cable-like bundle of neural fibers which is located within your vertebral bones. Your spinal cord is a part of your body’s central nervous system, which contains motor nerves and sensory nerves that lead to and from your brain, which go through the spinal cord to the skin, muscles, and organs of your body. Your spinal cord can be compared to a roadway, which carries signals and messages from your brain (i.e. communication central) throughout your body and into your extremities.
Your motor nerves send messages from your brain to muscles throughout your body, allowing them to contract voluntarily or reflexively. Your sensory nervous system involves “collecting” information from your body’s internal and external conditions – such as pain, touch, or temperature. The difference between the two is mainly that your motor neurons carry signals away from your brain and spinal cord to help you move. In contrast, sensory nerves carry information toward your central nervous system to help you feel.
When a spinal cord is injured, the communication between the brain and the rest of your body is interrupted. A traumatic injury spinal cord injury (SCI) can either result in a bruise (contusion), a stretch, a partial or incomplete tear, or a complete tear (transection) in the spinal cord. SCI is a common cause of permanent disability and death in infants. If there is no feeling or movement below the area of injury, then the injury is considered complete.
A complete injury causes impairment or absence of voluntary motor activity below the level of injury (i.e. paralysis). With an incomplete injury, some spinal cord signals can get through your muscles.
How do pediatric spinal cord injuries happen?
When pediatric spinal cord injuries do happen, they mostly happen with damage to the child’s neck area, although SCIs under the age of ten are relatively uncommon. Anatomically, the relatively large size of a child’s head compared to their smaller torso increases the likelihood of cervical spine injuries, especially between the skull and cervical vertebrae.
After the age of 10, kids undergo maturing changes in the spinal column. A child’s head becomes in better proportion to his or her body, and the shift in chance of injury begins to move downwards to the torso. Ligaments and muscles start to strengthen, bones start reaching a more mature size, and cartilage and soft bone areas become replaced with normal calcified bone.
There are many causes of acute spinal cord injuries in infants – however, the most common reason is because the area of the spine or neck is compressed or bent. Most spinal cord injury in infants is due to blunt trauma. Car vehicle accidents are surely a leading cause of spinal cord injury, followed by falls down stairs. Additionally, newborns can certainly sustain birth injuries. As kids get older, sports-related spinal cord injury becomes more common. Some common types of infant spinal cord injuries include:
- Lap belt injuries – i.e. young kids in adult seatbelts
- Falls
- Trampoline injuries
- Improperly installed car seats
- Incorrectly used booster seats
- Diving in shallow water
- Child abuse – aggressive shaking leading to c2-c3 subluxation
- Birth injuries which typically affect the spinal cord in the neck area
- Sports-related injuries
Pediatric spinal cord injuries are certainly less frequently encountered than spinal cord trauma in other age groups, mostly because parents, for the most part, keep their infants safe – i.e. children are often very closely supervised by loved ones and properly restrained when in a motor vehicle.
Also, the anatomical differences between adults and children vary significantly, which contributes to frequent fewer injuries. A child under 10 normally has a spine that is quite mobile and elastic. A child also has underdeveloped neck muscles. The spinal cord is not completely calcified, and the facet joints are not yet fully developed. Whereas spinal cord trauma and fracture might occur in adults due to trauma, the elasticity of the infant spinal cord allows for better protection in kids.
The cost of care for an infant or child with a spinal cord injury:
Depending on the age of the child and the severity of the injury, medical and costs of care not covered by OHIP of an infant spinal cord injury could easily be in the range of seven to nine million dollars ($7,000,000.00 – $9,000.000.00). Recurring annual costs of caring for patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) beyond the acute phase could include items such as:
- 24-hour long-term attendant care
- Medication/prescription drugs
- Assistive and mobility devices
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Psychological counselling as the child ages
- Home modifications
- Vehicle purchase
- Vehicle modifications
- Home devices/adaptive equipment
- Vocational rehabilitation
- Recurring non-prescription medical items such as pain medication, catheters, laxatives, bandages, bed, hygienic aids, bed lifts, bath lifts, exercise items etc)
Experienced Lawyers for Injured Kids in the Hamilton Area
If your child or infant has suffered a pediatric spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence or due to a birth injury, contact our Hamilton Lawyers for a free, no-obligation consultation. We have been helping injury victims and their families in the Hamilton area for over 15 years. We understand that spinal cord injuries are life-changing injuries. We understand that for a child or parent, there will be emotional negative reactions that will more likely than not require attention to the long-term psychological adjustment.
Proper care and treatment of the individual must be funded for families to help rebuild their lives after a serious infant injury. Rehabilitation will be lifelong, both psychologically and physically. Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers understand how spinal cord injuries can have serious repercussions for the victim and the victim’s family.
At Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers, we take pride in being trusted Hamilton personal injury lawyers since 2003. Over the years, we’ve helped our clients recover more than $45 Million in settlements and verdicts in personal injury, disability, and employment law cases. Whether you’re dealing with a life-changing injury, a denied disability claim, wrongful death, a hurt child or employment termination, we are here to provide compassionate and experienced legal representation. If you believe you have a case, call us today—we’re ready to help you secure the compensation you deserve.
Call Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers today, no matter where you are in Ontario at 905-333-8888 for your free consultation. Alternatively, you can contact us online, confidentially, by filling out a contact form.