Complete Spinal Cord Injuries

Hamilton Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers – Serving Spinal Cord Injury Victims throughout Ontario since 2003.

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A quick summary from Hamilton spinal cord injury lawyers:

A spinal cord injury occurs when your spinal cord is damaged. Trauma (a traumatic spinal cord injury), from a violent slip and fall, motorcycle accident or pedestrian accident can cause damage the spinal cord to the extent that it can no longer send and receive messages from the brain to the body’s system that controls sensory and motor function. Oftentimes, you might hear your doctors speak about spinal cord injury being complete or incomplete. Understanding the difference between these two injury types can help you better predict your medical needs if you are injured.

What is a complete spinal cord injury?

A complete spinal cord injury means total sensory and motor loss below the site of spinal cord injury following acute (or chronic) damage, where the cord is severed, compressed, or following ischemia of the spinal cord. Better said, a person’s nerves below the point of injury on the vertebrae are cut off from communication with the brain, leading to total loss of function or paralysis below the specific location of the injury.  Conversely, Incomplete injuries are when some sensation or movement is retained below the level of the injury.

Spinal Cord Classification (Traumatic)

Traumatic spinal cord injuries are classified into several types by the American Spinal Injury Association and the International Spinal Cord Injury Classification System:

1. Complete spinal cord injury where no motor or sensory function is preserved in the lower sacral segments S4-5.
2. Incomplete spinal cord injury where sensory, but not motor function, is preserved below the neurological level and includes the sacral segments S4-5.  (Typically a transient phase).
3. Incomplete spinal cord injury where motor function is preserved below the neurological level and more than half of key muscles below the neurological level have a muscle grade of less than
4. Incomplete spinal cord injury where motor function is preserved below the neurological level and at least half of the key muscles below the neurological level have a muscle grade of 3 or more.

How are complete spinal cord injuries caused?

A spinal cord injury is damage to any part of the spinal cord, which is technically a 2-way conduit bundle of nerves. The spinal cord starts at the brain stem and continues past your tailbone. When the spinal cord is traumatically injured, the flow of information is interrupted from the brain to wherever the information is going, and vice-versa. Spinal cord injury, therefore, prevents motor signals from reaching your muscles, resulting in the paralysis of those muscles and other bodily areas or sensory information from reaching the brain.

A complete spinal cord injury occurs when parts of the spinal cord are severely damaged, preventing blood flow and oxygen from reaching either the spinal column or parts of the spinal cord itself. This damage could result from compression, crushing of the vertebral bones and spinal cord, or a puncture wound in the area.

These types of traumatic accidents may include:

• Car accidents
• Trucking Accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Diving accidents
• Sports injuries
• Slip and falls
• Physical altercations

Motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of complete spinal cord injury, comprising approximately 31.5% of all cases. Slips and falls are the second most common cause, accounting for approximately 25.2% of all cases. This varies by age as well. Individuals over the age of 45 are more likely to suffer a complete spinal cord injury from a slip and fall. In contrast, individuals under the age of 45 are more likely to suffer their injury from a motor vehicle accident.

Sports injuries, diving accidents, and motorcycle crashes are more common causes of complete spinal cord injury in males.   A complete spinal cord injury could also be the result of a non-traumatic factor such as a medical condition, a disease acquired at birth, a tumour, a surgical complication from an alternative spinal issue, or a bone issue such as osteoporosis.

Diagnosis, Prognosis, Treatment, and Recovery

Compared to an incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, the diagnosis of a complete spinal cord injury can be much less complicated. The person with a complete spinal cord injury, if conscious, will usually complain of the inability to feel anything or the inability to move anything below a certain level of his or her body.  Diagnosis of an incomplete spinal cord injury is more complicated. The person may still have feelings below the level of injury.

The person may still be able to move below the level of injury. The person may complain of feeling weaker below the level of injury. The person may complain of pain below the level of injury. The person may complain of losing control of the bladder and/or bowels.

There are no cures or specific medical treatments that can reverse the damage done by a complete spinal cord injury. Individuals do not recover their lost functions. Researchers are conducting Significant research in the medical industry aiming to determine a cure. However, though it is promising, these researchers are still far from reaching a probable result.

Therapies and rehabilitation treatments are available to assist injured individuals in re-adjusting to their condition or managing chronic pain. These treatments also help those individuals become adjusted to wheelchairs or other devices, developing techniques to allow them to become more independent. Therapies may also assist in managing psychological distress and strengthening upper body muscles.

Adjusting to Life With a Complete Spinal Cord Injury

Complete spinal cord injuries are catastrophic injuries with potentially devastating impacts, including far-reaching physical, social and psychological consequences.  Many spinal cord injury victims experience negative emotions in response to their losses, which, unfortunately, often leads to long-term psychological and social problems.

Although each person is unique, Complete spinal cord injury victims undergo significant life changes and adjustments, physically as well as mentally.  Experiencing a complete spinal cord injury poses a considerable challenge. It requires adaptation and resilience to cope, develop strengths, and discover new ways of doing things, both physically, socially, work-related and emotionally.

Returning to regular activities performed before the injury becomes tricky when the individual must learn to do so in a wheelchair or using other assistive devices. They may also become unable to return to work. It takes significant time and effort to learn to perform these activities with the limitations of a complete spinal cord injury.

Risks and Complications

Spinal Cord Injuries result in paralysis of the body. This is the most apparent symptom, as it leads to immobility. Loss of sensations below the level of injury leads to reduced body awareness with insensitivity to touch, pain and temperature. In addition to the new life adjustments and activities which a complete spinal cord injury victim must learn, there are also some complications and risk factors to be addressed. These include, but are not limited to:

• Skin Management Issues: An individual with a complete spinal cord injury is often reliant on a wheelchair for mobility, rendering them vulnerable to skin issues such as developing pressure ulcers. Due to a lack of nerve function, the body’s blood circulation is lower in spinal cord injury victims, which can leave them more vulnerable to wounds that do not heal effectively and cause potentially fatal infections.
• Chronic Pain: Despite the loss of sensation and mobility below the level of injury, spinal cord injury victims are susceptible to chronic pain due to nerve damage. This pain can become increasingly unbearable.
• Emotional or Psychological Distress: Individuals with spinal cord injuries often undergo various emotional distress, such as depression, anxiety, self-consciousness, body image issues, lack of confidence, and grief or mourning.
• Sexual Health and Function: Due to the lack of sensation and mobility in the lower body, spinal cord injury victims often undergo serious issues with sexuality, which can have a resulting impact on intimate or marital relationships.
• Circulatory Issues: A spinal cord injury can damage the nervous system, causing decreased circulation and putting the individual at risk for various conditions, such as pneumonia or high blood pressure.

Other issues can include respiratory disturbance, sensory loss, pressure sores, bowel and bladder disturbance, pneumonia and fractures.

Why do I need to hire a spinal cord injury expert?

Because you need an advocate and an experienced team on your side that insurance companies do not hire.

There’s no doubt that perhaps the single most significant factor as to whether a person will live an entire life after a spinal cord injury depends on the availability of financial resources. If you or your loved one has suffered a complete spinal cord injury due to the carelessness, negligence or recklessness of another person, motorist, or company, then you would have legal recourse to claim damages to compensate you for your injuries and losses.

If your spinal cord injury occurred as a result of a car accident, pedestrian accident, trucking accident, motorcycle accident, or any other type of accident involving a vehicle, then you or your loved one would be entitled to significant accident benefits in addition to compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance company.

You should retain a Hamilton lawyer who specializes in spinal cord injuries sooner rather than later. Spinal cord injury experts can ensure that the proper occupational therapists and other medical personnel are hired without delay to assist with discharge planning. An occupational therapist will no doubt be required to assess your property and any accommodation or assistive devices you must set up before going home.

Also, with the right team of experts retained by your Hamilton spinal cord injury lawyer, we can identify your needs and make proper medical and rehabilitation projections and other needs required throughout your life expectancy.  Our goal is to work with experienced experts who will assist our clients in achieving as much functional independence as possible, accomplishing their long-term goals, and enjoying a satisfying, rewarding quality of life.

Get the justice and compensation you deserve

Spinal cord injuries are the most serious and devastating injuries with profound consequences to the victim and his or her family. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury due to the recklessness or negligence of another person or company, call us today at 905-333-8888 or fill in a contact form for more information. Matt Lalande is an established spinal cord injury lawyer with a long history of success. Our consultations are always free, and we will never, under any circumstances, ask for money upfront. We will get back to your initial enquiry within hours.

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.