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SPINAL CORD INJURY LAWYERS

Injury to the five lumbar vertebra (L-1 thru L-5), and the sacral vertebra generally results in loss of function in the hips and legs, and may involve the dysfunction of the bowel and bladder, and reproductive organs.

Approximately 450,000 people live with SCI in the US. There are about 10,000 new SCI's every year, with a new injury occurring every 49 minutes. The great majority of spinal cord injuries involve males between the ages of 16-30 (82%). Most of these people are injured in auto and sports accidents, falls, and industrial mishaps -- motor vehicle accidents (36%), violence (28.9%), falls (21.2%), and sporting accident (6%). Quadriplegia is slightly more common than paraplegia.

The spinal cord is the highway for communication between the body and the brain. When the spinal cord is injured, the exchange of information between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted. Spinal cord injuries are divided into paraplegia (a loss of movement and sensation in the lower body), which affects 47% of the SCI population, and quadriplegia (a loss of movement and sensation in both the arms and legs), which affects 52%.
Spinal cord injuries are very costly. Initial hospitalization and rehabilitation costs are almost $250,000 for each person. Additional lifetime costs average $400,000 and can reach as high as $2.1 million, depending on the level of injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when a traumatic event results in damage to cells within the spinal cord or severs the nerve tracts that relay signals up and down the spinal cord. The most common types of SCI include contusion (bruising of the spinal cord) and compression (caused by pressure on the spinal cord). Other types of injuries include lacerations (severing or tearing of some nerve fibers, such as damage caused by a gun shot wound), and central cord syndrome (specific damage to the corticospinal tracts of the cervical region of the spinal cord).


  

Severe SCI often causes paralysis (loss of control over voluntary movement and muscles of the body) and loss of sensation and reflex function below the point of injury, including autonomic activity such as breathing and other activities such as bowel and bladder control. Other symptoms such as pain or sensitivity to stimuli, muscle spasms, and sexual dysfunction may develop over time. SCI patients are also prone to develop secondary medical problems, such as bladder infections, lung infections, and bed sores.

Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States. About 250,000 people are currently affected. Spinal cord injuries can happen to anyone at any time of life. The typical patient, however, is a man between the ages of 19 and 26, injured in a motor vehicle accident (about 50% of all SCIs), a fall (20%), an act of violence (15%), or a sporting accident (14%). Most SCI patients are white, but the nonwhite fraction of SCI patients is larger than the nonwhite fraction of the general population. Alcohol or other drug abuse plays an important role in a large percentage of all spinal cord injuries. Six percent of people who receive injuries to the lower spine die within a year, and 40% of people who receive the more frequent higher injuries die within a year.

Short-term costs for hospitalization, equipment, and home modifications are approximately $140,000 for an SCI patient capable of independent living. Lifetime costs may exceed one million dollars. Costs may be 3-4 times higher for the SCI patient who needs long-term institutional care. Overall costs to the American economy in direct payments and lost productivity are more than $10 billion per year.

  
         
  The following is a list of the various regions of the spinal cord, and the functions controlled by the respective region:    

The spinal cord is about as big around as the index finger. It descends from the brain down the back through hollow channels of the backbone. The spinal cord is made of nerve cells (neurons). The nerve cells carry sensory data from the areas outside the spinal cord (periphery) to the brain, and they carry motor commands from brain to periphery. Peripheral neurons are bundled together to make up the 31 pairs of peripheral nerve roots. The peripheral nerve roots enter and exit the spinal cord by passing through the spaces between the stacked vertebrae. Each pair of nerves is named for the vertebra from which it exits. These are known as:

  • C1-8. These nerves enter from the eight cervical or neck vertebrae.
  • T1-12. These nerves enter from the thoracic or chest vertebrae.
  • L1-5. These nerves enter from the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back.
  • S1-5. These nerves enter through the sacral or pelvic vertebrae.
  • Coccygeal. These nerves enter through the coccyx or tailbone.

 

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The extent to which movement and sensation are damaged depends on the level of the spinal cord injury. Nerves leaving the spinal cord at different levels control sensation and movement in different parts of the body. The distribution is roughly as follows:

  • C1-C4: head and neck.
  • C3-C5: diaphragm (chest and breathing).
  • C5-T1: shoulders, arms and hands.
  • T2-T12: chest and abdomen (excluding internal organs).
  • L1-L4: abdomen (excluding internal organs), buttocks, genitals, and upper legs.
  • L4-S1: legs.
  • S2-S4: genitals and muscles of the perineum.


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