Our Pittsburgh Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys at Shenderovich, Shenderovich, and Fishman have heard the harrowing tales of our clients who experienced spinal cord injuries. A big part of our practice is getting to know our clients. We believe in hearing your story and building relationships throughout our time together and after. We want our clients to know that we believe in their stories and are committed to getting them the justice they deserve. Spinal cord injuries are scary, to say the least. They are big injuries with big consequences and even bigger medical bills. Yet, many people are unsure about what spinal cord injuries entail.
What Is A Spinal Chord Injury?
Whenever you witness a loved one gets severely injured it is hard not to think of the worst-case scenario. When people hear spinal cord injury they may leap to conclusions like complete paralysis or partial paralysis. That is common because the spinal cord is the communicator for your body’s central nervous system. The brain has a command or message that needs to be delivered to different parts of your body. The spinal cord carries that message from the brain to a particular body. When an injury occurs to the spinal cord the messages cannot be sent and therefore never received. This means somebody’s parts may not function as they should.
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center has suggested that about 17,000 people in the United States experience spinal cord injuries every year. The leading cause of such events is car accidents. Other reasons for spinal cord injuries are due to falls, gunshot wounds, and diving accidents. For example, Barb Angelo was on vacation when she dove into what she thought was deeper waters for a raft she bought at the dollar store. As soon as her head hit the ground her spine injury occurred. Facedown in the water her body floated while her brain screamed that she was in danger. Even though her brain was sending all the messages the spinal cord could not deliver any. Thankfully her friends nearby watched the scene and were able to pick her up before she drowned.
The doctors told Angelo that she may never walk again, but there was still a very small chance. Her spinal injury required almost back-to-back surgeries with neurosurgeons. The first surgery would be to realign her spine and the second would be to add bolts and screws to the parts of her spine that needed the support.
What To Do?
In the end, Angelo has regained a lot of strength in her legs and arms, but she still needs the aid of a wheelchair. Even though Angelo’s injury was due to her own action, the takeaway is that spinal injuries require major surgeries with long recovery times. If you or someone you love is suffering from a spinal cord injury due to the negligence of someone or some party then you deserve to sue for compensation for all the medical bills that will eventually incur. Call 888-98-TWINS(89467) or click here to schedule a free consultation with our Pittsburgh Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys at Shenderovich, Shenderovich, and Fishman today.