Understanding how a Serious Injury can Affect Your Life
There’s no wreck that won’t change your life. Some, however, will have more drastic and severe impacts. If you crash and there are no injuries, there will still be a whole lot of frustration trying to get repairs scheduled or a replacement vehicle purchased.
If you crash, and you do suffer serious injuries, you still have all of that stress to deal with while trying to navigate repairs or replacements, and you have to worry about healing from those injuries. Sometimes, such as after a back or neck injury, your life could be permanently changed.
Let’s check in with the Car Crash Captain and learn about one of the most common serious injuries you may suffer in a Texas car accident.
Different Types of Back Injuries
Back injuries can run the entire gamut, for purposes of this blog, we are focusing more on spinal cord injuries, and less about muscle related injuries. Any injury to the back can be painful and have significant long-term effects.
Most spinal cord back injuries will fall into one of two categories.
Incomplete Injuries – An incomplete spinal cord injury is one where the back has been injured and the cord damaged. However, the damage to the spinal cord is partial, and the victim may still have mobility and recovery is possible.
Complete Injuries – A complete spinal cord injury results in permanent damage. With today’s medical technology, the injury is so severe that repair and rehabilitation is not possible. Most likely some form of paralysis occurs.
Since the back and neck is such a large part of the body, these injuries are generally broken down into four different regions.
Sacral: Where the injury is very low on the back, near or on the sacrum (just above the tailbone). Some loss of leg and hip movement can occur with an injury at this location.
Lumbar: The lower back area. Depending on the severity, a victim may lose the use of legs completely, or need a walker or braces to maneuver.
Thoracic: About the middle to upper part of the back. A complete injury that results in paralysis means the stomach, pelvis, legs and feet are all affected. Usually shoulder, arms, and hands aren’t affected.
Cervical: Located above the shoulders; most of the neck. An injury here can result in complete paralysis from the neck down.
Basically, from the bottom of the head, to the tailbone, the back and neck are vulnerable to the trauma you could sustain in a major car crash.
Long Term Consequences of a Back Injury
There are the obvious health issues that can come up when you sustain a serious back injury in a car accident. There are, however, many more than fall outside of the paralysis complications.
Back injuries can lead to:
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Chronic Pain
- Incontinence
- Increased Risk of Heart Problems
- Increased Risk of Lung Problems
- Inability to Regulate Temperature
Modern medicine, as well as physical therapy and rehabilitation can help to alleviate some of these issues. However, a damaged spinal cord is difficult to repair, and the long-term effects can dramatically change the course of a victim’s life forever.
Costs Associated with a Back Injury
Those physical issues that arise after a serious back injury lead to financial problems as well.
Some back injuries can be “fixed” with regular chiropractor visits. Regular adjustments may provide the pain relief necessary without further rehab involved.
However, more serious back injuries after a Texas car accident can result in much higher costs. If your neck is broken and you’re left without control of your body from the neck down, lifetime expenses easily soar into the millions of dollars; up to $5 million is not an unreasonable expectation.
Consider, it’s not just the medical expenses you’re faced with. A serious back injury that leaves you in a wheelchair means your living space needs modified to accommodate the wheelchair, transportation is now much more difficult, accommodations must be made at work, and medical devices will be necessary. That’s not even factoring in mental healthcare that is bound to be necessary with such a dramatic life change.
Herbert Law Group Helps Texas Car Accident Victims
If you have been injured in a car accident, your only focus should be getting your life back on track. Sometimes that means a complete healing, and sometimes it means learning how to live life a new way.
Regardless of how serious your injuries are, a car accident lawyer will help you with the legal issues of dealing with the insurance companies. Don’t go it alone, let Herbert Law Group fight on your behalf.
To get started, we just need to find out what happened to see how we can help. It’s a simple phone call to 214-414-3808, or you can fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.