Spinal Cord Injuries

Every year approximately 11,000 individuals are victims of spinal cord injury in the United States. Automobile accidents cause the majority of spinal cord injuries, followed by sports mishaps, falls, birth trauma, violence and disease. While some victims will experience almost complete recovery, others will be completely and permanently paralyzed.

The personal injury lawyers at Davis Law Group represent victims of spinal cord injuries who seek fair and just compensation for injuries caused by the negligence of others.

FREE Case Review
Contact us now for a FREE conversation about your case. There is no obligation to hire a lawyer.  We are usually retained on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee until our personal injury attorneys successfully recover fair compensation for you.

What is a spinal cord injury?

The spinal cord is the major bundle of nerves that moves nerve impulses between the brain and the rest of the body. Spinal cord injury usually starts with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae. The impact causes the vertebrae to fracture or compress, which in turn crushes the extensive nerve cells (axons) that carry signals along the spinal cord between the brain and the body. The specific effect of a spinal cord injury depends on the location and severity of the injury. An injury to the spinal cord can damage a small number of axons or almost all of them. Spinal cord injuries are called either "complete" or "incomplete". The victim of a complete injury totally lacks sensory and motor function below the level of the injury. An incomplete spinal cord injury victim retains some sensory motor function below the injury site.

Tragically, many brain and spinal cord injures are irreversible. In addition to draining the victim both physically and emotionally, spinal cord injuries can also drain a family's finances because medical care for spinal cord injuries is costly and long-term. Many people who live with spinal cord injury have secondary complications including pain, respiratory and heart problems, bladder and bowel dysfunction, pressure sores, respiratory complications, urinary tract infections, spasticity and scoliosis.

Blog for Spinal Cord Injuries

• Is Artificial Disk Surgery Better Than Fusion Surgery?

Library for Spinal Cord Injuries:

• UCLA Study Helps ER Physicians Identify Previously Undetectable Spinal Injuries   
  Description: ScienceDaily (Sep. 7, 2005) — A new national study indicates that patients with a cervical spinal injury (CSI) may harbor additional spinal damage not visible on regular x-rays. In fact, more than a third of patients who were thought to have low-risk injuries actually have additional damage that may include significant fractures with the potential to produce serious spinal problems if not detected and treated properly.
• Anterior Cervical Fusion (video)   
  Description: 3D medical animation showing an anterior cervical fusion surgical procedure with C4-5 discectomy, placement of fibular strut allograft and fusion hardware.
• VIDEO: 3D/2D Medical Animation: Anterior Cervical Fusion   
  Description: 3D/2D medical animation showing an anterior cervical decompression and fusion procedure with discectomy and placement of allograft and fusion hardware.
• VIDEO: 3D Medical Animation: Thoracolumbar Spinal Fusion   
  Description: 3D medical animation showing the thoracolumbar spine with fusion hardware in place.
• Cervical Spine & Disc Anatomy (video)   
  Description: Nucleus Medical Art's 3D medical animation shows the anatomy of a typical cervical (neck) spine and intervertebral disc. Details include orientation of the cervical spine, movements of the spinal vertebrae,
  and movement of intervertebral discs. A cross-section of the intervertebral disk and spinal cord highlight the nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, spinal cord, dura mater, spinal root, and spinal nerve.
• VIDEO: Chiropractic Thoracic Spine Manipulation   
  Description: Chiropractic manipulation of the thoracic spine.
• VIDEO: Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery for Herniated Lumbar Discs   
  Description: If conservative treatment has failed, and you still have severe pain 2 to 3 months after diagnosis of a herniated lumbar disc pressing on a spinal nerve, you may benefit from minimally invasive spine surgery, and the METRx Micro Endoscopic Discectomy procedure could be the solution for you.
• LECTURE: Outcomes of Fusions for Low Back Pain: General Results (Univ of Washington, Seattle, WA)   
  Description: In this segment, Drs. Marré and Chesnut review the world literature on techniques and results of fusion surgery performed primarily for low back pain. Dr. Marré’s presentation focuses on the influence of surgical approaches and instrumentation techniques on reported outcomes, while Dr. Chesnut's lecture is on findings of several comparison studies on surgery for low back pain. Special consideration is given to attempts at explaining the sometimes conflicting findings in these studies.
• LECTURE: Complications of Low Back Pain / Spine Surgery (Univ of Washington, Seattle, WA)   
  Description: Dr. Jens Chapman and Dr. Sohail Mirza identify some of the major complications of spine surgery and address difficulties in spine injury diagnosis and management, as well as major difficulties and inaccuracies in recording results of complications for spine injury hospital outcomes reports.
• Symposium on Low Back Pain (Univ of Washington)   
  Description: Low back pain is a common ailment, which will affect up to 85% of our population at sometime during their life. In this series, the perception of acute versus chronic pain and its nonsurgical treatment is discussed. The role of surgical intervention as well as a comparison of various surgical techniques is presented by a number of experts. Mister Jeremy Fairbank, Consultant Spine Surgeon from Oxford, United Kingdom discusses the findings of his landmark study on the comparison of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and lumbar spine stabilization. All lecturers placed an emphasis on surgical indications and the emerging role of artificial disc replacement as well as the need to identify outcomes.

View All

Frequent Questions for Spinal Cord Injuries:

• What is a lumbar fusion?
• Under what conditions is a lumbar spinal fusion recommended?
• My spinal specialist said I need a fusion. Is that true?
• What is Spinal Cord Injury?  
• What is the spinal cord and the vertebra?  
• What are the effects of Spinal Cord Injuries?
• How many people have Spinal Cord Injuries?  Who are they?
• Is there a cure for spinal cord injuries?
• Do people with Spinal Cord Injuries ever get better?
• Does everyone who sustains Spinal Cord Injuries use a wheelchair?
  
• What is the mortality rate of people with Spinal Cord Injuries?
  

Case Results for Spinal Cord Injuries:

• $550,000 Jury Verdict for Nonsurgical Herniated Disc

Awarded: $550,000 Jury Verdict

• $350,000 Settlement For Lumbar Herniated Disc

Awarded: $350,000

• $300,000 Settement for Low Back Disc Protrusion

Awarded: $300,000 Settlement for Low Back Injury

Get Help Now