Data compiled by the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) shows that approximately 450,000 people who have suffered spinal cord injuries (SCI) live in the United States. As many as 11,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. Individuals affected by SCIs experience a variety of symptoms depending on the placement and severity of their injuries.
There are two primary types of SCIs, complete and incomplete ones. Although both of these are life-altering, most individuals would consider the latter to impact a person’s life the least.
Individuals with incomplete SCIs generally can retain some functionality of their limbs below where their injury occurred. They often struggle to use the limbs on one side of their body compared to the other though.
Those who have suffered incomplete SCIs often struggle with lasting, debilitating conditions.
Individuals with Brown-Sequard Syndrome may experience an inability to feel certain temperatures or pain below their injury site. These sensations are commonplace, especially if an individual suffered a puncture wound to the neck or back on a single side.
Those with a Central Cord Syndrome may be unable to use their limbs to perform tasks requiring fine motor skills. Their legs are generally most affected by this. Individuals with this condition may also lose their ability to control their bladder and experience other sensory or functional loss. These result from the nerve fibers that connect the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex being severely damaged.
Individuals who are diagnosed as suffering with an Anterior Cord Syndrome often have difficulty sensing when they’re being touched, especially along the posterior portion of the spinal cord. They are often unable to move as well.
NSCIA data shows that auto accidents result in the majority of SCIs for those Americans age 65 or younger. Motorcycle crashes are one of the top five reasons that men suffer one of these types of injuries. At least 81.2 percent of the people who suffer SCIs are males. This type of injury is most prominent among those age 16 to 30.
The medical care that an individual requires after suffering an SCI is extensive and costly. It’s easy for someone in California with an SCI to quickly amass hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. If you’ve suffered an SCI here in Los Angeles, then you should entrust your case to an experienced motorcycle accidents attorney who will make sure that justice is delivered.
