What Is the Spinal Cord?
Your spinal cord is a delicate, double-layered tube that extends from your first lumbar vertebra to the base of your brain. Your spinal cord has three layers, an outer layer consisting of nerve fibers that control your body’s reaction to sensory stimuli like heat, pressure, and pain. The outer layer sends signals to your muscles and glands so they can react accordingly to each sensation. The middle layer contains the cerebrospinal fluid, and the inner layer forms sheets that project away from the cord between the pairs of nerve roots. Your spinal cord is the very center of your central nervous system, containing all nerve roots, and responsible for every sensory stimulation.
What Can Cause a Spinal Cord Injury?
Traumatic events like automobile accidents, slip and falls, and acts of violence can damage your spinal cord with mild results such as temporary loss of feeling, or extremely serious and potentially deadly permanent paralysis. Secondary medical issues that can arise include atrophy, venous thrombosis, and even death.
Only 50 percent of spinal cord injury sufferers regain complete function and feeling in their bodies. Compression caused by blunt force impact, contusions caused by head-on impact, and lacerations from projectiles or incisions are all possible causes of spinal cord injury.
A slippery stairwell at work, a faulty chair, another’s reckless driving, or any number of events can cause an accident that results in a spinal cord injury. The initial costs of hospitalization and diagnosis, coupled with the long-term costs of rehabilitation and recovery can be devastating. That’s why it’s imperative that you have an experienced spinal cord lawyer on your side.
If you or a loved one live in the state of Indiana and have suffered a traumatic accident resulting in a spinal cord injury, please contact the Truitt Law Offices for an initial consultation.
