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The spinal cord is the main part of our anatomy that keeps us functioning as well as we do. It contains all the nerves that link our body to our brain and transmits messages back and forth at lightning speed without us having to consciously think about it. Without it doing its job, our senses and mobility would be completely lost.

This is exactly what happens in patients with spinal cord injuries. There are a number of ways the spinal cord can be damaged and one of those ways, the use of the trampoline, has increased dramatically over the last few years to the point where many people are lobbying against them. These type of injuries are also caused by falls, car accidents, gun shots, diving accidents and war injuries.

Whatever the cause of the injury, the damage it does is often non-repairable. This is what causes many patients to consult a spinal cord injury lawyer. The damage done in a spinal cord injury is devastating and long lasting and the impact on a person’s life is beyond imagination. The injury causes myelopathy, which is damage to the white matter that carries sensation and motor signals to and from the brain.

In a complete injury, there will be no function below the level of the injury. Less than five percent of patients whose injuries extend thus far ever recover any use of their arms or muscles below the injury site.
In an incomplete spinal cord injury, there will be a degree of sensation or movement below the level of impact. Ninety five percent of these patients will regain some movement. However, there is no way to tell how much function will be regained or how long it will take.

This is why spinal cord injury lawyers have to specialise in their field. This is a very complex matter and they need to be fully qualified and experienced to gain their client the best monetary recompense possible. It isn’t a matter of making some quick cash, or apportioning blame, it is to ensure the patient can survive and have the best quality of life possible in his or her given situation.

Work will, in almost every case, be impossible so immediately the income is cut off. Many months or even years of physiotherapy will be endured for the best possible chance of maximum recovery. If this can be paid for privately through the compensation that a spinal cord injury lawyer can obtain, then all the better.

Loss of sensation and movement in the limbs are the first things we think of when we see a person with spinal cord injuries. However, this is only the start of it. For those with no feeling below the waist there is also the bowel and bladder dysfunction that accompanies a lack of sensation. On top of this, any sexual activity is out of the question so there are many aspects to a person’s life that are changed beyond recognition.

For patients with a higher spinal injury, there is the possibility that the lungs will be affected. If this happens, life on a ventilator will be a long term prospect. On top of these, there is also the risk of osteoporosis, atrophy to muscles, gall bladder problems and the inability to regulate heart rate, blood pressure, sweating and body temperature.

With all these difficulties mounting up, you can see how a specialist is needed to gain compensation for some assistance for the injured party. Given all the complications of the injury, it is no wonder that spinal cord injury lawyers are specialists in the one area.

Legal expert Catherine Harvey looks at the work of spinal cord injury lawyers in accessing compensation payouts.