Of all the catastrophic injuries suffered in an accident, a spinal cord injury is the most complex and challenging injury for attorneys and families alike.

Spinal cord injury is an uncommon condition that has significant impact on the injured person's functional, medical, psychological and economic well being.

As any spinal cord injury victim and his or her family understands all too well, the spinal cord injury rehabilitation requires comprehensive medical and therapeutic patient management and a tremendous amount of patience and hard work.

It is a multi-step process that starts immediately after the accident and continues for the remainder of the patient's life.

* Spinal Cord Injury - What You Need To Know

Rehabilitation intervention commences at the time of injury with management of the acute trauma.

This is the most critical time as the patient is at highest risk for SCI (spinal cord injury) complications, including death.

Acute rehabilitation follows with interdisciplinary intervention from physicians, rehabilitation nurses, physical, occupational and respiratory therapists, speech pathologists, case managers, psychologists, social workers and therapeutic recreation therapists.

More specifically, a spinal cord injury is an injury to the spinal cord resulting in a change, either temporary or permanent, in the spinal cord's normal motor, sensory or autonomic function.

Generally, there are two classifications of spinal cord injury (SCI):

1. Tetraplegia (replaced the term quadriplegia) - injury to the spinal cord in the cervical region with associated loss of muscle strength in all four extremities.
2. Paraplegia - injury in a spinal cord in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral segments, including the cuada equine and conus medullaris. The leading mechanisms or causes of spinal cord injury are destruction of tissue damage from direct trauma.
3. Central cord syndrome - often is associated with the cervical region injury leading to greater weakness in the upper limbs than in the lower limbs with sacral sensory sparing.
4. Brown-Sequard syndrome - often is associated with hemisection lesion of the cord, causing a relatively greater ipsilateral proprioceptive and motor loss with contralateral loss of sensitivity to pain and temperature.
5. Anterior cord syndrome - often is associated with a lesion causing variable loss of motor function and sensitivity to pain and temperature.
6. Conus medullaris syndrome - is associated with injury to the sacral cord and lumbar nerve roots leading to areflexic bladder, bowel, lower limbs, while the sacral segments occasionally may show preserved reflexes.
7. Cauda equine syndromes - are due to injury to the lumbosacral nerve roots in the spinal canal leading to areflexic bladder, bowel and lower limbs.

The most common levels of level of injury on admission to trauma centers are C4, C5 (the most common), and C6, while the level for paraplegia is the thoracolumbar junction (T12).

* Spinal Cord Injury Attorney - The Foster Advantage

If you or your family member, friend or loved one has been involved in an accident resulting in a spinal cord injury, you must ensure that the injured victim receives the maximum compensation available under the law so that he or she can receive the best medical care and treatment available for as long as he or she may require rehabilitation and medical treatment.

Foster Law Offices prides itself on not only obtaining such monetary settlements to assist with your loved one's recovery, but also to provide compassion and emotional support to the injured victim and his or her family and loved ones in this most difficult time.

To discuss you or your loved one's spinal cord injury or paralysis case, please contact Foster Law Offices to schedule a free consultation. We encourage you to discuss your case with spinal cord injury attorney.

We offer free in-home or office appointments.