Neck and back spinal cord injuries are among the most serious injuries you might experience if you have been injured in a Dallas-Fort Worth automobile or truck accident.
As a Fort Worth personal injury lawyer who has been practicing law here for over 33 years (over 31 in the same office building, the River Plaza Tower on University Drive), I have seen countless spinal cord injuries as the result of automobile, truck, cycle and pedestrian collisions.
Here’s a photo of a wonderful client of mine who was side swiped by an 18 wheeler in east Fort Worth and had to undergo a three level cervical fusion. The only good thing is that this led to a substantial court recovery of money and he could retire from his job. Then my client got hit in Burleson and even though I got the maximum insurance amounts for him and his wife from three different policies, he wishes the wrecks had never happened.
The best personal injury attorney is critical if you are to obtain justice and full compensation.
How do you know if you have sustained an injury to your spinal cord? You will suffer a loss of one or more of these bodily functions or ailments: bowel and bladder, breathing control; regulatory function of heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, and body temperature, spasticity, pain to nerve endings, gall and renal stones, osteoperosis, numbness and tingling in hands/fingers and/or feet/toes, and sexual function.
The spinal cord is an essential part of the central nervous system and is an extension from the brain to the rest of the body, with nerves extending out from it to all other areas. In addition to sending and receiving signals, it controls numerous reflexes and central pattern generators. It starts at the occipital bone and this bundle of support cells and nervous tissue reaches down to the area in between the first and second lumbar vertebrae.
A spinal cord injury can range in severity but is important to have checked out by a specialist, especially a neurosurgeon. Traumatic spinal cord injury is classified into five types by the American Spinal Injury Association:
A: Complete spinal cord injury where no motor or sensory function is preserved in the lower, sacral segments S4-5;
B: Incomplete spinal cord injury where sensory, but not motor function, is preserved below the neurological legel and includes the sacral segments S4-5;
C: Incomplete spinal cord injury where motor function is preserved below the neurological level and more than half of key muscles below the neurological level have a muscle grade of less than 3; and
D: Incomplete spinal cord injury where motor function is preserved below the neurological level and at least half of the key muscles below the neurological level have a muscle grade of 3 or more.
The Law Offices of William K. Berenson, P.C. understands the complex medical and legal issues that accompany these sometimes catastrophic cases. Our knowledge and reputation in litigating spinal cord injury claims will help you through the long and difficult process of medical and legal recovery and enable you to obtain just compensation.
If you, a member of your family, or someone you know has suffered an injury caused by someone else’s negligence, please contact this office online or call us at 817-885-8000 (toll free at 1-800-801-8585). We’ll fight to get you the money you deserve.