Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal Cord Injury is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accidents, gunshots, falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida). The spinal cord does not have to be severed for a loss of functioning to occur. In most people with spinal cord injuries, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning. Almost 11,000 people in the U.S. sustain a traumatic spinal cord injury each year, resulting in temporary or permanent sensory deficit, motor deficit or bowel or bladder dysfunction. In the U.S. nearly 200,000 people live with paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries. More than half the people who sustain these injuries are between 16 and 30 years old. More males than females sustain this type of injury, t he ratio is over four to one.

The most common cause of spinal cord injury is motor vehicle crashes, accounting for at least 36 percent of these injuries (broken down as follows: no restraints used, 20%; restraints used, 13.7%; motorcycle, 7.4%; accidents involving pedestrians, 5.2%; other, 2.1%). Violence-related spinal cord injuries have been steadily increasing over the past two decades, and today, violence is associated with 29 percent. Falls and sports cause 21 percent and seven percent of cases, respectively.







In spinal cord injury cases it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, review the medical procedures in question, and to enable physicians or other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate the accident record and injuries. If you or a loved one is a victim of spinal cord injury, call Williams & Moore, P.A. now at (866) 258-6700. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to accept your case, we will work on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds. Don’t delay! You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation for your injuries, but a lawsuit must be filed before the statute of limitations expires.