New York Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys

Usual Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

Studies have shown that spinal cord injuries in the United States today are usually caused by car accidents (and other types of motor vehicle accidents, e.g., trucks, motorcycles, etc.). A large number of spinal cord injuries are also caused each year by falling from high places such as scaffolds; diving into shallow pools; and suffering spinal cord disease. These spinal cord injuries are usually immediate and obvious.

Never Ignore Any Back Pain or Back Injury

However, any back pain or back injury (from the neck on down) should never, ever be ignored or under-estimated, because the spinal cord itself can be involved.

Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers in Westchester, The Bronx, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland and Orange Counties

Approximately 11,000 people suffer from spinal cord injuries each year. Many of these serious, life-altering injuries are caused by negligence. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Our skilled New York spinal cord injury attorneys at Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP have successfully represented many clients throughout New York State. We regularly practice in all Courts throughout Westchester, The Bronx, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland and Orange Counties.

Contact our law firm for a free spinal cord injury consultation at one of our offices in White Plains, New Windsor, Bronx, and Brewster, NY.

What is the Spinal Cord?

The spinal cord is a tight collection of nerves linking the brain’s communications with the rest of the body. When these nerves are injured, the brain-body communication is effected. If the spinal cord injury is serious enough, communication stops. Vertebrae protecting the spinal cord can be broken, fractured, compressed, or severed.

What is a Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord injury results in physical impairment and serious disabilities. If all communication is stopped between the brain and the body, then the victim is paralyzed in either his or her legs, arms, or both. Quadriplegics and paraplegics are examples of victims of spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injuries are extremely painful. They may also interfere with the use of the lungs, bladder, and/or bowels. Spinal cord injury victims can have pressure sores (bedsores), jerking muscle contractions, and loss of sexual activity.

Types of spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injuries range in disability, depending upon the location of the spinal cord injury. The spinal cord has three sections: cervical, thoracic, and the upper-most part of the lumbar spine thereafter, becoming nerve roots. The most serious spinal cord injuries occur when the higher sections of the spinal cord are damaged and cause body paralysis, incontinence and loss of sensation:

• The cervical section controls everything below the neck
• The thoracic section controls the chest, abdominal muscles and the legs
• The lumbar section controls the lower extremities.

Categories of spinal cord injury

There are two categories of spinal cord injury: (1) complete and (2) incomplete. Both can be severe:

• A complete spinal cord injury usually causes complete paralysis (a total permanent loss of sensation and movement) below the site of the injury and loss of bowel and bladder control.
• An incomplete spinal cord injury is usually a permanent injury to the spinal cord that does not cause paralysis (a total permanent loss of sensation or movement). Incomplete spinal cord injuries can cause individual nerve cell damage, spinal contusions, temporary loss of sensation and movement, weakness and pain, and some bowel and bladder involvement.

What Happens After a Spinal Cord Injury?

Any spinal cord injury can have serious consequences, and most have a variety of severe complications. Depending on where the spinal cord injury occurred and whether it was an incomplete or complete spinal injury, victims can experience one or more of the following:

• Paralysis
• Urinary tract problems (incontinence)
• Bowel problems (loss of bowel function)
• Pressure sores (bed sores)
• Deep vein thrombosis (sometimes known as DVT or “economy class syndrome”)
• Pulmonary embolism (blockage of the pulmonary artery)
• Lung and breathing problems
• Autonomic dysreflexia (constriction of blood vessels
• Muscle spasms
• Sexual dysfunction
• Weight control problems (obesity)
• Pain (this can be severe)
• New injuries caused by the lack of sensation (such as burns)
• Depression and other psychological issues.

What If You or a Loved One Suffer a Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord injuries change the lives of both their victims and the victim’s family. These are usually severe, life-threatening injuries leaving spinal cord injury victims permanently disabled in some way. Quadriplegics and paraplegics are the victims of spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury victims need assistance to be mobile; some can do so with the use of a wheelchair. Almost every victim will suffer from extreme pain, at least part of the time. They will need long-term physical therapy and other medical care. Often, victims also suffer from depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns, which is understandable given the serious impact their injury has had upon their daily life, as well as upon their finances, their work, and their personal relationships. Every spinal cord injury victim -- and their loved ones -- will have to adapt to a new and different way of life. Many people suffering from a spinal cord injury require lengthy rehabilitation, lifelong medical care to prevent further damage, as well as intense psychological help and permanent, adapted home accommodations.

Seeking Legal Justice for Spinal Cord Injuries

A spinal cord injury lawyer can help victims and their families receive financial compensation to cover medical expenses and lost income, as well as pain and suffering. Spinal cord injury attorneys understand not only how to pursue lawsuits and claims in order to obtain justice for those who have been injured due to the wrongful acts of another, but they can also point families to various agencies (state and federal) which can assist spinal cord injury victims and their families with the exorbitant expenses involved in this type of long-term care. For example, two helpful national organizations are the Spinal Cord Injury Information Network and the National Spinal Cord Injury Association.

Cases involving spinal cord injuries require substantial monetary compensation. There are significant medical expenses to consider with a spinal cord injury, as well as evaluation of pain and suffering, lost wages and future earnings, and the impact the spinal cord injury has upon relationships.

New York Personal and Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP Can Help

Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP are an experienced New York spinal cord injury lawyers who has successfully represented many victims, and their families, who have been forced to deal with the impact of spinal cord injuries. Our attorneys regularly practice in all Courts throughout Westchester, The Bronx, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland and Orange Counties of New York.

In spinal cord injury cases, early action is essential for proper and thorough pursuit of your claims. Recognizing this, Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP offers victims and their families the opportunity of a free, initial consultation at one of our offices in White Plains, New Windsor, Bronx, and Brewster, NY.