Traumatic spinal injury can result in people's lives being changed forever. Our Long Island Spinal Injury Lawyer group working at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC learned that a spinal injury affects thousands of Americans each and every year. And of that number, nearly 10,000 suffer either permanent physical impairment or a wrongful death. The injury’s severity can range from chronic pain to permanent disability; it has the ability to devastate both individuals and their families for a lifetime.
Typically, a spinal cord injury is an injury that happens when cells are destroyed or the nerves which transmit signals throughout the spine are damaged, which leads to some loss of function. When people think of spinal injury they immediately think of paralysis, but not all spinal injuries damage the spinal cord. An injury can be relatively minor, such as the case with a bulging or herniated disc, or more severe, as is the case with a burst fracture.
The experience gained by our Long Island Spinal Injury Lawyer team shows that some of the most common sources for a spinal injury are: surgical error, faulty products, assault, auto accident, workplace accident, slip and fall accident and an injury sustained during birth. Our team has also found that a number of these incidents are caused by the recklessness or carelessness of other individuals, parties or companies. If you or a loved one is suffering from the consequences of a traumatic spinal injury, contact our experienced Long Island Spinal Injury Lawyer team at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC to see what legal avenues are open to you.
An injury to the spine can be caused by a variety of circumstances. Bending over to pick up an object, sneezing, slipping and falling on ice and being involved in an auto accident can all cause a spinal injury. A victim of a spine injury like a cervical spinal fracture can temporarily lose function in their arms or legs. This is known as paraparesis. Additionally, victims can suffer from hemiplegia or a noticeable weakening of either the left or the right side of the body. Chronic pain and permanent paralysis is also associated with serious spinal injury and almost always requires long-term medical treatment.
In the event of a spinal injury, the faster you can get medical attention the better the chance that the long-term consequences can be minimized. Additionally, fast medical treatment can lead to quicker recovery times. If you were injured and failed to get prompt medical attention either because of a doctor error or slow emergency response team, you may be able to file a medical malpractice case against the negligent entities. Our Long Island Medical Malpractice Lawyer team at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC is available for a free consultation to review your case and suggest what legal options you have available.
Treatment options for traumatic spinal injury are just as varied as the types of spinal injury. Treatment for a spinal cord injury will be quite a bit different than treatments for cervical spinal injury or sacral spinal injury. In the case of a mild injury, the injury can be treated with medications, such as corticosteroids. However, a serious injury can require surgical solutions, such as decompression laminectomy or discectomy. Other injuries, such as lumbar spinal fracture and lumbosacral spinal fracture might require the vertebra to be “fused” together in order to stabilize the spinal column.
There are a multitude of symptoms that follow a traumatic spinal injury. Our New York Spinal Injury Attorney group states that severe pain is the most common, but other symptoms include:
In most cases, a traumatic spinal injury results in serious emotional damage in addition to the physical damage. Victims of paralysis often feel depressed and hopeless. The rigorous physical therapy involved after a spinal injury can cause anguish as can the never-ending medical bills. The New York Injury Lawyer team at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC knows about the devastation of the effects of a spinal injury and we're committed to helping victims get the compensation they need to get their lives back together.
While a spinal injury can be the result of another person's recklessness, carelessness or negligence, these accidents can also result in an additional injury, such as a brain injury and fatal injury (wrongful death).
If you or a loved on believe that your spinal injury is the result of a wrongful act or negligence on the part of another person, our Long Island Spinal Injury Lawyer team at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC can help you determine fault and suggest what legal alternatives you have. Please call us at 800.696.9529, online or contact one of our New York City offices in Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, the Bronx or Brooklyn, our New York office in Westchester County or one of our Long Island offices in Nassau County or Suffolk County.