What is a Spinal Injury, and how might a New Jersey Spinal Injury Lawyer assist you?

Picture a lady in a car wearing a seatbelt who is stopped at a traffic light with her foot on the brake. Out of nowhere, a truck rams into the back of the car. Her body suddenly jerks forward and is then caught by the seat belt, so she doesn’t go through the windshield. Then, the body slams back into the seat and the headrest. That all took about 2 seconds.

What does that mean for the spine?

The spine is made up of bones (called vertebrae) that are separated by discs which is a soft material. That is what allows us to bend over and turn around. 

When the spine comes under sudden pressure, the discs are stretched and sometimes the disc tissue is damaged.

That disc damage is enough to change the quality of life for many truck crash victims.

Other times, the force of the crash damages the spinal cord so severely that the crash victim loses the control of different parts of the body.  

If the spinal cord is not completely severed, the victim might suffer paraplegia and can’t control or feel certain parts of the lower half the body. 

An even more severe injury is quadriplegia where the victim loses control and feeling from the neck down.

People who suffer neck and back injuries undergo treatment with doctors who specialize in either pain management, physical medicine and rehabilitation, anesthesia, orthopedics, neurology, or neurosurgery.

There are numerous potential spinal cord injuries from accidents. Treatments can help reduce the pain and increase mobility, but they don’t always bring the patient back to how they were before the crash.

This can cause physical pain and economic loss which should be compensated.