Classification and Effects of Spinal Cord Injury on Road Accident Victims

Victims of road accidents have the biggest probability of sustaining severe injuries, one of which is the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). According to the Foundation for Spinal Cord Injury Prevention, Care, and Cure, there are around 259, 000 people who are living with SCI. This further ranges from 229,000 up to 306,000 individuals.

This data is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which affirms that 46 percent of the occurrences were brought by motor vehicle accidents.

The disturbing thing about this is that recently, the rate of motor vehicle accidents had gone up. Based on the data presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there have been 30,196 fatal crashes throughout the nation. Incidentally, the state with the most number of accidents is California. 

Its main city, Los Angeles, is likewise considered as the one of places with the highest incidences of traffic casualties, with around 561 cases as of 2010. This opens the possibility that there might also be a large number of SCI victims throughout California. 

To further inform those who would like to know more about SCI, it is actually classified by its completeness:

1.      Complete – All feeling or sensory as well as the ability to control movement are lost.

2.      Incomplete – There is still come sensory or motor function below the affected area. This has varying degrees.

Additionally, one way showoff showing how complex and wide ranging the effects of SCI is to enumerate the body functions that SCI negatively affects. This includes the following:

Severe Effects of TBI in Victims’ Lives

The State of California is known worldwide mainly for things: its beautiful sceneries, and the recurrence of vehicle crashes.

It seems that every day, there would have to be reports of traffic fatalities in there. That is why California is notorious for placing first in most casualty reports all throughout the United States. In fact, according to the statistics presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there had been about 3,434 traffic fatalities in the area just in 2008.

In line with this, a lot or California residents had already fallen victims to disabilities because of their involvement in traffic accidents. One of the most notable types of injury that could be sustained from such incidents is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

TBI is defined as the result of a sudden trauma that normally comes from motor vehicle crashes. During such mishaps, the resulting strong force damages the brain. This is when a foreign object pierces the skull and enters the brain. Meanwhile, it is also when bits of the skull penetrate the brain matter.

Traumatic Brain Injury is considered as one of the most debilitating ailments due to the severity of trauma that it brings. The victims of TBI could be paralyzed, be comatose, or have mental illness. In turn, they are forced to live solitary lives since they could not control their behavior or way of thinking. Moreover, the treatment for this disease is often expensive and most patients cannot afford the bills from their hospitalization.

With this predicament, a Los Angeles car accident attorney could help them greatly. This person could ensure that the victim would resume rehabilitation and treatment by getting damages awards from the person who caused the accident.

Conversely, to aid victims who suspect that they have sustained TBI because of their involvement in a recent accident, here are some of the TBI symptoms according to the Mayo Clinic:

·         Loss of memory

·         Lightheadedness

·         Blurred vision

·         Bad taste in the mouth

·         Fatigue

·         Ringing in the ears

·         Headache

·         Nausea

·         Loss of body balance

·         Focusing problems

·         Changes in mood

·         Unconscious for a moment

·         Confusion

·         Sleeping problems