Spinal Injuries & Paralysis Caused by Ohio Truck Accidents

Injuries in Truck Accidents

Spinal injuries are common in truck accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 11.9% of all fatal truck accidents involve spinal cord injuries (SCIs).

When injuries like SCIs and paralysis affect your entire life, you need a spinal cord injury lawyer who is dedicated to helping truck accident injury victims like you. Ohio Truck Accident Help is ready to stand by your side and help you get the compensation you deserve.

Spinal Injuries from Ohio Truck Accidents

Neck, back, and spinal cord injuries can be catastrophic after a truck accident. These body parts are essential in controlling your movement and bodily functions.

Some common SCIs that occur in commercial truck accidents include:

Whiplash: Often occurring in rear-end collisions, whiplash affects the cervical spine, causing rapid back-and-forth neck motion.
Cervical Fractures: Fractures in the neck region can be life-threatening or lead to permanent disability due to their proximity to the brain and central nervous system.
Thoracic Spinal Injuries: Injuries to the mid-back or thoracic region can be severe, potentially affecting mobility and organ function.
Lumbar Spine Injuries: These involve the lower back and can lead to symptoms like severe pain, weakness, or numbness in the lower extremities.
Spinal Cord Contusions: Bruising of the spinal cord can result from the impact, possibly leading to temporary or permanent loss of function.
Herniated Discs: The impact of a truck accident can cause the discs between vertebrae to rupture or shift, leading to pain and nerve damage.
Spinal Cord Compression: This can happen when a sudden, forceful impact causes the spinal cord to be compressed, affecting sensory and motor functions.
Fracture-Dislocations: A combination of broken vertebrae and dislocation can severely impact spinal stability and alignment.
Complete Spinal Cord Injury: A complete injury results in a total loss of sensory and motor function below the injury site.
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: These injuries allow for some function or sensation below the injury point, often from the neck or waist down.
Paraplegia: Resulting from damage to the thoracic or lumbar spine, paraplegia affects all or part of the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.
Quadriplegia (Tetraplegia): Caused by damage to the cervical spine, this injury affects all four limbs and the torso.
Spinal Stenosis: The spinal canal narrows due to the accident, which can pressure the spinal cord and nerves.
Spondylolisthesis: This occurs when a vertebra slips over the one below it, potentially causing nerve compression.
Axial Burst Fractures: These fractures happen when the vertebrae are crushed due to the vertical force exerted in accidents.

Paralysis After a Truck Accident in Ohio

Truck accidents often result in various forms of paralysis, including permanent, temporary, or partial, significantly impacting one’s life, career, and more. This means reduced mobility, necessitating new ways to perform daily activities, which can be challenging and affect one’s self-esteem.

Such injuries may prevent the continuation of certain jobs, particularly those involving physical labor or driving, and lead to increased time spent on medical treatments and managing chronic pain, further hindering job functionality.

Moreover, paralysis from truck accidents can strain personal relationships, as victims might become withdrawn while coping with their condition. In these situations, consulting a paralysis lawyer is advisable. Ohio Truck Accident Help offers legal assistance, potentially securing financial compensation for the losses and guiding individuals towards a new path in life post-injury.

Dealing with Spinal Injuries & Paralysis

The immediate aftermath of a spinal cord injury due to a truck accident can be overwhelming and confusing. Here are some steps you should take to navigate this challenging situation:

Seek Immediate Medical Attention

The top priority is to ensure your safety and well-being. Call 911 immediately and go to an emergency room or trauma center. Medical personnel will assess your condition, stabilize your spine, and transport you to a medical facility for proper treatment.

Get a Comprehensive Evaluation

Once at the hospital, you’ll undergo a thorough evaluation by specialists, including neurologists, neurosurgeons, and rehabilitation physicians. They will conduct various tests, including neurological exams, imaging scans (MRI, CT), and electrodiagnostic tests, to determine the extent of your spinal cord injury and develop a personalized treatment plan.

Receive Acute Care and Stabilization

In the acute phase, the focus is stabilizing your condition and preventing further damage to your spinal cord. This may involve surgical interventions, such as decompression surgery to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or spinal fusion to stabilize the spine. Additionally, you’ll receive medications and supportive care to manage pain, prevent infections, and promote healing.

Secure Long-Term Care

As you stabilize from a spinal cord injury, rehabilitation and physical therapy become crucial, focusing on exercises to improve range of motion, strength, neuromuscular coordination, and balance. Addressing emotional and psychological well-being is also vital, involving counseling, support groups, and connecting with others facing similar challenges.

Depending on your injury’s severity, assistive devices like wheelchairs, braces, or walkers may be needed to boost mobility and independence, with occupational therapists guiding their selection and usage.

Compensation for Truck Accident Spinal Injuries

You can get compensation to cover all your losses related to a spinal cord injury from a truck collision, including money for:

Past, present, and future medical bills
Lost wages
Loss of earning capacity
Loss of enjoyment of life
Loss of companionship
Temporary and permanent disability
Disfigurement
Pain and suffering
Emotional anguish

Insurance companies often fight truck accident settlements, so it’s important to work with an attorney who understands the permanent damage that your car accident caused in your life.

Who’s Liable for a Spinal Injury or Paralysis?

Liability can be difficult to prove in some truck accident cases, and many have more than one party at fault.

Some potential parties that might be liable for your spinal cord injuries include:

The Trucking Company
Truck Part Manufacturer
The Truck Driver
Maintenance Providers
Loaders or Shippers

How to Prove Fault for a Spinal Injury After a Truck Crash

Following your truck accident, a thorough investigation will be conducted to establish fault for your spinal injury. Additionally, you will need to present evidence of your damages. Maintaining all medical records and bills is crucial to demonstrate the extent and origin of your injuries. Your attorney might collaborate with an accident reconstructionist or other specialist to precisely ascertain the events of your crash and its effects on your life.

The Role of an Experienced Ohio Truck Accident Lawyer

A knowledgeable and capable truck accident lawyer can play a vital role in helping you navigate the complexities of a truck accident claim and obtain all the compensation you deserve. Some of the responsibilities your attorney can take on include:

Providing you with emotional support and guidance.
Helping to identify all liable parties.
Investigating and gathering evidence.
Accessing medical experts and accident reconstructionists.
Explaining trucking laws and regulations.
Negotiating with insurance companies.
Drafting legal documents, filing motions, and taking your case to trial.
Ensuring you secure maximum compensation.

Spine Injury/Paralysis FAQs

We know you likely have many questions at this point in your life. Things may seem grim. Let us be there with answers.

How are Spinal Injuries Diagnosed?

SCIs are typically diagnosed with radiological tests like X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. Doctors will also conduct a comprehensive evaluation, including a physical examination and neurological tests.

What Treatments Help Spinal Cord Injuries?

Doctors will use a variety of methods to determine exactly what treatment you need after a truck accident. Treatment aims to prevent further damage to the spinal cord, promote healing, and restore as much function as possible.

Immediate treatment may include immobilization, medications, and surgery. Long-term treatment may involve rehabilitation, physical therapy, and pain management.

Can Spinal Cord Injuries Heal?

Your ability to completely heal from a spinal cord injury depends on its severity. The nervous system is complex, and nerve cells are limited in their ability to regenerate. Thus, it can be challenging to heal from an SCI completely. However, new treatment strategies provide growing hope that complete healing and significant recovery are possible.

Can I File a Lawsuit if a Family Member Sustained a Spinal Injury Resulting in Paralysis?

If your family member is still alive, they can file a personal injury lawsuit to get compensation after a spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis. However, if they were the victim of a fatal truck accident, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim.

How Do Pre-existing Conditions Affect a Spinal Injury Claim?

Pre-existing conditions can make it more difficult to prove that the truck accident caused the spinal injury. They may also reduce the amount of compensation you’re able to receive. However, in many cases, your spinal injury attorney can help you get a fair settlement even if you do have pre-existing conditions.

Contact Ohio Truck Accident Help

There are many different types of SCIs, and all require immediate and long-term medical treatment. You may be eligible to recover compensation if someone else caused your injuries. Working closely with a premier Ohio truck accident lawyer who can help you prove liability and get what you deserve is important.

Contact Ohio Truck Accident Help today for a free consultation.