Chicago Paraplegia Injury Lawyer
According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, roughly 5.4 million people in the U.S., or one in every 50 Americans, are currently living with some form of paralysis. One of the most common types of paralysis is paraplegia, which affects the lower half of the body.
In many cases, paraplegia results from serious injuries from accidents that cause direct trauma to the spinal cord. If you were injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence and developed paraplegia as a result, you could be entitled to compensation for your losses.
The paraplegia attorneys of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. understand the life-changing effects that accompany a paraplegia diagnosis. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your paraplegia injury case in a free initial consultation.
What Is Paraplegia?
The term paraplegia refers to a specific type of paralysis that impacts your ability to move and feel your body’s lower half. Paraplegia is typically caused by injuries or illnesses that affect the parts of your nervous system that control the lower half of your body.
Individuals with paraplegia typically have difficulty moving their legs and feet or feeling anything below their waistline. Paraplegia also commonly affects the ability to control your stomach muscles, bladder, or bowel. In incomplete paraplegia cases, paralysis may only affect one leg.
Temporary paraplegia is a non-permanent type of paraplegia that can affect patients who undergo spinal anesthesia for certain types of surgical interventions.
Paraplegia should not be confused with hemiplegia, a condition that causes paralysis of just one side of the body.
Common Causes of Paraplegia
Paraplegia is most frequently caused by traumatic injuries to the lower sections of the spinal cord, which transmit nerve impulses between the brain and the lower body. These injuries may be caused by:
- Car accidents – Motor vehicle accidents that result in direct or indirect trauma to the spinal cord caused by herniated discs, fractured vertebrae, or dangerous buildups of blood or cerebrospinal fluid along the spine can cause paraplegia.
- Slip and falls – Slip and fall injuries caused by dangerous conditions at unsafe premises or hazardous workplaces can lead to back or spinal cord injuries that result in paraplegia.
- Sports injuries – High-impact sports such as football, basketball, diving, and skiing carry a significant risk of spinal cord injuries that can lead to paraplegia.
- Medical malpractice – If a healthcare provider is negligent in the care they provide or the actions they take during diagnostic or surgical procedures, they can exacerbate or even cause spinal cord injuries that result in paraplegia.
Paraplegia Prognosis and Treatment
Except in cases of temporary paraplegia caused by the administration of spinal anesthetics, there is currently no way of reversing the type of spinal cord damage that causes paraplegia. However, the following types of treatment can alleviate symptoms and improve the long-term prognosis for paraplegia patients:
- Emergency treatments – Acute care for spinal cord injuries typically involves immobilizing patients, maintaining their ability to breathe, and preventing shock to avoid causing further injury.
- Medications – Medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs, pain relief drugs, muscle relaxants, and drugs that improve bladder, bowel, and sexual functioning are commonly prescribed to paraplegia patients.
- Surgical intervention – Doctors may recommend surgery to remove broken vertebral fragments, repair herniated discs, or drain fluids placing pressure on the spinal cord.
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation – Physical therapy and rehabilitation can help patients strengthen the muscles they can still control and find adaptive solutions for completing everyday tasks.
Proving Negligence
To recover compensation in a paraplegia injury claim, you must be able to demonstrate that another party’s negligence caused your injuries. Proving negligence may take different forms depending on how your injuries occurred.
For example, suppose you were injured in a motor vehicle accident and developed paraplegia. In that case, you could provide evidence that the other driver was violating traffic laws when the accident occurred to demonstrate their negligence.
If your paraplegia was caused by medical malpractice, you would likely need to demonstrate that medical providers failed to follow appropriate standards of care to prove that they were negligent.
If a slip and fall caused your injuries, you could provide evidence to show that the owner of the premises where your accident occurred failed to properly maintain or secure their property.
Possible Compensation for Paraplegia and Related Injuries
You could be entitled to money intended to compensate you for the following injury-related losses:
- Medical bills – The ongoing and future costs of any medical bills you incur to treat your paraplegia and related injuries
- Out-of-pocket expenses – The value of any incidental expenses you pay out-of-pocket as a result of your injuries, such as the costs of travel to and from doctor’s appointments
- Lost wages – The value of any reductions in your take-home pay if you are forced to miss time at work while you recover from your injuries
- Lost earning potential – The value of losses in your long-term earning capacity if you are unable to return to your usual job as a result of the limitations you experience from paraplegia
- Pain and suffering – The subjective costs of the physical pain, mental anguish, and emotional suffering that accompany your injuries and paraplegia diagnosis
Why Choose Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard?
The attorneys of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. are deeply familiar with the devastating impacts of paraplegia and related spinal cord injuries. Our firm represented a young dancer who was paralyzed from the waist down in a tragic accident at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
24-year-old Tierney Darden was severely injured at the airport after a 750-pound pedestrian shelter collapsed and fell on her. The shelter was poorly constructed and maintained, and as a result, the young woman was gravely wounded and left with paraplegia.
The personal injury lawyers of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. aggressively pursued fair compensation for Ms. Darden, eventually reaching a record-breaking verdict against the City of Chicago for $148 million.
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