Maryland Car Accident Attorney Blog
Understanding as we do the crippling effects of car, truck and motorcycle collisions, there is nothing funny about being laid up in the hospital for days or weeks following a bad traffic wreck. The mere fact that one’s health, or the well-being of one’s family, may have been compromised due to the negligence of just one person should be enough to consider speaking with an experienced personal injury lawyer.
Here in the Baltimore area, I and my colleagues understand very well the negative outcome that a serious roadway accident can have on some individuals. Whether takes place in Owings Mills, Gaithersburg, Bowie or Washington, D.C., the long-term outcome could be temporary paralysis, chronic pain or permanent disability depending on the type of injuries sustained in the crash.
Every year, dozens upon dozens of Marylanders endure spinal cord injuries as a result of a variety of automobile and commercial trucking wrecks. These days, with the ever-increasing volume of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, being hurt as a result of a traffic collision seems to be less of a possibility and more of a certainty. This isn’t to say that overall vehicle safety has waned, but that increasing traffic density may tend to increase the odds of a random collision happening more often to occupants of passenger cars, city and charter buses and those individuals on foot.
Of course, it is a truism that property, not lives, can be replaced. This is why we, as Maryland auto and trucking accident attorneys, believe that victims of serious car and truck crashes should be represented by a qualified legal professional when they believe that they have been hurt as a result of the negligent, thoughtless or haphazard actions of another individual behind the wheel of an automobile, motorcycle or semi tractor-trailer.
When it comes to bad traffic wrecks, there are some particular bodily injuries that can sideline a person for weeks or months, if not years or even for a lifetime. Of these life-changing injuries are spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injuries. While outward appearances may be deceiving, numerous kinds of back and head injuries can lead to partial or full-body paralysis. In any case, these types of head and spine injuries should be considered serious and by all means should never be underestimated in their potential for long-term disability.
Given the number of people who are hurt, seriously injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents all across this nation, it should come as little surprise that Maryland personal injury attorneys see clients suffering from the aforementioned injuries on a fairly regular basis. We know from years of experience that medical treatment for these types of bodily injuries can severely affect the financial well-being of a family whose budget has already been pushed to the breaking point.
In terms of physical damage to the human body, spinal cord injuries received in a serious traffic accident can manifest themselves in trauma to the various cells that make up the spinal cord and its constituent parts. If enough of these cells become damaged (or if the nerves that conduct signals from the brain to the legs, arms and other portions of the victim’s body are cut or severed) there is a strong certainty that the individual who has received those injuries will require an extensive and many times difficult period of recuperative. Sadly, in cases of spinal cord injury, a full recovery can never be guaranteed.
One of the more typical SCIs (aka: spinal cord injuries) is usually a compression of the spinal column. This compression can cause bruising or contusions to the spinal cord along its length. Another kind of SCI involves what doctors refer to as “central cord syndrome.” This condition is sometimes seen as damage to the “corticospinal” tracts that are located in the cervical region. In addition to the bruising that can occur in some SCIs, a victim can also receive lacerations to the spinal column, which are akin to the literal tearing or severing of the nerve fibers. Such injuries are often the result of traumatic events resulting from a high-speed roadway collision or rollover accident.
When looking for symptoms following a bad traffic wreck, doctors can find instances such as loss of sensation and reflex function below the point of injury. Depending on the circumstances, such injuries can cause dysfunction of the bowel or bladder, and sometimes even loss or interruption of the victim’s ability to breathe on their own. Paralysis is a common consequence of a traumatic spinal cord injury, which can manifest itself as loss of muscle control and other voluntary muscle movement. Indications include sensitivity to or painful response from a variety of stimulation, muscle spasms, and even sexual dysfunction.