Auto-Related Spinal Cord Injuries

When a passenger vehicle collision results in auto-related spinal cord injuries, the results can usually be life-altering.

In the United States, almost 12,000 men and women each year sustain spinal cord injuries.

The majority of these incidents are caused by a passenger vehicle collision. Regarding auto-related spinal cord injuries, individuals at greatest risk entail men under 30 years of age.

Built up with vertebrae, the spinal column comprise small bones, which protect a vast nerve group to send signals from the brain to the rest of the body.

Any kind of spinal cord impairment can interfere with nerve function, or sever nerves to disrupt the messages of the brain.


This can result in cut-off or impaired sensations, and minimized mobility. Normally, a spinal cord injury partially or fully can diminish the function of the body right below the injury, to eliminate or reduce sensation and voluntary movement.

When the victim sustains an injury that is incomplete, he or she may have the capacity to move on one body side better than the other.

Injury to the area of the neck can usually cause quadriplegia, where a victim has restricted or no motor function from his or her neck on down.

The victim, in addition, sustaining injuries to the spinal cord must deal with other changes, that could entail breathing difficulty, and a need for the use of breathing aids, such as, pacemakers of the diaphragm, and mechanical ventilators.

Associated with motor vehicle collisions, temporary or permanent paralysis can be a critical problem. Many of these collisions entail the following: failure of seatbelts; rollovers and collisions; collapse of a vehicle roof; defect in suspension; rear end crash on a truck; tread separation in vehicle tire; and seat back collapse.

The healthcare issue is usually a result of major trauma to the spine, which can involve fractures, crushes, dislocation, and compresses of a spinal cord vertebrae.

When physicians diagnose accurately a severed spinal cord or broken back injury, the individual has various options for recovery, and less likelihood of secondary damage, as a result of inappropriate moving during the healing process.


Subsequent to the initial spinal cord injury as a result of a passenger vehicle collision, the individual can suffer severe spinal cord swelling, which can change virtually every system of the body.

The swelling, at times, can cause critical injuries, which can last, subsequent to the accident, 1 to 2 years.

Many victims of spinal cord injury, unfortunately, do not regain complete function subsequent to the accident.

Individuals, fortunately, who suffer serious spinal cord injuries can live longer than those in previous generations.

Due to the advent of adequate antibiotics, medical care options, and better medications, long-term survival, although compromised, is the norm.

Dealing with auto-related spinal cord injuries can usually require continuing long-term healthcare, physical therapy, and additional surgeries.

Due to spiraling costs, you may want to hire an attorney who specializes in spinal cord injury to handle your claim for recovering damages.


Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797.