When an individual experiences a spinal cord injury (SCI), they are facing an injury to their spinal cord that can affect their function or the individual’s mobility. Some of the terms heard by a Texas spinal cord injury attorney include terms like “paraplegia” or “tetraplegia” when discussing SCIs. Paraplegia is when an individual loses the function of their lower limbs. Tetraplegia is when an individual loses mobility in both upper and lower limbs.
Individuals seeking a Texas spinal cord injury attorney do not necessarily need to have their spinal cord severed to experience a serious injury. In the vast majority of cases, a SCI occurs that damages the spinal cord, but the spinal cord remains intact. SCIs can be divided into complete and incomplete injuries. A complete injury leads to permanent damage to the area that is affected. These are the injuries that lead to paraplegia or tetraplegia. However, an incomplete SCI may lead to partial damage, where a person may have some ability to move or some ability to feel in the affected part of their body.
There are four primary categories for SCIs. They are lumbar, cervical, thoracic, and sacral. The severity of the injury that a person experiences depends on where in the spine the injury happened. For example, a cervical injury will impact the neck and head areas, making these the most severe as they can lead to tetraplegia.
Learn more about how legal professionals assist individuals with certain spinal cord injuries and see how Van Wey, Metzler & Williams have helped individuals by serving as advocates to seek justice and accountability when you visit them.
