Car crashes can cause many different types of serious traumatic injuries. People may brace for impact, resulting in fractures to their arms or collarbones. People may hit their heads on the steering wheel or the window of the vehicle, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.
The physical trauma of a collision can also cause a spinal cord injury. Many people are aware that spinal cord injuries are often permanent and can become incredibly costly over time. Damage to the spinal cord requires extensive medical intervention and can limit an individual’s earning potential.
Those diagnosed with a spinal cord injury after a car crash may wonder how long they have to deal with symptoms and cope with reduced income. Is recovery possible after a traumatic spinal cord injury?
Some injuries respond to treatment
There are two distinct categories of spinal cord injuries. Most people are familiar with complete spinal cord injuries. Complete spinal cord injuries cause permanent trauma. When a car crash or similar incident severs the spinal cord, total recovery is currently medically impossible.
However, there have been very promising medical advancements in recent years. Implants combined with physical therapy may eventually help certain people with complete spinal cord injuries recover at least some lost function. For the time being, complete spinal cord injuries cause total and permanent loss of function and sensation below the injury site.
Incomplete injuries are different. They tear, pinch or otherwise damage the spinal cord without cutting it in half. As such, some of the damage may eventually heal. With proper medical intervention, people can sometimes regain a degree of lost function. Even if they cannot improve the injury itself, they may be able to recover lost function by undergoing physical and occupational therapy.
Regardless of whether treatment can eliminate symptoms, ongoing medical care is typically necessary. People can anticipate six figures or more in increased lifetime medical costs when they have spinal cord injuries. The total costs depend on an individual’s age, the placement of the injury and its completeness.
Pursuing adequate compensation after a car crash that causes a spinal cord injury can be a challenge. Injured parties may need help exploring all their options, as insurance may prove insufficient.