Types of Spinal Cord Injuries and Their Impact on Claims

• January 23, 2025
• Attorney David Mann
• Personal Injury

Spinal cord injuries can have devastating effects on our physical health as well as our financial situation.  To be sure, there are many different types of spinal cord injuries (ranging from moderate to severe), and the severity of these injuries will have an impact on the amount of compensation you may receive from filing a claim.  The more severe your injuries are, the more you should be compensated.  In this blog post, we will discuss types of spinal cord injuries and their impact on claims.

Complete vs. Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries

Generally, there are two types of spinal cord injuries:  complete and incomplete.

• Complete Spinal Cord Injuries – These injuries occur when the spinal cord is completely severed and the brain does not have the ability to send signals to points below the injury.  With the advent of new technologies, complete spinal cord injuries are becoming less prevalent than they once were.
• Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries – These injuries occur when a person has a slight feeling or function at the site below the injury.  There are different degrees of severity in incomplete spinal cord injuries.

Classification Based on Injury Location

The medical profession uses a classification system, based on function and location, to determine the severity of the spinal cord injury.  The function aspect ranges from A to E, with A being a complete spinal cord injury and E being normal feeling and movement.  The location of the spinal cord injury is important; the higher the injury to the spinal cord, the more the body is affected.  The different classified locations of a spinal cord injury are:

• Cervical – Cervical involves the neck area and injuries can cause a loss of function to the arms, legs and chest.
• Thoracic – This involves the chest area, and injuries affect the chest and legs.  Injuries can also affect breathing.
• Lumbar – This is the section between the chest area and the pelvis and spinal cord; injuries to this area can affect the legs and hips.
• Sacral – This is the section from the pelvis to the end of the spine.  Spinal cord injuries to this area usually affect the hips and legs.

In addition to the location of the injury, each location has a certain number of vertebrae.  So, if you are told you have injuries to T1 to T5, that means you have damage to the first 5 vertebrae of your thoracic region.

Impact of SCI on Daily Life

Spinal cord injuries can have a profound effect on the daily life of an injured person.  Daily activities that you once took for granted are now more difficult to perform. Some of the ways a spinal cord injury can have an affect on daily life are:

• Loss of Independence – Simple daily tasks like bathing and getting dressed may require help from loved ones or a home health aide.  A loss of independence can lead to a feeling of helplessness and other mental health issues.
• Financial Strain – A spinal cord injury may restrict you from working, or your hours may need to be reduced.  Either way, you may feel a financial strain.  You may also have medical expenses that are not covered by health insurance.  One way to increase income when you are recovering from a spinal cord injury is to apply for disability insurance.  Additionally, if your spinal cord injury was caused by the actions of another person, you may be entitled to compensation by filing a personal injury claim.
• Inability to Earn a Living – Many people find self-worth at their job and look forward to earning an honest day’s pay and contributing to society.  Sitting at home with nothing to do can lead to psychological issues such as anxiety and depression.

The impact of a spinal cord injury on daily life can depend on the severity of the injury as well as the psychological makeup of the injured person.  With enough support from family and friends, those injured by spinal cord injuries can lead fulfilling lives.

Legal Implications of Spinal Cord Injury Claims

Many spinal cord injuries are caused by the negligence of another person and can happen in a variety of accidents, like car accidents or a slip and fall.  And, because spinal cord injuries can be severe and dramatically affect your daily life, you may be entitled to compensation from the responsible entity.  Your lawyer can go over your specific case, but in order to be successful in your claim, you need to fulfill four elements of a negligence claim.  Those four elements are:

• Duty of Care – The defendant owed you a legal duty to keep you safe from harm.
• Breach – The defendant breached the duty of care that was owed to you.
• Causation – The defendant’s actions caused you to be injured.
• Damages – The defendant’s actions injured the plaintiff, thus causing damages.

Once all four of these elements are met, you most likely have a claim for damages against the negligent party.

As we have seen, spinal cord injuries can cause physical, emotional, and financial stress, not only to the injured person, but to their families.  We hope that this blog post on the types of spinal cord injuries and their impact on claims helped you understand more about these types of injuries.

The Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys at the Mann Law Firm Are Here to Help You

The Mann Law Firm has been in business for over 30 years, helping injured clients fight for their right to compensation.  We are in a unique position to help as David Mann used to work as in-house defense counsel for a large insurance company.  This position gave David insights on how insurance companies try to settle cases for less than they are worth.  If you have been injured in any type of accident and think you have suffered damages, call us today at (478) 742-3381 for a free consultation.  We collect a fee only if you are successful in receiving compensation.