Connecticut Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys Serving Hamden and East Haven
Accomplished lawyers pursue compensation for accident victims with neck, back and nerve injuries
The spinal cord is the conduit to and from the brain for signals that regulate bodily function and sensation. When its pathways are disrupted, the results can be devastating, ranging from pain and infirmity to complete and permanent paralysis. If you’ve suffered an accident that damaged your spinal cord, the Connecticut personal injury attorneys at Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. are prepared to help. From offices in Hamden and East Haven, we can investigate the circumstances of your accident to determine if someone’s negligence was to blame. If so, we can aggressively pursue appropriate compensation for your injuries and losses.
Common causes of spinal cord injury
The leading causes of spinal cord injury are trauma and disease. Trauma to the body can damage the nerve fibers that make up the cord. This type of trauma most often occurs due to:
- Automobile accidents — The impact from a car, truck or motorcycle accident is the leading cause of spinal cord injury.
- Falls — Whether it is a simple slip and fall onto the floor or fall off a ladder or scaffold, victims can experience moderate to severe spinal trauma. Falls are the leading cause of spinal injury for adults 65 and older.
- Assault — Gunshots, stabbings and beatings can result in a spinal impact that leaves victims paralyzed.
- Athletics — Contact sports, such as football, present the greatest risk, but any sport played on a hard surface presents a risk of spinal injury from a fall.
Types of spinal cord injuries
Spinal cord injuries are classified by severity based on “completeness,” as follows:
- Complete — The trauma point on the spine presents a total block to nerve impulses. The patient has no sensation or function below the affected area.
- Incomplete — The trauma point impedes nerve impulses, so function and sensation are diminished, but not totally lost.
With complete injuries, the location of the trauma point dictates whether a person might be paraplegic, suffering paralysis of the legs but retaining full function of the arms, or quadriplegic, with paralysis affecting all four limbs. Internal bodily functions, such as breathing, digestion and continence, could also be compromised depending on the location of the trauma point.
Symptoms of spinal cord Injuries after an accident
Victims of incomplete spinal injury may not immediately realize how badly they’ve been hurt. Adrenaline can often mask pain in the moment. Yet, you might feel the lingering effects of spinal cord injury in the days and weeks following your accident. These include:
- Difficulty moving
- Difficulty breathing
- Muscle weakness and fatigue
- Muscle spasms
- Tingling, numbness or loss of sensation
- Issues with bladder or bowel control
- Issues with heart rate or blood pressure
- Erectile dysfunction
- Chronic pain
You should seek immediate medical treatment for these symptoms, primarily to ensure your health and wellbeing and obtain the necessary medical treatment, and also to create a record that links the symptoms to your accident.
Recovering damages for spinal cord injury
With spinal cord injuries, it’s important to understand your prognosis for recovery. Some injuries will fade in time, while others are permanent and life-altering. As your advocates, we consult reliable medical experts to fully understand the extent of your injuries. We then aggressively pursue the maximum recovery for your economic losses, your pain and suffering, and your loss of quality of life.
Contact a trustworthy Connecticut spinal injury lawyer
Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. represents victims of spinal cord injuries throughout Connecticut. To schedule a free consultation, please call 203-745-0942 or contact us online. We have offices in Hamden and East Haven. But if your injuries prevent you from coming to us, we can visit you at home or in the hospital.