Paraplegia is a life-altering condition that is caused due to a serious injury to the spine. A person with paraplegia often has a long road to recovery. Recovery is generally painful and extremely expensive. Many people afflicted with paraplegia seek the assistance of a good Willens Law Offices Chicago.
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), vehicular accidents & slip and falls are the most common causes of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). About 40% of all SCI victims are afflicted with paraplegia.
What is Paraplegia?
Paraplegia is a condition that is a result of injury caused to the spine. It is the inability of a person to move or feel sensation in the lower part of the body, like feel, legs, toes, including the abdomen. Paraplegia generally affects those who have suffered injury anywhere from the T2 (the second thoracic vertebrae) to S5 (fifth sacral vertebrae) of the spine. Paraplegia does not include paralysis of the arms. Paralysis can be complete or incomplete, depending on the amount of damage and the location of the damage caused.
· A person with complete paraplegia will have neither motor function nor sensory function in the lower body.
· A person with incomplete paraplegia will have either little sensation and no motor functionality, or some motor ability and no sensory function.
Paraplegics, who have to undergo treatment for a long period of time, have to face additional challenges along with their loss of sensory and motor functions. The nerves that get damaged in the injury to the spine sometimes can cause other bodily dysfunctions that are controlled by those nerves. They could – in the long run – affect the respiratory functions, urinary, or gastrointestinal (bladder and bowel dysfunction), circulatory functions and the reproductive functions.
Life beyond paraplegia
A combination of a number of therapies, medications and rehabilitation is extended to paraplegic patients. Doctors set certain “functional goals” or realistic expectations of activity levels a patient can expect to achieve with these. All these aim at enabling the patient to stay healthy, manage daily functions and cope up with the life-altering changes that have affected them.
This treatment of therapies and rehabilitation, life-long medication and assistive devices like wheelchairs are quite expensive. It has been estimated that a person affected with paraplegia at the age of 25, incurs and expense of about $1.5 to $2.2 million in a lifetime.
Paraplegia claim and its challenges
According to the Mayo Clinic, automobile accidents, falls and injury caused as a result of diseases like arthritis, osteoporosis, and cancer are some of the common causes of paraplegia. A person who suffers paraplegia as a result of a work-related accident or illness, can file a claim for workers compensation benefits, without showing fault. However, if a claim involves personal injury, you need to take action against the party, person, or company responsible for your injury. In such a case, you would require to prove that:
- The accused had duty of care
- The accused breached the duty of care
- The personal injury was caused due to this breach of duty
Often, such claims are difficult. It will benefit your case greatly to get in touch with an attorney who has experience handling such claims. Call a top-rated Willens Law Chicago at Willens Law Offices today for a free consultation - (312) 957-4166
