Hillsville, VA Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

More than 17,000  life-changing spinal cord injuries (“SCI”) occur to Americans each year.   The average age of a person incurring a SCI is 43, and males are disproportionately affected by SCI, as they account for about 78% of all new cases.

There are varying levels of spinal cord injury based on the specific impairments caused by an injury; however, regardless of the gravity of an impairment, SCIs are typically life-altering and interfere with the ability to perform and enjoy simple activities.  Further, the life-long medical care needed to treat a severe SCI can be exorbitantly expensive, often reaching into the millions of dollars over a lifetime.

Hillsville spinal cord injury lawyer Mark Hurt has successfully recovered millions of dollars in compensation for injured victims during his over two decades of legal practice.  If you or a loved one suffered an SCI that was someone else’s fault, we invite you to call our office to schedule a free consultation.

At The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, we are dedicated to helping the victims of life-altering spinal cord injuries and tenaciously fight for accountability and the maximum compensation possible.

What Is A Spinal Cord Injury?

According to the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a spinal cord injury is damage to the bundle of nerves and cells that communicate signals from the brain to and from the rest of the body.  SCI can be caused by a direct injury to the spinal cord or damage to the vertebrae surrounding the spinal cord, which commonly occur in serious vehicle crashes, falls, shootings, stabbings, sports injuries, and other traumatic events.

As a Hillsville personal injury attorney with over two decades of experience, firm-founding attorney Mark Hurt is equipped to handle cases involving all types of SCI, back, and other personal injuries, including:

• Fractured Vertebrae
• Crushed Vertebrae
• Herniated Discs
• Spinal Cord Damage
• Chronic Pain
• Pinched Nerves
• Spinal Stenosis
• Tetraplegia
• Paraplegia

Mark also files wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of the families of SCI victims who succumb to their injuries.

Do All SCI Victims Experience Permanent Paralysis?

No.  In many cases, victims have minimal complications or recover from an SCI, regaining most or all motor function and control.  However, 53% of SCI patients are left tetraplegic (i.e., partial or total paralysis of the arms, legs, or torso).

Damage to the spinal column can result in short-term or permanent changes in movement, strength, sensation, and function below the injury site.  If an individual has no function below the injury site, the condition is called Complete SCI; whereas if some function is retained below the injury, it is categorized as Incomplete SCI.

The American Spinal Injury Association (“ASIA”) uses a grading scale to categorize the various levels of impairment associated with an SCI, including:

• ASIA A – Complete spinal cord injury (i.e., no function)
• ASIA B – Sensory incomplete injury with complete motor function loss
• ASIA C – Motor incomplete injury with some movement (i.e., less than 50% of the muscle groups have a full range of motion)
• ASIA D – Motor incomplete injury with more than half the muscle groups are anti-gravity
• ASIA E – Normal

Retention of function and movement depends on the type of injury and where it occurs. For example, higher injuries often cause paralysis and affect all limbs (tetraplegia or quadriplegia). In contrast, an injury to a lower portion of the spine may only affect leg movement.

Those suffering from SCI often experience ancillary challenges, too, such as chronic pain, urinary incontinence, bowel dysfunction, and heart or respiratory issues.  As a Hillsville spinal cord injury lawyer, attorney Mark Hurt can seek full and fair compensation for all injuries associated with an SCI, including secondary conditions.

How Are Spinal Cord Injuries Commonly Caused in Virginia?

Common causes of spinal cord injuries include:

• Vehicle crashes (which account for nearly half of all spinal cord injuries)
• Falls
• Violence (i.e., gunshots, stabbings, assaults, military combat, etc.)
• High-impact Sports
• Medical Malpractice (e.g., physician errors during childbirth or surgery)
• Injuries resulting from Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

What Types of Complications Accompany A Spinal Cord Injury?

Some of the complications associated with complete and incomplete SCI include:

• Paraplegia
• Quadriplegia (impacting all limbs and pelvic organs)
• Chronic Pain
• Whiplash
• Weakness
• Loss of Coordination
• Poor Balance
• Breathing Difficulty
• Changes in Fertility and Sexual Function
• Loss of Mobility
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Inflammation
• Water retention
• Anterior Cord Syndrome
• Central Cord Syndrome
• Blood Clots
• Coma
• Depression
• Bladder or Bowel Incontinence
• Internal Bleeding
• Death

How Much Does Treatment for A Spinal Cord Injury Cost?

According to the Dana and Christopher Reeves Foundation, individuals with high tetraplegia can expect to pay approximately a million dollars for care over the first year.  Therefore, medical bills and care costs for SCI are often in excess of a million dollars, with complex cases amounting to millions of dollars in expenses over a lifetime.  The exact costs that can be expected are primarily dependent on the severity of an injury and the medical attention needed.

Some of the most common expenses include (but are not limited to):

• Trauma Care
• Spinal Surgery
• Rehabilitation
• Long-term Care
• Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
• Medications

However, the losses associated with an SCI are not exclusively related to medical treatment; instead, SCI victims who cannot work can also lose millions of dollars in lost earnings over a lifetime.  Even if an individual is able to return to work, they will still have to take time off to recover from injuries, potentially leading to the loss of significant income.

How Can An Experienced Hillsville Spinal Cord Injury Attorney Help Me?

At The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, our dedicated team has decades of experience successfully representing injury victims. As a successful injury lawyer who has recovered millions of dollars for clients through settlement and trial, Mark Hurt uses his extensive experience to conduct thorough investigations, identify all liable parties, and fight tenaciously in seeking the maximum compensation for both primary and secondary conditions associated with an SCI.

We Invite You to Call Our Firm Today for a Free Consultation

Call today to schedule a free consultation to learn how we will tenaciously represent you if we are retained for your matter.  As we represent injury and wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis, there is no fee for our services unless compensation is recovered.