Spinal injuries are among the most feared injuries possible. Ultimately, there are a variety of potential spinal injuries that could result from a car crash.
Healthcare professionals are typically proactive when responding to potential spinal cord injuries. They stabilize people carefully when they have any potential injury to the spine, neck or back to prevent the possibility of an injury worsening en route to the hospital. Healthcare professionals can evaluate someone’s condition and quickly determine the best treatment options and likely prognosis for someone with a spinal injury.
Fractures are more common than spinal cord injuries
People are far more likely to break bones in their backs than they are to injure their spinal cords. In fact, the majority of spinal injuries in car crashes involve fractures in the lower spine. Spinal fractures were the most common spinal injury, and often those injuries occurred in the lumbar spine or lower back. Over 64% of the injuries analyzed involved a broken bone in the lumbar spine.
The thoracic spine had the second-highest reported number of injuries, with the cervical spine being the least likely to incur injury. Some people had more than one fracture. Only just over one in 20 of the patients reviewed actually developed a spinal cord injury in addition to their spinal fractures.
Spinal fractures can be expensive to treat and may put someone in the hospital for months. People may not require surgery for a fracture but instead a brace, medication and regular physical therapy. They may make a full recovery.
Spinal cord injuries can have permanent implications for someone’s functional abilities. Patients may partially recover from incomplete injuries, but complete injuries do not respond to treatment. In both cases, the medical treatment required could be expensive, and the injury might lead someone to take an extended leave of absence from employment.
Paying for treatment and covering lost wages when a car crash leads to spinal injury may require either an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. Especially if harm was caused by another’s negligence, people can seek reimbursement for current and future medical costs, as well as lost wages and lost earning potential. Those prepared for the potential consequences of car wrecks may have an easier time asserting themselves if they ever experience one.