The injuries that come from car wrecks can vary from bruises up to catastrophic conditions like spinal cord injuries. Many people don’t think about something like a wreck altering the course of their life, but it is very possible when the spinal cord is damaged.
The completeness of the spinal cord injury plays a direct role in how a victim is able to recover. When the injury is complete, the chance of recovery is reduced because the connections in the spinal cord are completely severed. When it is incomplete, there is more of a chance of recovery because some of those connections remain.
Spinal cord injuries impact the level of the body below the spot that is damaged. For some, this means that they are paralyzed in certain areas. A person who suffers paralysis of the legs, trunk and pelvic area has paraplegia. Someone who has paralysis of all four limbs, the trunk and the pelvic organs has tetraplegia.
One risk that people who are in car wrecks face is that the spinal cord injury might not be immediately evident. This can put them at risk of being moved in such a way that the injury is worsened before they know they have one. Instead of taking a chance, anyone who’s involved in a car crash should assume they have one and take steps to stabilize the spinal cord.
Whether you realize that you suffered a catastrophic injury at the scene of the crash or not until days later, you might opt to seek compensation from the driver if negligence or recklessness played a role in the crash. This may shift the financial responsibility from you to them.