When Arizona auto accidents occur in AZ or anywhere else, people get injured. Thats a statistical fact, as the majority of Arizona auto accidents lead to at least one injury. The severity of injuries from an Arizona car accident can vary, and one of the most unfortunate injuries someone can suffer is quadriplegia, as it instantly changes someones life and leads to long-term pain and suffering.
Below youll find information regarding the nature of quadriplegia, some of the side effects of quadriplegia, the reality that faces a quadriplegic patient and finally how you should proceed if you or someone you love suffers from quadriplegia as a result of a car accident and you need the help of an car accident lawyer.
Quadriplegia is the common medical term used to describe patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury and who are unable to move or control their arms and legs. There are varying degrees of quadriplegia, including a complete and total loss of the ability to move the limbs and an incomplete form of quadriplegia where some limited but uncontrolled movement of one or more of the limbs occurs from time to time.
As stated above, quadriplegia results from an injury to the spinal cord. The general rule for those who do not have a medical background is that a person will suffer from paralysis at every point in the body below which the spinal cord injury occurs. Therefore, injuries to the higher end of the spinal cord tend to result in quadriplegia. The paralysis associated with quadriplegia can extend from the shoulders down to the toes or begin as high as the neck.
As one would expect, spinal cord injuries can occur in many different ways. However, the leading cause of quadriplegia in the United States is auto accidents, and estimates indicate that at least 8,000 people suffer from what is known as a spinal cord injury, or SCI, every year. Of those SCIs approximately half of them are caused by car accident injuries. Our experienced personal injury lawyers have represented many people hurt in unfortunate accidents all over the state, helping them gain compensation for the overwhelming side effects and costs associated with quadriplegia.
Aside from the obviously catastrophic injury that is quadriplegia, the condition itself can leave a patient extremely vulnerable to other problems that someone without this condition would not have to face. A few of these quadriplegia side effects are listed below.
The bowels and bladder are at least partially controlled by the central nervous system, and when a patient cannot feel or control this part of the body, bowel and bladder functions can occur without control, making the patient incontinent.
An unfortunately high number of quadriplegics either face an enormous struggle or are killed by such conditions as pneumonia. The central nervous system also tends to control breathing and certain related functions, and if a person cannot control this function the lungs will not expel problematic substances with a high degree of success.
When a persons body is completely immobile for an extended period of time, the circulatory system tends to naturally slow down. The slower the circulatory system moves, the more likely it is that the patient will develop blood clots, some of which can develop deep inside the bodys tissue. Blood clots that form and develop without being noticed can lead to grave danger if that clot begins to lead to other problems.
Aside from the everyday medical challenges that a person with quadriplegia must face, there are also expensive realities that must be handled in order for someone in this condition to be able to live with mobility and dignity. Below is a look at some of these realities.
A quadriplegics home needs to be rebuilt in many ways to accommodate the persons new set of needs. Staircases need to be rebuilt to accommodate wheelchairs, bathrooms need to be specially built to allow a person to bathe and steps in and out of the home need to be rebuilt into ramps to allow access.
Obviously, a person with quadriplegia will not be able to drive. Therefore, the person needs someone to serve as a driver as well as a re-purposed special vehicle thats built with ramps, lifts, straps and restraints so that the person is able to get into and out of the vehicle.
If a persons workplace is not built with access for those who need help getting into and out of a building, office or workspace, those areas need to be redone so that the person has access to these areas in order to be productive.
If you or someone you love has suffered catastrophic injuries in an auto accident resulting in quadriplegia , you likely are facing or have faced months in the hospital and hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs already. Rather than simply accept this circumstance, contact the Phoenix auto accident lawyers at Phillips Law Group today to schedule a free initial consultation.
