The spinal cord is like the superhighway that connects your brain to the rest of your body. It sends messages back and forth. If it becomes damaged, those messages cannot be transmitted, which can affect movement, sensation, and bodily functions below the injury site.
- What It Is: Damage to the spinal cord itself or the nerves branching from it. This can cause paralysis and loss of sensation, affecting vital body functions such as breathing, bladder control, and bowel control.
- Causes: For children, SCIs are often caused by violent impacts. The main culprits are car accidents (especially if not properly restrained or if involved in severe collisions), followed by falls (from significant heights), sports injuries (like diving accidents), and occasionally birth trauma (especially in difficult breech deliveries where excessive traction is applied).
- Statistics: Thankfully, SCIs are less common in children than adults, but they are still devastating.
- Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of SCIs in children, accounting for over 50% of pediatric SCIs.
- In the U.S., roughly 200 children under the age of 15 sustain a spinal cord injury each year. This number might seem small, but the impact is immense.
- Diagnosis and Treatment: Diagnosis involves neurological exams, X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. Treatment focuses on immediate stabilization, surgery to relieve pressure or fuse vertebrae, and then intensive, lifelong rehabilitation.
- Long-Term Impact: The effects of a spinal cord injury (SCI) depend on the location of the injury on the spine and the extent of the damage.
- Quadriplegia (Tetraplegia): Paralysis affecting all four limbs (arms and legs), often also affecting breathing, speech, and bowel/bladder control. High cervical injuries can be life-threatening.
- Paraplegia: Paralysis affecting the lower body (legs and sometimes torso), impacting mobility and sensation below the chest.
- Children with SCIs will need extensive medical care, specialized equipment (like power wheelchairs, ventilators, and adaptive technology), and various therapies (physical, occupational, speech, and recreational) for their entire lives. The average lifetime cost for a high-level SCI can exceed $50 million, and even lower-level injuries average over $30 million.
A Spinal Cord Injury Changes Everything. Fight for Their Whole Future.
The superhighway of your child’s body has been tragically damaged. A spinal cord injury is not just a physical wound; it profoundly affects their entire being, reshaping movement, sensation, and the very rhythm of life. The devastating impact demands immediate action.
If your child’s life has been irrevocably altered by a spinal cord injury – whether from a preventable car accident, a fall, a sports incident, or even birth trauma – you are facing a future filled with immense medical needs and lifelong costs reaching into the tens of millions.
You don’t have to navigate this overwhelming journey alone. At Child & Birth Injury Lawyers, we understand the unique complexities and profound personal toll of pediatric spinal cord injuries. We are prepared to uncover the negligence that led to this devastation and fight fiercely for the comprehensive compensation your child will need for their entire life.
Time is critical, and every moment counts in securing their future care. Don’t let precious time slip away.
Act now to secure your child’s right to the best possible care and a life with dignity. Call Child & Birth Injury Lawyers immediately. We are here, nationwide, to fight for your child’s whole future.
