Serious injuries demand serious attention. If you or someone you love has been hurt due to negligence in Illinois, contact Coplan & Crane for a free case evaluation today. Some of the more common serious injuries we typically deal with include:
- Spinal cord injury
- Traumatic brain injury (resulting in temporary or permanent brain damage)
- Head and neck injury
- Paralysis
- Blindness
- Loss of hearing
- Amputation/severed limb (common in construction accidents)
Information about spinal cord injuries
Spinal cord injuries typically result in loss of mobility or other functions. In an instant, someone who could walk and talk normally might suddenly be permanently paralyzed, unable to control certain bodily functions and permanently or temporarily lose sensation in parts of the body, among other things.
If your spinal cord injury was caused by someone else’s reckless behavior or you were injured on the job, contact Coplan & Crane, honest, hard-working Oak Park personal injury lawyers serving Chicago-area residents and people throughout Illinois. We handle all kinds of serious injuries and accidents, from slip and fall accidents to car accidents.
What are different types of spinal cord injuries?
There are two types of spinal cord injuries: complete and incomplete. A complete injury is one in which the victim has no sensation or voluntary motor movement on either side of the body below the level of the injury. If the victim has some feeling or partial movement, it is called an incomplete injury.
Injuries are usually defined in reference to the area of the spine affected. Nerves in the spine are defined by the area of the vertebrae. An injury to the spine in the neck area will affect the cervical vertebrae. An injury to the nerves at the fifth cervical vertebra is called a C-5 injury, for instance. Below the neck are the thoracic vertebrae, so injuries there are defined as T-1, etc. There also are lumbar vertebrae, located in the lower back.
Generally speaking, neck injuries will lead to paralysis of all limbs (quadriplegia) while thoracic injuries cause paralysis to the lower limbs only (paraplegia). The effects of such injuries will permanently change someone’s life and the lives of family members.
Traumatic Brain Injuries – what you need to know
Injuries to the brain are never minor. They can cause long-term impairment, changes in mood and personality, and even death. In such extreme cases, you may have grounds for a legitimate wrongful death case.
A TBI occurs when the brain is injured by a sudden force, or trauma. The brain can be driven into the side of the skull by a sudden blow, or by the force of shaking or “whiplash.” In either case, the brain can suffer bruising and swelling, and in some cases the impact will be sufficient to tear blood vessels in the brain, causing intracranial bleeding.
There are numerous ways someone can sustain a traumatic brain injury. If the trauma results in damage to the skull itself, such as a crack or break, the trauma is considered a penetrating head injury. More difficult to diagnose are closed-head injuries, in which the brain is injured but the skull remains undamaged. This can occur from a blow or impact, or from severe back-and-forth shaking, such as whiplash. Babies and small children can suffer such injuries from being shaken, known as “shaken baby syndrome.”
Other times, people sustain a TBI in a construction accident, auto accident or motorcycle accident. In each case, there are many factors to consider, including whether the seatbelt worked properly or someone else was acting recklessly or even driving drunk.
Handling serious injuries in Oak Park, Chicago and throughout Illinois
Whatever type of serious injury you’re dealing with, we can help. We have seen firsthand how hard it can be for some families to deal with the aftermath of a serious accident. The bills can pile up fast, especially if someone requires extensive medical care and they cannot work for months or years after an accident. That’s why we work so hard to get families the compensation they rightfully deserve. Someone else caused your accident. They should be the ones responsible for compensating you.
