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Riverside Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

Suffering a spinal cord injury is serious so taking the right action is important. The Riverside California spinal cord injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo can help. We have been working hard for spinal cord injury victims and helping them receive their due compensation since 1979. 

Trust DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo

Our goal for you is that you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) as quickly as possible while we fight your case for you through the legal channels.  We want you to get the fair and full compensation for your spinal cord injuries. Our Riverside California spinal cord injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo provide a complete team of seasoned lawyers, staff, economists, vocational experts, physicians, and accident reconstructionists who will work together to comprehensively represent your spinal cord injury case and maximize recovery from the judge, jury or insurance company.

A Reputation for Success

For over three decades, the legal and insurance communities have respected our work and witnessed our high ethical and success standards. Our firm’s community development, legal experience, and name recognition is a unique benefit you receive as one of our clients. Our successful reputation as spinal cord injury lawyers in California, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange County, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Ventura, Bakersfield, Central California and San Diego speaks for itself: We will provide you quality representation for your legal proceedings regardless of whether it is a work injury, workers’ compensation or personal injury case.

Spinal Cord Injury Defined

A Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as feeling or mobility. The spinal cord is the soft bundle of nerves that can be found from the lower back up to the brain running through what is known as the spinal canal.  The spinal canal runs through the spine for protection.  The spinal cord is the information highway between the brain and your entire body.  It carries the commands of the brain to the parts of the body.  When someone has totally lost use of an area due to a spinal cord injury, that is called a complete injury.  It is called an incomplete injury when someone has partial use of an area after sustaining a spinal cord injury.

Spinal Cord Segments

The spinal cord is long and the location of the injury is important as each section of the spinal cord generally controls a different area of the body.  The next few paragraphs will be discussing what damage may be caused if an injury is sustained to that part of the spinal cord.

Cervical Vertebra (C-1 thru C-8) - Cervical spinal cord injuries usually cause loss of function in the arms and legs, resulting in quadriplegia.  The cervical vertebrae are found in the neck segment of the spinal cord.

  • C1, C2, and C3 vertebrae: Injuries here may require the patient to need a ventilator as the injury may result in the loss of diaphragm function.
  • C4: The biceps and shoulder functions may be partially or significantly lost.
  • C5: Can result in the complete loss of function of the hands and wrists and there is a possibility it will also affect the biceps and shoulders.
  • C6: Injuries here will most likely result in the complete loss of hand function and limited wrist control.
  • C7:  Injuries at C7 may allow for the limited use of the arms but may also result in the lack of quality dexterity for the hands and fingers.

Thoracic Vertebra (T-1 thru T-12) – Spinal cord injuries that occur at the thoracic level and below may result in paraplegia.  The hands, neck, arms and breathing are not usually affected by injuries sustained in this region.  Injuries at T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, and T8 all affect how well the patient can control their abdominal muscles.  The lower the injury actually results in less severe effects.  Since abdominal muscles directly relate to trunk stability, injuries to this area weaken the patient’s trunk stability. Injuries that happen lower, to T9, T10, T11 and T12, also cause the partial loss of the control of abdominal muscles and trunk stability. In total, the thoracic vertebra section (T1 thru T12) consists of about half the height of the spinal cord.  The thoracic vertebrae are found in the chest area of the spinal cord starting at about where the first rib attaches to the spine.

Lumbar Vertebra (L1 thru L5) - Injuries in this region yield decreasing control of the hip flexors and legs.  The lumbar segment of the spine can be found below the chest area and above the pelvis. L1 is crucial for thigh flexion and abdominal muscles.  L2 and L3 are important for thigh flexion, thigh adduction, and the extension of the legs at the knee joint. L4 also controls thigh flexion, thigh adduction and the leg extension at the knee. L4 teams with L5 for thigh abduction, extension of toes, hamstring movements for the leg, and the dorsiflexion of the foot.  L5 is also important for the extension of the leg at the hip, the plantar flexion of the foot and the flexion of the toes.

Sacral Vertebra (S-1 thru S-5) – Injuries in this segment generally result in the partial loss of the hips and legs functions as well as the urinary system and anus functions. This area starts at the pelvis and goes to the end of the spine.  S1 and S2 help control the plantar flexion of the foot and the flexion of the toes.  In addition, they help guide the legs extending from the hip and the flexion from the knee.  S3 and S4 play major roles in controlling the urinary system and the urinary bladder. S5’s important role is to control a muscle that is part of the pelvic wall called the coccygeus.

In addition to the injuries listed above, spinal cord injuries can cause problems with the following Lower Motor Neurons (LMNs), Upper Motor Neurons (UMNs), Central Nervous System (including the brain), Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems, trouble breathing, chronic pain, Peripheral Nervous System, dysfunction of the bowel and bladder, spasticity, atrophying of the muscles, neuropathic pain, autonomic dysreflexia (abnormal increases in automatic body functions like sweating and blood pressure), osteoporosis, bone degeneration and problems with sexual function and fertility. Each of these issues is serious and need immediate medical treatment.

Causes for Spinal Cord Injuries

The causes for spinal cord injuries can be broken up into two categories: internal and external. The external causes are the more well known and common.  The most common external causes for damage to the spinal cord are from:

The most common internal causes for spinal cord injuries are from tumors, developmental disorders, transverse myelitis (resulting from a stroke or inflammation), vascular malformations, ischemia resulting from the occlusion of spinal blood vessels (including dissecting aortic aneurysms, emboli, arteriosclerosis), and neurodegenerative diseases.

The list of tumors that could affect the spinal cord includes meningiomas, ependymomas, astrocytomas, and metastatic cancer. The development diseases that may possibly cause a spinal cord injury include spina bifida, meningomyolcoele, and mentakengithupthtehbatty.

The list of vascular malformations that could injure the spinal cord includes arteriovenous malformation (AVM), dural arteriovenous fistula (AVF), spinal hemangioma, cavernous angioma and aneurysm. Neurodegenerative diseases can also affect the spinal cord.  Examples are Friedreich's ataxia and spinocerebellar ataxia.

Three additional syndromes can affect the spinal cord. Central cord syndrome, anterior cord syndrome and Brown-Sequard syndroome can all impair the patient’s ability to be fully functioning.  Central cord syndrome is linked to ischemia, hemorrhage, and necrosis.  It causes impairment for the arms and legs but mainly spares the lower body.  Due to this, it can also be called inverse paraplegia.

According to the Spinal Cord Injury Resource Center, it may surprise you that a little under half a million people in this county have spinal cord injuries. Every year, there are about 10,000 new SCI's and the majority of these new spinal cord injuries are caused by motorized vehicle accidents (36%), violence (28.9%), or slip and falls (21.2%).  We promise to be on your side throughout this case.

Treatment for SCI

Treatments and rehabilitation differs depending on the location along the spine and the severity of your spinal cord injury.  For certain spinal cord injuries, occupational therapists are being used more and more to help patients rehabilitate and regain control of their muscles or parts of the body (though the success and failure rates vary widely depending on the injury).  The first treatment a patient may receive will be all about not injuring the person further and avoiding further problems.  This includes stabilizing the neck and back, preventing shock, keeping the patient breathing, and working to fight and prevent stool, urine, respiratory, or cardiovascular problems.

Then, once you are at a hospital, emergency room or regional spine injury center, you will most likely be treated in an intensive care unit.  There should be a whole team of surgeons, psychologists, therapists, social workers, neurosurgeons, and spinal cord specialists there who have experience with your injury.  The possible types of treatments will range from surgery and medications (like medrol) to traction and neck collars.  Surgery is sometimes done to remove fractured vertebrae, bone fragments and herniated disks.  It is important to consult all your specialists before going forward with any medical procedures.

Call the Riverside spinal cord injury attorneys today at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo so they can assure you are receiving quality and competent medical care.

Contact Our Firm - Free Consultation

We know that spinal cord injuries are hard for the patient and the entire family. Our firm believes in complete customer service.  This includes the fact that we will come to you.

All the initial case consultations are free. You will be able to meet with an attorney who will listen to your case and answer your questions. You will never incur any legal fees or costs for our time and assistance unless and until we earn you a trial verdict or settlement. Spinal cord injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo are always ready to meet you at our office, your own house or your hospital room throughout the regular work week (Monday – Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm). Our attorneys and staff are also available to meet with you all other times of the week, including on Saturday and Sunday and in the evening, by appointment.

Law Firm of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo
Riverside, California
Call us 24 hours a day at: (951) 977-7787

We’re With You All The Way