Auto-Related Injuries Resulting in Paraplegia / Quadriplegia

More things can go wrong in a car crash than simply sustaining damage to one’s vehicle. As a matter of fact, property damage resulting from a traffic accident can be one of the least troublesome aspects of a Maryland automobile crash when injuries are involved. To put it another way, if you can walk away from a bad roadway collision, that in and of itself is reason to celebrate.

Unfortunately, many thousands of people are badly injured in car, truck and motorcycle wrecks every year in this state. As Baltimore personal injury attorneys, the lawyers at the law offices of Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, understand fully how a serious accident can alter the course of a person’s life in just a blink of an eye. It is amazing how a seemingly simple mistake on one driver’s part can sometimes cause so much pain and suffering to one or more victims following a bad traffic accident.

Whether a crash involves one, two, or more vehicles, the circumstances surrounding each accident can often affect the severity of the injuries suffered by occupants of each vehicle. Tens of thousands of innocent victims are sent to the hospital every year all across the country because of someone else’s negligence. As experienced trial lawyers trained in the area of auto accident and personal injury law, we know how easily lives can be changed due to long-term or permanent injury.

As automobile injury attorneys, Lebowitz & Mzhen are ready and willing to assist victims of catastrophic traffic accidents, as well as their families, recover accident-related medical costs now and into the future. For some people injured in car and trucking-related collisions, the road to recovery may be long and painful, but the outcome can also be better than expected. For others, especially those who have suffered brain and spinal cord injuries, the prognosis may not be so good.

This is especially true for individuals who have been rendered either paraplegic or quadriplegic following a severe car crash. It is a sad, yet often true fact that a single thoughtless act of negligence on the road can cause a victim to lose the use of his or her legs, arms or all four limbs in a bad highway wreck. In terms of paraplegia, victims can find that spinal cord damage suffered in a crash has caused complete paralysis of the lower half their body, which includes the loss of use of both legs; quadriplegia can result in a lifetime of needed nursing care.

Paraplegia is a type of paralysis usually marked by the loss of function in the lower limbs and trunk area, many times resulting from motor vehicle collisions, but which also can be the result of a sporting accident, serious fall or gunshot wound. In terms of non-traumatic causes, paraplegia can result from diseases such as spina bifida, neoplasms or scoliosis.

Generally, the paralysis experienced by victims is often characterized by a loss of sensation and motor function in the areas of the lower truck and legs. From a neurological standpoint, the effects of paraplegia can include general paralysis; temporary or persistent tingling, prickling or burning sensations; feeling of “pins and needles"; loss of sensation in the legs; loss of voluntary movement in legs; among others.

As personal injury attorneys, Lebowitz & Mzhen have the skills and training to help victims of auto accidents who have been left in a paraplegic state following a bad traffic wreck. We understand the pain, discomfort and apprehension that victims experience in such cases. We are ready to assist those individuals and their families recover monetary damages for medical costs and rehabilitation expenses necessary to allow the victim to recoup the sometimes financially devastating cost of post-injury medical care.

In addition to paraplegia, quadriplegia is considered even more grave as victims typically lose the function of all limbs due to a very severe spinal cord injury. While paraplegia usually involves impairment of motor control or sensory functions in the lower extremities, quadriplegia (also referred to as “tetraplegia”) can affect an auto accident victim with temporary or permanent loss of control or use of both the arms and the legs, as well as the person’s torso.

Resulting typically from damage to the brain and/or spinal cord, these kinds of injuries are known in the medical field as lesions, which cause victims to lose partial or total function of all four limbs. Quadriplegia is defined in numerous ways, depending on the area of spinal cord damage. While the cervical spine (C1 to C7) is usually involved, injury to the C1 through C4 vertebrae typically affects arm movement more so than an injury to the C5 through C7 vertebrae.

It is often found, regardless of the type of quadriplegia, that victims experience at one time or another some dysfunction of the fingers. Those in the neurological field of medicine have found that it is not uncommon for a person afflicted with quadriplegia or tetraplegia to have fully functional arms yet no nervous control of their fingers and thumbs.

As with paraplegia, quadriplegia is caused by trauma to an individual’s spinal cord, which can be the result of a highway collision, motorcycle crash or commercial trucking wreck. While it is possible to suffer from a broken back or neck (with fractured or dislocated vertebrae) and not be left in a quadriplegic or paraplegic state, it is also possible for a car accident victim to suffer injuries to one’s spinal cord without a break in the spine. The latter can occur when a ruptured disc or bone spur from one or more of the vertebrae protrude into the spinal column.

As automobile and trucking accident lawyers, Lebowitz & Mzhen know that one of the most obvious symptoms of paraplegia or quadriplegia is impairment to one or more of the limbs. But it is also true that loss of functioning can occur to other parts of the body, including such problems as loss of control in bowel and bladder function, sexual dysfunction, digestive issues, breathing abnormalities, and problems with various other autonomic functions.

As experienced trial attorneys working with car and trucking accident victims, our staff understands the consequences of complete or partial paralysis due to injuries to the neck or spine, severing of the spinal cord itself, and closed-head trauma. Because any delay in a complete diagnosis of a cervical spine injury could have serious consequences, it is important that victims of traffic-related collisions get a thorough medical check following a car crash.

Even so, approximately one in 20 cervical fractures go undiagnosed, which can have deleterious effects on the victim of an automobile-related collision. As such, nearly a third of those cases where delayed diagnosis of cervical spine injury has occurred, the victim is likely to develop permanent neurological deficits as a result. Sadly, in the worst instances, complete paralysis from the neck down can be the ultimate result.

Regardless of the circumstances of the initial traffic collision, the victim of a spinal cord injury or other serious head, spine or neck injury should consult with a qualified legal professional as soon as possible following medical treatment. Determining fault in any car, motorcycle or trucking-related accident is critical to a successful personal injury lawsuit. Our professional legal staff is ready and able to assist victims and their families recover compensation for injury-related expenses.

The lawyers at the law offices of Lebowitz & Mzhen always work to prepare strong legal cases against the negligent parties. We anticipate going to trial with every case, and as such there is always a possibility of an out-of-court settlement. Being ready to fight in court for a victim’s rights to maximum compensation under Maryland law, our lawyers are ready to argue a case to its conclusion.

If you have been seriously injured as a result of an automobile, commercial truck or motorcycle accident, please take a moment to contact our offices to set up a free, no-obligation initial consultation. We are here to lend our years of litigation expertise to those hurt in traffic-related collisions. Call us at our toll-free number -- (800) 654-1949 -- or contact Jack Lebowitz or Vadim Mzhen by email to schedule an appointment.