Workers’ Compensation for Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are some of the most devastating injuries that can happen on the job.
Unfortunately, they happen more often than you may think.
According to The Miami Project, there are “approximately 17,810 new spinal cord injuries each year in the USA.”
That’s why it is so important to know how workers’ compensation for spinal cord injuries works.
Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are incredibly expensive.
If you experience a spinal cord injury as a result of work, you will not only need workers’ compensation benefits, but you also deserve them!
Workers’ compensation was created to protect injured workers and employers by providing coverage for the loss of wages, medical costs, and rehabilitation bills.
How Spinal Cord Injuries Occur
Spinal cord injuries are significant because they affect multiple parts of the body.
The spinal cord is part of the central nervous system that is responsible for relaying messages from the brain to other parts of the body.
In other words, a spinal cord injury can result in damage to one’s motor skills and hinder mobility.
Unfortunately, “12% of work-related injuries involve harming of the spinal cord.”
There are many different ways that spinal cord injuries may occur at work, including:
- Construction accidents
- Falling objects
- Vehicle collisions
- Slip and falls
- Repeatedly lifting heavy objects
- Whiplash
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, “Vehicle crashes are the most recent leading cause of injury, closely followed by falls. Acts of violence (primarily gunshot wounds) and sports/recreation activities are also relatively common causes.”
Given the wide range of ways spinal cord injuries can occur, it is easy to see how many of these accidents can occur in the workplace or on the job.
If you are in a car accident while driving for work, you could suffer a spinal cord injury.
Slips and falls, falling objects, and construction accidents are all ways that employees can suffer spinal cord injuries on the job.
What Are the Signs of a Spinal Cord Injury?
In some circumstances, it will be clear immediately that someone has suffered a spinal cord injury.
However, some symptoms may be delayed due to bleeding and swelling occurring in the spinal cord.
Here are some of the common signs of a spinal cord injury:
- Difficulty with or loss of movement
- Loss of sensations (unable to feel heat or cold or lack of touch sensation)
- Spasms
- Pain or stinging sensations
- Breathing difficulties
- Extreme back pain
- Pressure in the neck, head, or back
- Weakness or paralysis in any part of the body
- Loss of bladder control
- Difficulty walking
- Lack of balance
- Neck or back presenting in an odd position
How Spinal Cord Injuries Are Diagnosed
Whenever you suffer an injury at work, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
You don’t want to wait until your injury is worse or give the insurance company any cause to believe the injury didn’t happen at work.
Unfortunately, as the Mayo Clinic explains, “A serious spinal injury isn’t always immediately obvious. If it isn’t known, a more severe injury may occur. Numbness or paralysis can be immediate or come on gradually. The time between injury and treatment can be critical in determining the extent and severity of complications and the possible extent of expected recovery.”
Given the extreme nature of spinal cord injuries, it is critical to choose a trustworthy doctor from the panel of physicians.
Your attending physician should use different diagnostic tests, such as a CT scan, MRI, or X-ray, to determine abnormalities in the spinal cord. In addition, a complete neurological exam should be performed. These tests will help the doctor determine your potential recovery time and treatment options.
The doctor you see will determine your disability rating and your ability to return to work, which will determine how much workers’ compensation you will receive over time.
You want to choose a doctor that is looking out for your best interests in the long term rather than their own pockets.
The Care and Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries
According to National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, lengths of stay in the hospital acute care unit are around 11 days.
However, rehabilitation lengths of stay last around 31 days.
Those with serious spinal cord injuries may be forced to live in hospitals, group living homes, nursing homes, or similar residences as they are unable to care for themselves.
The Lifetime Costs and Long-Term Complications of Spinal Cord Injuries
One of the main reasons workers’ compensation for spinal cord injuries is so important is that many victims don’t return to work.
National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center reports, “17% of persons with SCI are employed at year 1 post-injury. The employment rate increases over time to 32% at 30 years post injury.”
In addition to lack of employment, SCI victims suffer in other ways for the remainder of their lives.
Here are some of the long-term complications:
- Paralysis
- Sexual dysfunction
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Asthma
- Pneumonia
- Blood clots
- Loss of sensation in the limbs and extremities
- Neurogenic pain
As a result of these long-term complications, many victims find themselves back in the hospital.
According to National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, “Since 2015, about 30% of persons with SCI are re-hospitalized one or more times during any given year following injury. Among those re-hospitalized, the length of hospital stay averages about 19 days. Diseases of the genitourinary system are the leading cause of re-hospitalization, followed by disease of the skin.”
Overall, those who suffer a spinal cord injury and still have some motor function will pay more than $1 million for medical expenses in their lifetime.
However, those who experience higher levels of neurological impairment will pay much more over the course of their lifetime.
In addition, many victims suffer from depression.
MSKTC reports, “About 1 in 20 Americans (over 11 million people) get depressed every year. Depression is even more common in the spinal cord injury (SCI) population – about one in five people.”
Why Workers’ Compensation for Spinal Cord Injuries Is So Critical
Of the types of work-related injuries you can suffer, spinal cord injuries are one of the worst.
A spinal cord injury can completely upend your life.
You may have to change occupations. You may not even be able to go back to work ever.
In addition to the lost wages, those with spinal cord injuries tend to have extremely high medical bills, as well as recurring injuries throughout their lives.
Workers’ compensation benefits provide much-needed compensation to help you continue to live life as fully as possible.
Watch Workers’ Comp Benefits in Georgia for More Info
Don’t Fight Alone – Hire a Workers’ Compensation Attorney
As much as you’d like to believe that you will receive the workers’ compensation benefits you deserve simply because of the extreme nature of your injury, you’re wrong.
Insurance companies will still do all they can to give you as little workers’ compensation as possible. Their goal is to save money – not spend it.
You are already dealing with enough. Hire an experienced workers’ comp attorney in Georgia to fight for you!
At DeMedeiros Injury Law, we have helped others battle insurance companies to get the workers’ compensation for spinal cord injuries they need and deserve.
We’ll fight just as hard for you!
If you’ve been injured on the job, contact us today for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.
Book Your Free Consult