The spinal cord is a vital organ that allows our brain to communicate with every other part of your body. Housed in your spine, these injuries can be complex to classify because there is such a wide range of functions controlled by the spinal cord. There are four different parts to the spine with segments inside each part.
The neck contains seven segments of spine, the chest contains 12, the lumbar contains five, and the tailbone or sacral contains five. Each section controls muscle groups of the body. For example, the lumbar and sacral spinal sections control your legs and the thoracic and neck sections control your arms.
If the injury severs the spinal cord in any place, it’s likely that the individual will lose all function controlled by vertebra all the way down from the place where it was severed. Other forms of spinal injury will not be such a complete loss of ability.
An Atlanta personal injury attorney can provide more information about your legal rights after a spinal cord injury.