When an accident occurs and you suspect someone has sustained a spinal cord injury, the symptoms will be numbness, tingling, or loss of sensation, loss of bladder, impaired breaking, oddly positioned neck or back, and extreme pain and pressure in the neck, head, or back.
If any of these symptoms are present, it’s important that the person does not move until an ambulance can arrive. The long-term symptoms of a spinal cord injury can be difficult news to hear. The first thing that tends to come to mind with a spinal cord injury is paralysis of the body. Whether an injury is complete or incomplete will determine whether or not the individual experiences a complete loss of sensation or just some degree of it.
Movement and the ability to feel hot or cold are important, but other symptoms of spinal cord injury can be equally devastating, such as loss of bowel and bladder control, muscle spasms, changes in sexual function or fertility, pain, and difficulty breathing.
An Atlanta personal injury attorney can provide more information about your legal rights after a spinal cord injury.