Over 85,000 people in the US suffer a spinal cord injury, also called SCI, each year. SCI is defined as any
These life-changing injuries are also caused by trauma or disease. They result in temporary or permanent loss of sensation, loss of movement (paralysis), loss of bowel or bladder control, and other ailments.
Auto accidents are a primary cause of spinal cord injuries. In fact, car crashes result in approximately 12,500 spinal cord injuries in the United States every year. However, other traumatic events such as slips and falls and sports-related accidents, cause many SCIs each year.
Although medical treatment and science have improved greatly over the years in the treatment of spinal cord injury, the results are staggering emotionally and financially for the patient and family.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury you believe was caused by the negligence of another, it is important to contact a Michigan spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as possible. The Lee Steinberg Law Firm will review your case for free and advise you of various options for recovering compensation, such as the recovery of first-party no-fault benefits and pain and suffering.
What Are the Different Types of Spinal Injury?
A spinal cord injury (SCI) involves any type of damage to the spinal cord that disrupts communication between the brain and body. When this communication is damaged, individuals can experience pain, numbness, loss of movement, and impaired control over body functions.
There are two types of spinal cord injury. These include:
Complete Injury
A complete injury is one in which the victim has no sensation or voluntary motor movement on either side of the body below the level of the injury. A complete injury at C4 can require the patient to be on a ventilator.
Incomplete Injury
An incomplete cervical injury can leave the patient with some hand use. Thoracic injuries can leave the arms functional but interfere with walking, bowel and bladder control, and sexual function. Other functions that can be affected are blood pressure, body temperature, and pain levels.
Spinal Injury Levels and Functional Impact
The types of spinal cord injuries are often defined by the region of the spine affected — cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral — as well as the severity of the damage.
Cervical Spine (C1–C8)
Injuries to the cervical spine, located in the neck, are typically the most severe. These vertebrae are labeled C1 through C8, with damage to the vertebrae closest to the brain (C1–C4) causing the greatest impact. These injuries can result in tetraplegia or quadriplegia, with loss of movement and sensation in the arms, legs, and torso. Breathing, bladder and bowel control, and even the ability to speak, can be affected.
Injuries to the lower cervical vertebrae (C5–C8) may allow limited movement in the shoulders or arms but can still be life-altering. Common symptoms include:
- Partial paralysis or weakened use of the hands, wrists, trunk, or legs
- Difficulty breathing or reduced diaphragm function
- Loss or limited control of bladder and bowel movements
Thoracic Spine (T1–T12)
The thoracic spine includes 12 vertebrae in the mid-back. Injuries here can lead to paraplegia, affecting movement and sensation in the chest, abdomen, and lower body. While arm and hand function is typically preserved, walking and core stability may be impaired.
Lumbar and Sacral Spine (L1–S5)
The lumbar spine contains five vertebrae in the lower back. Although injuries in this area are usually less catastrophic than cervical or thoracic injuries, they can still cause serious impairments, such as:
- Numbness and tingling in the legs
- Difficulty walking
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
The sacral region at the base of the spine can also be affected, leading to issues with hip movement, leg function, and pelvic organ control.
What is the Difference Between a Traumatic and Non-Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury?
Traumatic spinal cord injuries result from abrupt mechanical forces that compress or damage the spinal cord. Examples of traumatic injuries include car accidents, accidents involving a bike or motorcycle or severe falls.
A non-traumatic spinal cord injury does not result from a catastrophic accident. Instead, it involves a progressive disease process such as degenerative disc disease, a tumor, or an autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis.
What Treatment Options are there for Spinal Cord Injury?
There are several different ways to treat spinal cord injuries, but first the severity of the injury must be diagnosed. Spinal cord injury is diagnosed with X-rays, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT is quicker to obtain and provides better imaging of bony structures than MRI. However, MRI provides better detail of soft tissue structures near the spinal cord.
After a car accident, time is of the essence in treating a spinal cord injury. Medical personnel must immobilize the spine and take the person to a hospital immediately. It is important to not move a person with SCI because this can cause further injury.
Once at the hospital, a team of doctors can perform surgery to relieve the pressure around the spinal cord and repair damage next to the cord. Sometimes multiple surgeries may be needed.
Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation
After surgery, the road to recovery is not easy. Over the past 20 years, great strides have been made to improve the quality of life for those affected by spinal cord injury. Research, new medications, and cutting-edge technologies have allowed individuals to lead fuller lives after suffering a spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation centers in Michigan and throughout the country have incredible doctors and therapists who work on a personal level with the injured patient and their family. Rehabilitation can include:
- Occupational therapy, including independent living skills training
- Physical therapy to increase strength and mobility, relieve pain, and restore function.
- Nerve re-education, muscle strengthening, and task training
- Improving physical function in the upper extremities, such as the shoulders and arms
- Speech therapy
- Locomotor training
- Vocational training
Who Pays for a Spinal Cord Injury After a Car Accident?
Michigan is a no-fault state, so there are specific rules for which auto insurance carrier pays medical bills and expenses if the wreck causes spinal cord injury or severe spine injury. In fact, there is a specific order for who pays.
First up, your own auto insurance is responsible for paying medical bills from the crash that health insurance is not responsible for. This is called personal injury protection (PIP). This is true even if your car was not involved in the crash. The insurance company will pay up to the coverage limit that was purchased. In Michigan, you can buy unlimited PIP, which provides a person with the best healthcare following a car collision.
If you don’t have auto insurance, in most situations you can still make a claim through the auto insurance of a resident relative. This means the car insurance for your spouse, brother, child, or parent who lives with you must pay your medical bills.
If there is no auto insurance in the household, then you can turn to the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan (MACP). A person must first complete an Application for Benefits and turn in certain paperwork, like a police report. This organization will then assign an insurance company, like Allstate or Farm Bureau, to pay medical bills up to $250,000.
MACP claims can be confusing to start. A good Michigan spinal injury lawyer can make sure your application is done correctly and benefits start as quickly as possible.
Spinal Cord Injury and the Payment of Attendant Care under Michigan Car Accident Law
Spinal cord injury victims obviously require special care and treatment. Because of the nature and severity of the injuries, they can require complete assistance with activities of daily living, such as eating, bathing, toileting, dressing and getting in and out of bed.
This type of care is known as attendant care or nursing care. Under the Michigan no-fault law, the car insurance carrier responsible for paying the benefits to the injured person must pay for attendant care so long as the PIP coverage is not used up.
Prior to the change in the Michigan no-fault law in 2020, all no-fault policies were unlimited PIP policies. This meant there was no limitation on the medical coverage an auto insurance carrier had to pay to an injured claimant, even if the person was paralyzed or suffered a spinal cord injury. Unfortunately, under the new law people chance select limited PIP coverage. Many policies are now limited to $250,000 in PIP coverage or even no PIP coverage at all.
In addition, under the changes to the Michigan no-fault law, the car insurance carrier can argue it is limited in the attendant care it must pay to the individuals caring for spinal cord injury victims. Before, a family member or friend providing nursing care could claim reimbursement at an hourly rate for the number of hours worked that day. If the person worked 18 hours, then they were paid for the 18 hours they worked.
Now the car insurance company can argue it is only responsible for paying up to 56 hours per week of attendant care to family members or friends who were previously caring for the individual. This is true even if the family member or friend is putting in much more time.
The spinal cord injury lawyers at the Lee Steinberg Law Firm are fighting this new payment system and how car insurance carriers like State Farm and Allstate are approaching the payment of attendant care. We believe individuals who had policies and were receiving attendant care from a car accident that pre-dated the June 2019 change in the law should still receive the same benefits they purchased. This includes the payment of more than 56 hours per week of attendant care to family members and friends.
What If Insurance Doesn’t Cover Everything?
What happens if all of your PIP benefits are used up, or your health insurance doesn’t cover all the bills? If this happens, the insurance company for the negligent driver or car owner must pay your medical bills. This is known as a negligence case or a third-party claim. But this only occurs if the other driver was at-fault for the Michigan car accident. Compensation in these cases can include the payment of both outstanding medical expenses for the treatment of the spinal cord injury, as well as pain and suffering.
Under the new law, the minimum amount of bodily injury insurance has increased to $50,000 per person or $100,000 per occurrence. However, in many situations, the minimum insurance is $250,000 per person or $500,000 per occurrence. This means there is now more insurance to cover these horrific injury cases for the victims and loved ones who are injured by another driver’s negligence.
In a situation involving a trip and fall or workplace incident, the insurance company for the at-fault landowner or company is responsible for the medical bills, both past and future. However, it takes an experienced Michigan spinal cord injury lawyer to prove liability and win your case.
How Can Spinal Cord Injury Affect a Person’s Life?
This depends on the severity of the injury and where the spinal cord injury occurred. The more severe the injury, the more it will affect a person’s movement, strength, reflex activities, body control, bladder control, levels of pain, and even the ability to breathe.
Some spinal cord injuries are not significant and can result in a full recovery. A person may have numbness or tingling but with proper medical treatment, the sensation will resolve.
Still, other spinal cord injuries are tragic and can result in total loss of a person’s ability to move their legs, arms, pelvic area, and trunk. This is known as quadriplegia.
Spinal cord injuries are rated according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grading scale, which ranges from A (complete spinal cord injury) to E (normal).
Michigan Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Who Fight for You
The Lee Steinberg Law Firm has been serving injured Michigan residents for almost 50 years. Our team of compassionate and dedicated Michigan personal injury lawyers has represented the catastrophically injured for decades.
Spinal cord injuries are brutal and demand swift and aggressive representation. We have obtained hundreds of millions for our clients. Our firm never stops getting our clients the money they are owed. Call us for a free consultation at 1-800-LEE-FREE (1-866-503-3043).