Spinal Cord Injuries At Work In Fort Lauderdale
Spinal cord injuries at work are among the most catastrophic types of injuries that can happen on the job. If you or someone you love sustained a spinal cord injury while working in Fort Lauderdale, it is essential to learn more about your options for filing a workers’ compensation claim and seeking compensation for your significant losses. Many people with spinal cord injuries suffer permanent paralysis. According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, nearly all spinal cord injury victims have some form of paraplegia or tetraplegia: about 59 percent of all spinal cord injury victims have some form of incomplete or complete tetraplegia, while about 39 percent have some form of incomplete or complete paraplegia.
Given the seriousness of spinal cord injuries, it is critical to seek advice from a Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as possible about seeking health care coverage and payments for lost wages.
Paralysis and Spinal Cord Injuries
What is a spinal cord injury? The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a spinal cord injury as “damage to the spinal cord resulting from trauma or from disease or degeneration.” About 90 percent of reported spinal cord injuries are caused by trauma, and the symptoms and severity depend on where the injury occurred on the person’s spinal cord.
The Mayo Clinic explains that spinal injuries are classified as complete or incomplete, with incomplete injuries involving some motor or sensory function and complete injuries involving none. In addition, the Mayo Clinic explains that tetraplegia (also known as quadriplegia) affects the entire trunk, including arms and hands, as well as legs and pelvic organs. Paraplegia affects part of the trunk and the legs and pelvic organs.
It is important to know that sustaining a head injury at work means that you should be seen immediately and assessed for a spinal injury. The Mayo Clinic underscores that serious spinal cord injuries might not result in immediate symptoms, but they must be identified and treated as quickly as possible to prevent the injury from worsening and causing permanent harm.
Learning More About the Costs of Spinal Cord Injuries at Work
Spinal injuries can happen in many types of jobs, such as:
- Transportation and truck driving;
- Construction work;
- Health care professions; and
- Any jobs that put workers at risk of falls.
Not only are spinal cord injuries physically devastating, but they are also costly. According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the average yearly costs of care for a spinal cord injury — not including lost wages and related losses — can range from about $380,000 to more than $1.1 million the first year of the injury, and from about $46,000 to over $202,000 in the years following the injury. The total cost depends upon the type of spinal cord injury and its severity.
It can also be extremely difficult and often impossible for people with spinal cord injuries to return to work. When spinal cord injury victims are able to work in some capacity, they often require significant assistance and rehabilitative therapy.
Contact a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer in Fort Lauderdale
Do you need assistance seeking compensation after a spinal injury at work? One of the Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. is here to help you through the process.
Sources:
christopherreeve.org/living-with-paralysis/costs-and-insurance/costs-of-living-with-spinal-cord-injury
msktc.org/sci/factsheets/employment-after-spinal-cord-injury
who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/spinal-cord-injury
mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20377890
