Capps Injury Law is a personal injury law firm in Birmingham, Alabama that represents individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries in motor vehicle collisions. A spinal cord injury is trauma to the spinal cord that disrupts nerve signal transmission between the brain and the body, often resulting in loss of sensation, motor function, or both below the injury site.
Cause: High-Force Vehicle Collisions
Spinal cord injuries most often result from severe crashes. High-speed collisions, head-on impacts, T-bone crashes, and vehicle rollovers generate extreme forces on the spine. Even occupants wearing seatbelts and protected by airbags can sustain spinal cord trauma when impact forces exceed the body’s tolerance.
Birmingham-area highways—including I-20, I-59, and I-65—see frequent high-speed accidents. Rural roads in Jefferson, Shelby, and surrounding Alabama counties also produce serious crashes. Commercial vehicle collisions, including those involving tractor-trailers, carry heightened risk due to vehicle mass and speed differential.
Spinal cord injuries can occur from direct impact to the spine, violent twisting or hyperextension, or ejection from the vehicle. Fractures or dislocations of the vertebrae may compress or sever the spinal cord. Penetrating injuries from debris or crash intrusion can also damage the cord.
Mechanism: Disruption of Nerve Pathways
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerve tissue extending from the brainstem through the spinal canal. It transmits motor commands from the brain to muscles and sensory information from the body back to the brain. The cord is organized into segments corresponding to cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae.
Trauma to the spinal cord occurs through several mechanisms. Compression from fractured vertebrae or herniated discs crushes nerve tissue. Contusion bruises the cord and triggers inflammation. Laceration or transection partially or completely severs nerve fibers. Hemorrhage and swelling within the confined spinal canal increase pressure and cause secondary injury over hours to days after the initial trauma.
Complete spinal cord injuries result in total loss of motor and sensory function below the injury level. Incomplete injuries preserve some nerve function. The severity and permanence of impairment depend on injury location and extent of nerve damage.
Cervical injuries affect the neck and can cause quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs) and respiratory impairment. Thoracic and lumbar injuries may result in paraplegia (paralysis of the legs and lower body). Higher injuries generally cause more extensive disability.
Symptoms Appear Rapidly but May Evolve
Spinal cord injury symptoms often manifest immediately following a crash. Common signs include:
- Loss of movement or paralysis
- Loss of sensation, including inability to feel heat, cold, or touch
- Numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Severe pain or intense stinging sensation from nerve damage
- Difficulty breathing or coughing
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Impaired balance and coordination
- Muscle spasms or exaggerated reflexes
Some symptoms worsen over the first hours or days as swelling and inflammation progress. Secondary injury from spinal cord edema can expand the zone of impairment. Immediate medical intervention—including spinal immobilization, imaging, and in some cases emergency surgery—is critical to limit damage.
Incomplete injuries may show partial preservation of function. Patients may retain some sensation or voluntary movement below the injury level. Functional recovery potential varies and depends on the injury’s completeness and location.
Consequences: Permanent Disability and Lifelong Care Needs
Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating outcomes of car accidents. Most result in permanent disability. Patients face profound changes to physical ability, independence, and quality of life.
Medical treatment begins with emergency stabilization and often includes surgery to decompress the spinal cord, stabilize fractures, or remove bone fragments. Hospitalization in intensive care and inpatient rehabilitation follows. Rehabilitation focuses on maximizing remaining function, preventing complications, and teaching adaptive strategies.
Long-term care needs are extensive. Patients require assistive devices such as wheelchairs, modified vehicles, and home accessibility modifications. Ongoing medical care includes management of bladder and bowel function, prevention of pressure sores, pain management, and treatment of infections and other complications. Many patients need attendant care for daily living activities.
Life expectancy may be reduced, particularly for high-level cervical injuries. Employment is often impossible. Earnings capacity is lost. Family roles and relationships change permanently.
Financial costs are staggering. Lifetime medical expenses for spinal cord injury can exceed several million dollars. First-year costs alone often surpass $1 million for high cervical injuries. Annual ongoing expenses range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on injury level and care needs.
Why Spinal Cord Injury Claims Are Aggressively Disputed in Alabama
Alabama’s contributory negligence rule creates high stakes in catastrophic injury cases. Insurers defend spinal cord injury claims vigorously. They challenge liability, dispute injury severity, question future care cost projections, and argue over life care plan components.
Policy limits often fall far short of actual damages. Identifying all available insurance coverage—including underinsured motorist coverage, umbrella policies, and potentially liable third parties—is essential.
Detailed, expert-supported medical documentation is critical. Life care plans prepared by certified specialists project future needs and costs. Vocational experts assess lost earning capacity. Economists calculate lifetime financial impact.
Early settlement pressure is common. Insurers offer quick payments that fail to account for decades of future care. Alabama law does not permit modification of settlements if future conditions worsen. Accepting inadequate compensation leaves catastrophically injured victims without resources for necessary care.
How Capps Injury Law Assists Spinal Cord Injury Clients
Capps Injury Law investigates all potential sources of recovery. They identify liability insurance, underinsured motorist coverage, and other applicable policies. They work with accident reconstruction experts to establish fault clearly under Alabama’s strict legal standard.
The firm coordinates with treating physicians, life care planners, vocational experts, and economists to document the full extent of injury and future needs. They manage all insurer communication and shield clients from tactics designed to undermine claims.
Capps Injury Law’s focus is securing maximum available compensation to provide for medical care, adaptive equipment, home modifications, attendant care, lost income, and reduced quality of life over the client’s lifetime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can spinal cord injuries be partial or incomplete?
Yes. Incomplete spinal cord injuries preserve some nerve function below the injury level. Patients may retain partial sensation, movement, or both. Complete injuries result in total loss of motor and sensory function below the injury site.
Do spinal cord injury symptoms always appear immediately after a crash?
Most symptoms appear rapidly, but swelling and inflammation can cause symptom progression over the first hours to days. Secondary injury from spinal cord edema may expand the area of impairment, making immediate medical evaluation and treatment critical.
Are future medical costs and lifetime care needs recoverable in Alabama spinal cord injury claims?
Yes. Alabama law allows recovery of future medical expenses and care costs when supported by credible medical evidence and expert testimony. Life care plans and economic analyses document projected needs and costs over the patient’s lifetime.
What if the at-fault driver’s insurance is not enough to cover my spinal cord injury damages?
Underinsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy may provide additional compensation. Other potentially liable parties, such as vehicle manufacturers or government entities responsible for road defects, may also be sources of recovery. Identifying all coverage is essential in catastrophic injury cases.