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Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)

SPINAL CORD INJURIES

Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) are caused by damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling.

Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accidents, gunshots, falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida, Friedreich’s Ataxia, etc.).

The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In fact, in most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning. Almost 11,000 people in the U.S. sustain spinal injuries each year, resulting in temporary or permanent sensory deficit, motor deficit, or bowel or bladder dysfunction.

In this country, nearly 200,000 people live with paralysis caused by SCI. More than half the people who sustain an injury are between 16 and 30 years old. More males than females sustain this type of injury – the ratio is more than four to one.

Click here to read about the types of SCI and the effects of each injury.

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CAUSES OF SPINAL CORD INJURIES

Spinal Cord Injury Statistics

The most common cause of a spinal cord injury is motor vehicle accidents, accounting for at least 36 percent of these injuries (broken down as follows: no restraints used, 20%; restraints used, 13.7%; motorcycle, 7.4%; accidents involving pedestrians, 5.2%; other, 2.1%). Violence-related injuries have been steadily increasing over the past two decades, and today, violence is associated with 29 percent of SCIs. Falls and sports cause 21 percent and 7 percent of spinal cord injuries cases, respectively.

Note: data does not reflect the image below.

How to Prevent Spinal Cord Injuries

  • Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of SCI. Wear a seat belt every time you are in a motor vehicle. Make sure that your children are properly buckled into a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt as appropriate.
  • Keep firearms and ammunition locked in a cabinet or safe when not in use. The second leading cause of SCI is violence, most often related to firearms use.
  • Prevent falls using a step stool with a grab bar to reach objects on high shelves; installing handrails on stairways; installing window guards to keep young children from falling out of windows; and using safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs when young children are around.
  • Play sports safely. Wear all required safety gear, and never engage in head-first moves, such as spearing (in football, using the helmet to tackle) or sliding head-first into a base. Avoid hitting the boards with your head in ice hockey. Insist on spotters when performing new or difficult moves in gymnastics.

Contact South Florida Injury Attorneys Brotman Nusbaum Ibrahim & Adelman

In spinal cord injury cases it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, review the medical procedures in question, and to enable physicians or other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate the accident record and injuries.

Free Case Evaluation

If you or a loved one are suffering from a spinal cord injury, call Brotman Nusbaum Ibrahim & Adelman now at (888) 661-6266 or simply fill out the form.