What if you could no longer walk? What if you couldn’t hug or play with your kids? What if couldn’t support your family and instead needed costly and difficult rehabilitation and treatment. What if you needed help performing the simplest tasks of everyday life, from eating to using the restroom. For individuals with paralysis, these are not hypothetical questions. Few injuries are as devastating and life-changing as a spinal cord injury that results in the inability to feel or use some or all of your body and limbs.

Most spinal cord injuries and cases of paralysis are the result of sudden trauma or injury, from car accidents to sports injuries to workplace accidents. But medical mistakes can and often do cause paralysis in both adult and infant patients, alike.

When medical malpractice upends lives and families, the people responsible need to be held to account and those who are suffering need help to move forward with a life that will never be quite the same. At The Brothers Law Firm, we fight tirelessly to get compensation for individuals paralyzed because of a medical error.

Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis

Almost all of our physical functioning relies on the spinal cord. It is the avenue through which the brain communicates with the rest of the body. When a spinal cord is broken or injured, parts of the body controlled by the damaged area may lose their ability to feel and function, resulting in permanent disability or paralysis.

The nature of the underlying injury or damage to the spine will determine the extent of paralysis, which can take the following forms:

• Quadriplegia — paralysis of the arms and legs
• Hemiplegia — paralysis of one side of the body
• Paraplegia — paralysis of both legs
• Facial Paralysis — paralysis of the muscles in the face

Medical Mistakes That Lead to Paralysis

There are many mistakes that surgeons and doctors can make that can result in life-altering paralysis. Almost all such errors are avoidable if the proper and appropriate standard of care had been followed. Some of the most common ways medical malpractice leads to paralysis include:

• Spinal or back surgery mistakes, such as performing the wrong procedure,  operating on the wrong vertebrae, or incorrectly placing rods or screws.
• Chiropractic errors, such as incorrectly or too forcefully manipulating the neck or back.
• Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose medical conditions which left untreated can progress and cause paralysis, such as failing to diagnose high blood pressure which can lead to strokes that cause paralysis.
• Labor and delivery errors, such as the misuse of forceps or using too much pressure and force during delivery which can injure a group of nerves in the infant called the brachial plexus, causing the child to lose functionality in the upper body.

Astronomical Costs and Challenges

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center: the average yearly treatment costs for individuals with paraplegia is $537,271 in the first year and $71,172 every year after that. Beyond dollars and cents, the costs of paralysis caused by medical malpractice are found in the struggles of day-to-day living, families who must now spend their time taking care of their loved one, and the emotional and psychological trauma that comes with life never being the same.

Speak With an Experienced Medical Malpractice and Paralysis Attorney Today

If you believe a medical error is the cause of your paralysis or that of a loved one, please contact The Brothers Law Firm today at 281-491-3635 to arrange for your free initial consultation. We are uncompromising in our efforts to better the lives of our clients living with avoidable paralysis and have the combination of skill, experience, and passion to accomplish that goal.