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Understanding spinal cord injuries

On Behalf of | Jul 25, 2015 | Industrial Workers' Accidents |

Minnesota residents who work in dangerous industrial jobs face serious risks to their safety each day. Industrial accidents can include a factory explosion, falls from scaffolding or another type of manufacturing accident. Workers who endure these incidents can suffer life-altering injuries. Spinal cord injuries, for example, can result from harsh blows to the spine, according to WebMD.com.

The spinal cord is a group of nerves that runs the length of the spine and attaches at the bottom of the brain. Injuries to these nerves will result in varying levels of disabilities based upon the location of the injury. Injuries to nerves closer to the top of the spinal cord are the most serious and those that can result in quadriplegia. When the regions below an injury site have no feeling at all, the condition is said to be complete. With an incomplete injury, patients will have some function or feeling below the location of the injury.

According to spinalinjury101.org, there are four different groupings of nerves in the spinal cord. At the bottom are the sacral nerves. Moving up in order from there are the lumbar thoracic and cervical nerves. An injured worker with sacral nerve damage may experience some permanent disability but may eventually be able to walk unassisted. This is in contrast to a person with other nerve damage which can require anything from braces or manual wheelchairs to motorized wheelchairs and round-the-clock care.

Minnesotans who have been involved in industrial workers’ accidents deserve help. From claims to workers’ compensation insurance and more, talking with an attorney may be beneficial at this time.

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