Spinal Cord Injury (SCI results to loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Common causes of damage are trauma like car accidents, gunshots, falls, etc. or diseases such as polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia, etc. The spinal cord need not be severed for a loss of functioning to occur. In reality, in most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning. SCI differs from back injuries such as ruptured disks, or pinched nerves since a person can "break their back or neck" yet not sustain a spinal cord injury if only the bones around the spinal cord (the vertebrae) are damaged, but the spinal cord is not affected. In these instances, the individual may not experience paralysis after the bones are stabilized.

Close to 11,000 people in the U.S. suffer from traumatic spinal cord injuries annually, resulting in temporary or permanent sensory deficit, motor deficit, or bowel or bladder dysfunction. Almost 200,000 people live with an SCI-related disability.

Over a half of the people who have SCI are between 16 and 30 years old of which there are more males than females with a ratio which is more than four to one. Blacks are at higher levels of risk for SCI than whites with the SCI rate among blacks rising in recent years. The most common cause of SCI is motor vehicle crashes, contributing to at least 35 percent of these injuries. Violence-related SCIs have been steadily growing over the past two decades, and today, violence is associated with 30 percent of SCIs. Falls and sports add 19 percent and 8 percent to SCI cases, respectively.

More often than not, lawsuits are the usual means to obtain compensation for spinal cord injuries. The compensation that can be derived will depend on the individual situations of the victim but will commonly include money to cover medical expenses as well as rehabilitation costs and attendant care, assistive equipment and technology, home modifications to accommodate disabilities, lost income, lost earning capacity, pain, suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and disability. When you have a Spinal Cord Injury due to an auto accident, get tuned to for assistance.