Dangers of Spinal Cord Injuries

Summary:

The following article discusses the high risk of spinal cord injuries among older residents in assisted living housing. It briefly goes into the conference held in Phoenix, which discussed the dangers of geriatric residents who have sustained spinal cord injuries. The statistics prove alarming, as there has been an increase over the recent decades. The article then talks about the effects of spinal cord injuries and the outcomes that can occur that are not necessarily fatal. It concludes with how to contact an Arizona attorney in order to receive legal advice for the justice of your loved one who suffered an injury due to neglect.

Dangers of Spinal Cord Injuries

Assisted living centers are put in place to give people the independence as if living outside a medical facility setting with more freedom to do more activities but with the care they would receive living in a nursing home. However, even with independence, assisted living centers are exactly what the names states: centers that help the people living in these apartment-like housings with their daily activities. Often proper care is not taken and injuries that are common among elderly residents escalate and occur at higher rates than normal. In the last 30 years spinal cord injuries among people 70 years of and age above have risen in the United States. Geriatric patients and/or residents who sustain spinal cord injury are more likely to suffer a fatality due to the injury rather than the immediate effects of the injury itself.

An Arizona Attorney’s goal is to assist you and your family to collect compensation for damages entitled to your Arizona family for injuries that may have been acquired under the supervision of staff members in Assisted Living Centers. The care of your loved one in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe should be important, not only to your family but the people assisting your loved one in their daily activities.

In a recent conference in Phoenix by the Neurological Surgeons Association, spinal cord injuries among the elderly were one of the main topics. They concluded that over a 28-year period, almost 4,000 acute penetrating blunt spinal cord injuries occurred among the geriatric population. That is a 60 percent increase since the 1980s.

What is the Spinal Cord?

The spinal cord is part of the nervous system. The nerves located among the spinal cord are connected to the brain and help with functions. The injury or diminishing of the cord can be dangerous.

Effects of Spinal Cord Injuries:

  • Incomplete Motor Skills
  • No sensation
  • Involuntary movement
  • The inability to make voluntary movements
  • Paralysis
  • Lack of bicep control
  • Fatality
  • Lumbar pains
  • Lack or incontrollable bowel movements

Recent lawsuits involving assisted living centers have been due to neglect that leads to a severe or minor Spinal Cord related injury and or fatality, while living in an assisted living center and under the supervision of others for their daily activities. There is much to be considered for this high probability for someone 70 or above or even someone 50 or above to suffer a spinal cord related injury. Elderly patients with age have a diminishing quality of life and motor and bone function.

But the natural risk that can occur with age involving a spinal cord injury should in no way be an excuse. It is often due to the neglect of staff members. Just like nursing homes, assisted living centers still involve medical care and proper care of the paying resident. Even if the individual has some of their functions left to carry out daily activities, it does not excuse the misconception that constant or full assistance is not needed from time to time.

Contact an Arizona Lawyer

Spinal cord injuries among the elderly are dangerous to begin with and added neglect in living assisted centers can add to the chances of your loved one sustaining an injury. You and your family have rights. If you suspect that your mother, father, aunt or uncle has suffered a spinal cord injury due to the lack of care of an assisted living center, contact an Arizona Advocacy Attorney in the Maricopa County area. For more information see www.nursinghomeadvocates.com.