Spinal Cord Injuries - The Wallace Law Firm, L.L.C. - Information and resources about Spinal Cord Injuries by Harvard lawyer and Atlanta attorney Lee Tarte Wallace

Lee Wallace

Harvard Law School - Graduated with honors, 19 years of litigation - Legal Matters in 20 states, Georgia Superlawyer & Georgia's Legal Elite, Vanderbilt University - 1st in Class

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This page is dedicated to a special and courageous group of people -- my clients with spinal cord injuries, and their families.

ON THIS PAGE:

•	Spinal Cord injuries

•	What happens when your spine gets injured

•	Useful links about spinal cord injuries

Spinal Cord Injuries

My husband has been in a wheelchair for more than 20 years. Because I know what it is to live with a spinal cord injury, I am passionate about representing people with spinal cord injuries.

A spinal cord injury can turn your life upside down in an instant. And the change can come whether you are the one injured, or the mom, the spouse, the child, the girlfriend, or the best friend, of the person injured.

Spinal cord injuries weave their way into your daily life. From not being able to reach the top shelves at the grocery store to not being able to get into the bathroom at a restaurant, your life changes in ways both small and large. You incur enormous costs – from catheters, to wheelchairs, to roll-in showers – just to be able to do the same things that were free before your injury.

But people with spinal cord injuries – and the families who love them – are some of the most amazing clients I have. These clients make heroic efforts to do what should be effortless. They bear daily indignities with grace. Their families rally around them, silencing their own grief, in order to help. I have seen mothers lose jobs because they refused to leave a child’s bedside. I have seen parents take two jobs to try to pay for all the extra costs that are incurred. I have seen fathers pushing their children’s wheelchairs, and children pushing their fathers’ wheelchairs.

Every month my husband and I take welcome bags to the residents at a spinal rehabilitation facility near our church, so we continue to be reminded of the overwhelming grief and the exhausting effort that follow a catastrophic injury.

To all of the courageous people battling a spinal cord injury, this page is dedicated to you.

What happens when your spine gets injured

When the spinal cord gets damaged, your body may lose its ability to function or feel. Spinal cord injuries can occur from trauma (such as car wrecks, diving accidents, or surgery) or from disease. A spinal cord injury (“SCI”) can render your limbs or parts of your body inoperable.

The spinal cord runs through bones called vertebra. Your doctor may tell you that your injury is a “C-4” or a “T-6.” This numbering system tells you exactly where along the spine your injury occurred. The spine is divided into three sections: cervical (neck), thoracic (from the neck down to the pelvis), and lumbar (pelvic). For shorthand, doctors refer to injuries in the cervical region as being “C”, while thoracic injuries are designated with a “T”, and lumbar injuries with an “L.” The vertebra in each section are then numbered, beginning at the top with “1”. Thus, A “C-4” injury occurred in the area of the fourth vertebrae in the cervical region.

Speaking in very broad terms, people with cervical injuries usually have some loss of function in all four limbs, which is called “quadriplegia.” The higher the injury, the greater the loss. People with thoracic injuries usually have some loss of function in their chests and legs, but their arms continue to function normally. People suffering lumbar injuries lose some function in their legs and hips. People with thoracic or lumbar injuries generally suffer “paraplegia.”

Click here for a very useful explanation of spinal cord injuries and how they can affect motion and feeling.

Spinal cord injury links

The contents of this page: (a) should not be considered or relied upon as legal, financial or other professional advice in any manner whatsoever, and (b) may be considered advertising under some state’s Bar Rules. Unless otherwise stated, no article or text at this Internet site is, has been, or will be updated or revised for accuracy as statutory or case law changes following the date of first publication. Always consult with your lawyer and/or your other professional advisors before acting.