St Louis Dog Bite Law Firm
Cervical Spinal Injury Secondary To Dog Attack
An injury to the cervical spine can be one of the most traumatic and life-altering injuries that can occur during a dog attack. It is often devastating and leaves one with significant medical issues for the rest of one's life. The neck, while well supported by muscles, can be injured if it is whipped around during an attack. Individuals that are knocked over and hit the ground with excessive force due the weight of a large dog, often suffer neck injuries. As the body hits the ground or an object, the head and neck are quickly snapped in multiple directions which can result in injury to the spinal cord. Alternatively, a dog bite to the back of the neck, particularly in a small child, could cause serious nerve injury and damage to the spine.
Symptoms and Treatment
With a serious neck injury from a dog attack, a victim can suffer from spinal shock. Spinal shock refers to the initial time frame after a spinal injury, during which a person is unable to feel or use his or her body below the point of injury. For most people, this is temporary and over time, feeling and muscle strength return. However, in some situations, the person will remain paralyzed from the neck down for the remainder of their life.
Other symptoms possible after a neck injury include:
- Neck pain, headache
- Numbness, tingling, and weakness of the upper extremities
Through modern medical treatment, victims of a spinal injury to the neck due to a dog attack are able to find procedures to reverse the damage that has been done. However, a universal and immediate step in caring for someone with a neck injury is placement of a cervical collar around the neck. The goal of this device is to stabilize the neck and hopefully prevent any more damage occurring by even simple movements of the neck.
Additionally, emergency surgery can be performed on a victim's spinal cord in order to decompress the area of injury and lessen swelling that may have occurred. Swelling on the spinal cord can cause loss of function and result in temporary or even permanent paralysis. In cases not involving surgery, steroids including IV prednisone can be used to rapidly reduce swelling and compression. If one of the vertebrae have been fractured or pushed out of alignment during an attack, surgery will be needed to fuse the vertebrae together to allow for stabilization – this is very important since the vertebral column is what houses and protects the spinal cord.
Besides major medical treatments for,spinal injuries from dog bites can result in other minor health care issues including a victim's need for a special bed that helps keep your body weight distributed equally, along with frequently rotating you from one side to the other to prevent bed sores. Also important for those who are temporarily, or permanently paralyzed, is placement of a catheter in a patient's bladder and frequent diaper changes, since victims will not have control of bowel movements or bladder functions.
Prognosis and Looking Into the Future
The outlook for a victim of cervical spine injury from a dog bite is largely determined on the severity of his or her initial injury.
Someone with a fractured vertebrae and no injury to the spinal cord has a great chance of recovery. However, they may experience problems with arthritis in the neck and decreased range of motion, or ability to move the neck fully in all directions, since they typically fuse the broken vertebrae to provide stability.
For those who have injury to the spinal cord, the extent of recovery is not always predictable. Some will have a slow improvement but eventually regain all the feeling and control of their body. Others will regain some to most of the feeling and movement they had lost; they may continue to experience any combination of numbness, tingling, or weakness in any part of their body below the neck, but it is most common in the upper extremities (arms, hands, shoulders).
Finally, those with the most severe and devastating injuries after a dog attack will never regain the feeling and function of their body back and will be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of their life. These individuals may face an number of medical issues for the rest of their life as they combat bed sores, infections, bladder and bowel issues, and even respiratory or heart problems.
Legal Strength Working for You
The Missouri personal injury attorneys at Page Law are committed to providing each and every client with the personal attention they need and deserve. In our many years of experience protecting the rights of those injured by dogs, we have the legal skills and knowledge to help our clients obtain compensation from negligent parties. For more information about how we can aid you in your specific case, call (314) 322-8515 for a free consultation.
