In most cases this injury will not have been caused by a car accident however there is a significant proportion that is a direct result of motor vehicle collisions. Road traffic accidents are a major cause of traumatic injury and represent more than half of all cases handled by personal injury solicitors. If you have been injured in a car accident and you want to make a compensation claim for personal injury and loss just complete the contact form, email our offices or use the solicitor’s helpline. Our car accident compensation claim solicitors offer free advice without further obligation. If we deal with your claim it will be on a no win no fee basis, compensation is paid in full and you do not have to fund or finance your car accident compensation claim.
There are seven cervical vertebrae and a total of 8 cervical nerves that pass through the spinal nerve root exits and help the function of the hand. If you sustain a spinal nerve injury, you have the risk of severe injury to the function of the arms and legs. If you have injury to a single nerve rootlet, there is dysfunction of just one area of the arm or perhaps breathing. The various spinal nerves affect the following body areas:
About 5-10 percent of unconscious patients who present to the emergency room following a motor vehicle will also have an injury to the cervical spine. A third of all injuries occur at C2 and half of all injuries occur at C7. Most of the fatal injuries happen at the levels of C1 and C2 because breathing is involved in the injury and the person cannot breathe on his or her own. If one spinal cord column is damaged, the other two spinal cord columns may protect the spinal cord so there is no transection or pulling on the cord. C1 and C2 are different in appearance from the rest of the spinal vertebrae and are more sensitive to damage than other levels of cerebral vertebrae.
There can be a flexion injury to the affected spinal cord or an extension injury. There can also be rotational injury associated with flexion and extension. There can be vertical compression and lateral flexion of the spinal cord that result in injuries to the spinal cord. Extension injuries are also called hangman’s fracture, extension teardrop fracture, posterior alantoaxial dislocation and a posterior neural arch fracture. A hangman’s fracture affects C2 primarily.
Injuries of the upper cervical portion of the spinal cord are considered unstable because they don’t have the stability to keep the neck straight. The greatest instability is at C2. Compression is the mechanism of spinal injury at C2 because this is the widest part of the spinal canal. There are four types of atlas fractures (C1) called types I-IV. They result from impaction of the occipital condyles at the level of the atlas. The first two types of atlas fractures are completely stable and include fractures of the anterior or posterior aspect of the atlas. The fourth type of atlas fracture is called a burst fracture of the C1 level and is called a Jefferson fracture. It is associated with the highest degree of neurological injury.
Disruption of the column of the cervical spine leads to instability of the cervical cord. The degree of injury depends on where the spinal column injury is and how much damage is done to the cord. As many as thirty nine percent of cervical fractures lead to some type of neurological deficit. Degeneration of the spine during diseases like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can also increase the risk of cervical spine injury. Spinal stenosis and spina bifida increase the risk of disease as well.
The incidence of cervical spine injury is such that 6000 deaths and five thousand new cases of quadriplegia occur each year. The male to female ratio is about 4 to 1 as men are more likely to engage in activities that cause damage to the spinal cord. About 80 percent of cases include those of age 18 to 25 years.
If you have suffered physically, mentally or financially, you should consider making an accident compensation claim. For free telephone advice from specialist personal injury solicitors just call the helpline. Our lawyers will assess the strength of your claim and will advise you on your potential award of compensation without any further obligation.