Anyone who’s dealt with the long-term effects of a spinal cord injury knows that there are a lot of things to look out for. At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we’re proud to offer our assistance to spinal cord injury victims through our comprehensive personal injury services as well as our experienced opinions. If you or a loved one suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident, call Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for your free case evaluation.
Treatment for spinal cord injuries has its risks
When you’re being treated for your spinal cord injury, there are physical risks you must face. Your doctor should be clear with you both about what the potential risks are and what you should look out for. one of the more common risks that people experience when healing from a spinal cord injury is a pressure shore.
This happens when a person is stuck in bed and doesn’t get the right care. Some people are at home and their loved ones don’t know about the daily skin care that’s necessary to avoid these bedsores. In other situations, a person may be in a rehabilitation center and the health care workers aren’t properly doing their jobs. This can often be the result of a family who can’t afford a more expensive rehabilitation center. If that’s your situation, be sure you work with a personal injury attorney to determine if you have a right to compensation.
Pressure sores are highly preventable
Pressure sores may be painful but there is good news: 95% of the typical bedsores people deal with are actually 100% preventable. There are a wide range of things you can, from making sure you’re eating a healthy diet, to washing and cleaning the skin daily – even when it’s hard – to changing positions if possible so that there isn’t one spot of skin that’s being subjected to a loss in blood supply for hours or days at a time.
There are options for people who can’t move into a new position too
Of course, some people can’t move to a new position if they’re healing from a dramatic spinal cord injury. In this case, exercises known as pressure reliefs can be done. Take this example: A person is sitting in a wheelchair and the bottom of their leg pressures their hamstring into the chair for hours at a time.
Completing a pressure relief is as simple as lifting up that area, or shifting just enough that the pressure moves. Hold that for a minute and a half and you can prevent bedsores. Ideally, this would be done every 15 minutes but every half an hour can help too.
Make sure you’re getting the compensation you’re owed
At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we believe that everyone should have the best medical care possible. If you or a loved one has been injured, please call us at 909-982-0707 for your free case evaluation. We can consider the specifics of your case and offer our legal opinion about whether or not you’re owed compensation.
