An auto accident can lead to many kinds of injuries. If an injury affects the spine, the victim can suffer from paralysis. Paralysis is the inability to significantly feel or move limbs.
There are many kinds of paralysis. Here’s what you should know:
Monoplegia
Paralysis can affect one part of the body, such as an arm, leg, finger or toe. The victim may have control and feeling over the rest of their body, but they won’t be able to in the affected limb. The loss of feeling and control can be temporary depending on the severity of the injury. If the injury didn’t sever the nerves, physical therapy can help regain function.
Paraplegia
A victim of an auto accident could suffer paralysis of the lower body, which is called paraplegia. Paraplegia usually affects both legs, but the injury can affect people differently. Some people lose feeling in just one leg. This can limit people’s mobility permanently. Victims can seek physical therapy to strengthen their muscles and nerve connections. However, people rarely recover from paraplegia.
Hemiplegia
Paralysis can affect the arm and leg simultaneously on one side of the body. Victims may feel tingling sensations or loss of feeling from hemiplegia. Hemiplegia can affect people differently depending on the injury. Victims can have varying degrees of numbness from day to day depending on the victim’s health. Hemiplegia can be temporary if treated with early physical therapy.
Quadriplegia
An injury can be so severe that it affects the victim’s body from the neck down. They may lose feeling and control of all four limbs. Quadriplegia can affect organs and lead to organ failure and dysfunction.
Paralysis is often life-changing. Victims may need to reach out for legal help to learn about how they can get compensation for their medical bills and therapy.