When most people think of personal injury accidents, such as car crashes or falls, they often focus on visible injuries like broken bones. However, some of the most serious and life-altering damage involves the brain or spinal cord.
If these areas are significantly injured, it can lead to conditions like hemiplegia, which can severely affect your daily life and long-term well-being. Read on to learn more about this condition.
Understanding Hemiplegia
Hemiplegia (also known as hemiparesis) is a form of paralysis that only affects one side of the body. It results in loss of sensation and muscle control in the injured area, most often leaving the impacted area limp. However, some people can experience a spastic version that causes the affected muscles to move uncontrollably.
Not all areas of the same side of your body might be impacted to the same degree. For example, you may have hemiplegia on your right side and be able to move some of your facial muscles there, though you may not be able to perform any movement at all in the corresponding leg.
What Causes Hemiplegia?
Medical conditions, including strokes, can result in hemiplegia, but a large number of cases that lead to the condition involve traumatic injuries. Traffic collisions of all kinds, as well as slip and fall accidents, can all impact the spine or brain on just one side, resulting in hemiplegia.
These types of injuries often occur suddenly and without warning, leaving little time for the body to react or protect itself. The force of impact in accidents can damage the nerves or brain regions responsible for controlling movement on one side of the body, leading to lasting impairment.
Treating Hemiplegia
There are some forms of the condition that can be treated, allowing you to gain some function and sensation back in the affected area.
Physiotherapy is one of the most important ways of treating hemiplegia. It involves rebuilding the muscles on the impacted side, regaining your balance, and managing spastic muscles (if that’s the type of hemiplegia you have).
Some people also benefit from electrical stimulation. A doctor can send electric pulses into the muscles that you can’t consciously move or contract. In turn, they can help stimulate function and create new neural pathways.
Another common treatment is occupational therapy, which focuses on helping individuals relearn daily activities and adapt to physical limitations. Through customized exercises and adaptive tools, patients can improve independence and regain control over essential tasks like dressing, eating, or writing.
Unfortunately, however, these aren’t applicable solutions to every case of hemiplegia; some forms of the condition simply cannot be fully resolved.
Filing a Claim for Hemiplegia Compensation
If you’ve sustained a serious injury like hemiplegia in an accident, you may have the right to pursue a personal injury claim. To recover compensation, you’ll need to prove that the other party was negligent—that they owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused your injury as a result.
While it’s possible to handle a claim on your own, doing so is risky with a condition this severe. An experienced personal injury lawyer can improve your chances of securing fair compensation by negotiating with insurers and, if needed, representing you in court.
An Experienced Salt Lake City Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help After an Accident
Developing hemiplegia following an accident could prevent you from working and enjoying your life as you once did. You will likely have significant medical bills to worry about, as well as many other losses that you may simply not know how to address.
The best course of action is to hire an attorney who can fight for your rights in a personal injury claim. With the right team behind you, you can pursue the compensation you’re entitled to.
Contact the Personal Injury Lawyers at Parker & McConkie Today
For more information, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have 5 convenient locations in Utah, including Midvale, Salt Lake City, Ogden & Provo, UT. Clients can also visit our offices in Idaho Falls, ID & Rock Springs, WY.
We proudly serve Weber County, Utah County, Salt Lake County in Utah, Bonneville County in Idaho, Sweetwater County in Wyoming, and their surrounding areas:
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Salt Lake City Office
466 S. 500 E., Suite 100,
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 851-1202
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Midvale Office
7090 Union Park Ave, #160,
Midvale, UT 84047
(801) 845-0440
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Ogden Office
2510 S Washington Blvd, Suite 160,
Ogden, UT 84401
(385) 402-8187
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Provo Office
37 E Center St, Suite 300,
Provo, UT 84606
(801) 876-4107
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Rock Springs Office
531 N Front St,
Rock Springs, WY 82901
(307) 205-7400
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Idaho Falls Office
2235 East 25th St. Suite #280,
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
(208) 418-0633
Hours: 24/7
