Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

• Making you mobile and giving you independence – We will engage mobility experts who can advise on the most suitable wheelchair for your needs. Often your best comfort, and accessibility to different types of environment, will necessitate the purchase of more than one wheelchair. The mobility expert will also advise on appropriate vehicle purchases and adaptations.
• Understanding and preparing for your needs at home – Working with your clinical team, we will gain an understanding of your daily living activities for which you will require assistance before being discharged home. This will see us work with experts to ensure plans are drawn up to make your home wheelchair accessible and, where this is not possible, we will seek funding to rent or purchase and adapt alternative accommodation.
• Making adaptations to your home – A key part to getting back to as normal life as possible after a spinal cord injury is getting back to your own home. To do this it is often necessary to make adaptations to your home to enable you to live as independently as possible and to get you back home as swiftly as possible, and we can help secure funding. We will also seek support from experts in assistive technologies that will give you control over your environment , such as heating, lighting, door opening and curtain pulling from the safety of your wheelchair.
• Additional support packages – We will discuss and arrange additional therapies and personal support packages that may be necessary, taking account of those available via the NHS and statutory services, and purchasing privately where more appropriate.

Depending on the nature of the spinal injury, the pathway to maximum possible recovery can be a long one, spanning several years.

It is our belief at Hudgell Solicitors, and supported by clinical evidence, that the sooner someone is able to access appropriate rehabilitation support, the easier their recovery pathway will be.

It is therefore of utmost importance to us that we offer proactive support all the way through your recovery, subject to having sufficient access to funds. We will be tough and proactive in negotiation, and litigation where necessary, to maintain a constant stream of funding to support your needs.

The type of help that we facilitate for spinal cord injury from a rehabilitation perspective medium to long term is likely to include:

• Ensuring all family members are given the help and understanding they need – It is not only the individual who has suffered a spinal injury that needs help and support. We know family members and loved ones also require support understanding the lasting changes the injury will cause. These can include sensitive personal topics such as ongoing bowel and bladder care, as well as difficulties with sexual function.
• Ensuring you have adequate long-term clinical care – This will most likely need to be funded privately due to restrictions on the NHS budget, through your spinal cord injury compensation claim.
• Providing access to support from charities – We have links to many charities, such as the Back Up Trust, which provides support people of all ages who have suffered spinal injuries to regain their independence and to encourage them to get the most from their lives. Local charities and support groups can help widen your network people to speak to who are in a similar situation to yourself.
• Working towards a return to employment and hobbies – Our solicitors can provide access to specialist vocational rehabilitation provision which will assist you in taking steps to return to meaningful employment or engagement in other forms of activity, such as new personal interests, to maximise quality-of-life each day.
• Considering the trial of new technologies to aid your rehabilitation – Where it is considered clinically appropriate, we can assist with arranging the trial of new technologies, such as robotics, which may enable some assisted walking for certain levels of spinal-cord injury, with a view to securing funding to purchase the equipment most suited to you.
• Holiday Planning – We can provide guidance as to holiday planning so that you can access public transport, suitable accommodation and adventurous activities, where desired, whilst in a wheelchair.