After a spinal cord injury, you’ll hear medical terms thrown around constantly. MRI results. Vertebral levels. Neurological deficits. And eventually, someone will mention your ASIA score.
The ASIA Impairment Scale isn’t just medical jargon. It’s a standardized system that determines injury severity, predicts recovery potential, and plays a significant role in calculating the value of your personal injury claim.
At Antezana & Antezana, LLC., we’ve seen how ASIA classifications shape both treatment decisions and settlement negotiations. Understanding what these scores mean helps you make informed choices about your case.
What Is The ASIA Impairment Scale
The American Spinal Injury Association developed a standardized examination to assess spinal cord injury severity. Doctors use it to test motor function and sensory perception at specific points below the injury level. The results produce a grade from A to E.
According to the American Spinal Injury Association, this classification system provides a common language for medical professionals worldwide to communicate about injury severity and track recovery progress.
The exam tests muscle strength in key muscle groups, checks sensation with light touch and pinprick at specific dermatomes, and evaluates anal sphincter control.
The Five ASIA Classifications
Each grade represents a different level of impairment and a different prognosis for recovery.
ASIA A: Complete
No motor or sensory function is preserved in the lowest sacral segments. This is a complete spinal cord injury. You can’t move or feel anything below the injury level.
Recovery of function below the injury level is unlikely. These injuries require the most extensive long‑term care, equipment, and home modifications.
ASIA B: Sensory Incomplete
Sensory function remains below the injury level, including in the sacral segments, but there’s no motor function. You can feel touch or pressure, but you can’t move voluntarily.
Some people with ASIA B injuries regain motor function over months or years. The presence of preserved sensation suggests the spinal cord wasn’t completely severed.
ASIA C: Motor Incomplete
Motor function is preserved below the injury level, but more than half of the key muscle groups have a strength grade of less than 3 out of 5. You can move, but the movements are weak and not strong enough to work against gravity.
Many ASIA C patients improve to ASIA D with intensive rehabilitation. Functional gains vary widely depending on injury level.
ASIA D: Motor Incomplete
Motor function is preserved, and at least half of the key muscle groups below the injury level have a strength grade of 3 or better. You can move against gravity, though strength may still be limited.
People with ASIA D injuries often walk with or without assistive devices. They may regain substantial independence, though challenges with balance and endurance persist.
ASIA E: Normal
Motor and sensory function are normal. This classification is rare immediately after injury but can occur during recovery as swelling decreases.
How ASIA Scores Change Over Time
Spinal cord injuries evolve. Swelling compresses the cord in the first days and weeks after trauma. As swelling resolves, some function may return.
Most neurological recovery happens in the first six months to a year after injury. That’s why insurance companies push for early settlements. They want to resolve claims before the full extent of permanent impairment becomes clear.
We document every change in ASIA classification. An improvement from ASIA A to ASIA B might seem small, but it represents a meaningful recovery that affects care needs and quality of life.
Why ASIA Scores Matter In Injury Claims
Insurance adjusters use ASIA classifications to estimate case value. They know that ASIA A injuries require lifetime attendant care, specialized equipment, and extensive home modifications.
For an Arlington spinal cord injury lawyer, ASIA scores provide a framework for proving damages. But the score alone doesn’t tell the whole story.
Impact on Daily Function
Two people with the same ASIA classification can have vastly different functional abilities depending on injury level. An ASIA C injury at C5 affects arm and hand function differently than an ASIA C injury at T10.
We document exactly what you can and can’t do. Transferring from bed to wheelchair. Dressing yourself. Driving. Working. The ASIA score provides medical validation, but the real damages come from how the injury disrupts your specific life.
Future Care Planning
Life care planners use ASIA classifications as a starting point for projecting lifetime medical needs. Complete injuries require more attendant care hours, more frequent medical monitoring, and more equipment replacements.
An ASIA A injury at C4 might require 24‑hour attendant care costing millions over a lifetime. An ASIA D injury at L1 might need part‑time assistance and periodic therapy.
Vocational Impact
Vocational rehabilitation professionals assess work capacity based partly on ASIA scores. Complete injuries eliminate many job options. Incomplete injuries allow for modified work or retraining, but capacity still varies dramatically.
Lost earning capacity calculations depend on an accurate assessment of what work remains possible. ASIA scores help establish baseline expectations.
Common Misconceptions About ASIA Scores
Insurance companies sometimes misuse ASIA classifications to minimize claims. They’ll point to an incomplete injury and suggest full recovery is likely.
An incomplete injury doesn’t mean you’ll walk again. It means some function was preserved. That preserved function might be minimal and might not improve further.
Defense attorneys sometimes hire doctors who conduct cursory ASIA exams and produce optimistic predictions about recovery. We counter with treating physician records that show the actual trajectory and therapy notes documenting ongoing deficits.
Documenting ASIA Scores In Your Case
Medical records from acute care hospitalization through rehabilitation contain ASIA examination results. We request these records early and track changes over time.
Serial ASIA exams show whether you’re improving, plateauing, or declining. When scores remain unchanged for six months or more, permanency becomes clear.
For an experienced Arlington spinal cord injury lawyer, combining ASIA classifications with functional assessments, life care planning, and vocational analysis creates a complete picture of how the injury affects your life now and in the future. If you’re dealing with a spinal cord injury and trying to understand what your medical records mean for your case, reach out to our team so we can review your ASIA scores and explain how they factor into your potential recovery.