Staten Island

Published on: November 21, 2011

Paralyzed 25 Year Old Quickly Becoming Dressage Champion

by Stephen Bilkis

A spinal injury has not slowed down a 25-year-old dressage champion, at least not much. According to a doctor, the young woman broke her spine in a tragic riding accident at the age of 20.

The young woman fell off of a friend’s horse when the horse suddenly reared, and then was further injured when the horse fell on top of her. Since the accident, the young woman from Inverness has worked her way back up to being a top competitor at Scotland’s Para Dressage Team. She has also competed in competitions for non-disabled riders with her horse, Murphy.

The Inverness woman knew she had been severely hurt as soon she landed. She began riding at the age of four, and literally grew up in the saddle, states a New York Spinal Injury Lawyer. She spent a month in physiotherapy at the Queen Elizabeth Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow. At the hospital she learned how to sit up by herself, and once she did so she was determined to ride again. Therapy like this are common at hospitals in Queens and Staten Island.

Published on: October 27, 2011

12 Year Old Boy Flown To Hospital With Suspected Spinal Injury

by Stephen Bilkis

A 12-year-old New Zealand boy was recently airlifted to the Whangarei Hospital, after suffering an accident, which could lead to a possible spinal injury. His mother took the 12-year-old to the Kerkeri Medical Centre when he began complaining of a sore neck, reported a New York Spinal Injury Lawyer. While he was at the Kerkeri Medical Centre, he began having other symptoms, including slurred speech and the loss of sensation in one side of his body. These symptoms began occurring after the boy hit his head on the bottom of a shallow pool while swimming sometime prior. This could easily be considered a slip and fall injury.

The doctors attending the 12-year-old immediately immobilized his neck with a neck brace, after identifying the possibility of a serious injury, and took him to the Kerkeri Domain to await transportation to a larger hospital.

At around 4:15 PM, a Northland Electricity helicopter picked him up and flew him to the Whangeri Hospital. He was transferred via helicopter because doctors feared had a possible spinal or head injury. If they had tried to transport him via an ambulance, the trip could have worsened his injuries, stated a NY Spinal Injury Lawyer. The helicopter was in the Bay of Islands at the time of the emergency call, and workers and firefighters at the Kerkeri Medical Centre didn’t have enough time to mark out a landing area for the helicopter before it arrived.

Published on: October 14, 2011

Drunk driver kills one and paralyzes another

by Stephen Bilkis

There is no doubt in the world that drinking and driving is not a good combination. In this accident case, a man driving while under the influence of alcohol, was involved in a deadly crash that killed his passenger and severely injured a woman on her way home from work. The injured woman was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the accident, indicated the NY Spinal Injury Lawyer.

The driver was charged with not only driving under the influence, but aggravated assault by a vehicle and homicide by vehicle. He had been drinking at a tavern just before the crash. Despite being drunk, he thought he could drive. The man ran a red light doing 95 mph and accelerating, when he slammed into another pickup. His passenger wasn’t killed instantly, but instead, died a month later from his injuries.

The other driver involved in this horrific wreck was a 911 dispatcher on her way home from work. Her dispatch center got the call about her accident and subsequent injuries, which included severe spinal cord injury, broken legs, broken ankles and a broken back. Blood alcohol tests run on the driver showed he was 0.15%, reported the New York Spinal Injury Lawyer. The legal limit in his state was 0.08, the same as Staten Island and Westchester County.

Published on: September 17, 2011

Spinal injury is not a static thing when it comes to prognosis

by Stephen Bilkis

Spinal injury is not a static thing when it comes to prognosis, New York Spinal Injury Lawyers have learned. The outcome can vary widely when there has been neurological damage. Bones heal completely in 8 to 16 weeks. The more the bones have changed shape, the more likely it is that there will be chronic pain, or that pain will come in the later stages of recovery. Subsequent surgical treatments may help with neurological difficulties caused by injuries that harmed, but did not break, the spinal cord. In cases where the spinal cord has been severed, below-the-waist paraplegia is very likely, and the disability will be permanent.

Naturally, a spine fracture with attendant spinal cord injury will have a great affect on an individual’s life. Rehabilitation must take all this into account, New York Spinal Injury Lawyers insist. It should address functional status in all aspects of the patient’s life, including home, work, and community.

The specifics of rehabilitation will depend upon the type of fracture, the extent to which the spinal cord was involved, and repair of the fracture itself. The stability of the fracture should also be known before any rehabilitation can begin. Rehab facilities in Westchester and Staten island have been made aware of these situations.

Published on: August 18, 2011

28-year-old man who suffered spinal cord injury in a single propeller engine airplane crash

by Stephen Bilkis

New York Spinal Injury Lawyers have learned of the case of a 28-year-old man who suffered spinal cord injury in a single propeller engine airplane crash on May 13th, 2008. He sustained extensive spinal cord injuries and initially treated at the Hospital Mexico in Costa Rica on the same day as the crash. Paraplegia was certainly a possibility in this case.

The spine was stabilized using metal rods and bone fragments were removed from the spinal canal. The patient remained at the Hospital Mexico for a week before being moved to the National Rehabilitation Center in Costa Rica for four weeks. The patient had to wear a harness to support his back. He also had to remain lying down and his physical therapy was focused on stretching exercises. Drugs were administered for the pain, which was both acute and constant. Doctors in Staten Island and Westchester County have taken note of these treatments.

He was giving cell treatment in three cycles between October 31 and November 20, 2008, January 21-30, 2009, and July 1-10, 2009, New York City Spinal Injury Lawyersdiscovered, using stem cells from placenta and umbilical cord blood. There were no adverse affects shown from injections directly into the spinal cord. Doctors did note, however, an increase in strength during the observation period, with the final observation in January of 2010.

Published on: June 16, 2011

Baggage handler sues Qantas over spinal injury

by Stephen Bilkis

A baggage handler for Qantas Airways Limited has won a fight to sue his employer over a spinal injury he received while at work. In the District Court ruling, the employee successfully sought to extend the period of limitations so he could proceed with a lawsuit.

The 39-year-old was left with a cervical spine injury in January 2006 after lifting a telescopic pole from the baggage compartment of an aircraft. Medical diagnosis at the time was that the man had a disc herniation which was caused by degeneration over time. He was told his symptoms would subside within two months and he did not require any treatment.

However, he continued to suffer from neck, left arm and leg pain for years, despite being transferred to a less physical role with the airline.

Published on: June 2, 2011

Father in Dallas Receives Life Sentence for Paralyzing Baby

by Stephen Bilkis

On the day the jury made the decision to convict a Dallas father for child abuse, the two-year-old boy was brought in. The jury was asked to meet the victim, who had been so badly abused that he was blind, deaf, and paralyzed. Jurors wept and the father accused of the crime could not even look at the boy.

The 26-year-old father did not watch while the nurse showed the jurors how the boy lived since his father severed the boy’s spinal cord in December 2008. It took the jury only 30 minutes before they sentenced the father to life in prison.

“I looked at him a lot – no remorse,” one juror told an NY City Spinal Injury Lawyer. “The evidence showed it was all about him.”