Spinal Injury Lawyer Blog 24/7

Published on: July 30, 2012

A woman was involved in a motor vehicle accident sometime on October 9, 2009

by Stephen Bilkis

A woman was involved in a motor vehicle accident sometime on October 9, 2009 at the corner of Bellmore Avenue and Sunrise Highway in Nassau County, New York. The police arrived at the scene but no ambulance responded. The woman alighted from her car all by herself and after the initial investigation by the police the woman drove her car from the scene of the accident to her office.

The woman said she felt pain in her lower back and she experienced headaches. She went for an x-ray and consulted a doctor who recommended that she undergo treatment from a chiropractor. She went and saw the chiropractor for about a year and then she stopped seeing the chiropractor and went instead for physical therapy for a few months. She eventually stopped the physical therapy.

As of the time she filed this suit in damages, she was no longer receiving treatment for her injury. She claims that as a result of the accident, she lives in constant pain and she suffered spinal injury particularly, injury to her cervical and lumbar spine. She claims that she has lost significant motion in her spine and she asserts that this spinal injury qualifies as “serious injury.” She claims that the spinal injury has caused a limitation on her use of her spine which prohibits her from her customary daily activities.

Published on: July 25, 2012

On March 24, 2006, a 77 year old man was about to cross the street

by Stephen Bilkis

On March 24, 2006, a 77 year old man was about to cross the street at the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 139th Street. He was hit by a car. This car hit the 77 year old because it was also hit by another car from the back.

The 77 year old man was hospitalized in Manhattan. Later he filed a case for damages and he sued the two car drivers. The 77 year old man presented the medical findings which were made from tests conducted immediately after the accident while the two drivers presented the findings of a neurologist, an orthopedic surgeon, radiologist and a plastic surgeon.

The orthopedic surgeon conducted a range of motion tests on the entire spinal column of the 77 year old man to determine if he sustained any spinal injury. He observed that the movement of his spine is limited but he did not attribute this as resulting from the accident but from his advanced age. All the other medical specialists who examined him all gave the opinion that the 77 year old man suffered no permanent disability or spinal injury. The orthopedic surgeon conducted these tests in 2008, two years after the accident occurred in 2006.

Published on: June 19, 2012

State Representative Teacher Breaks up Fight and Ends up with TBI

by Stephen Bilkis

Dewayne Bunch, a Whitley County High School teacher and State Representative, is reportedly improving after sustaining a head injury when trying to break two boys apart during a school cafeteria altercation. According to the public relations and marketing director for Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the 49-year-old’s recovery is going nicely.

The teacher, sustaining serious injuries, was immediately transported to Baptist Regional Medical Center. The then had to be transferred to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Two weeks later, he was again relocated to the intensive care unit at Shepherd Center, a hospital specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries where he improved so much that he was able to be moved to the hospital’s rehabilitation unit.

His wife expressed sincere thanks. She was quoted as saying, “I appreciate the outpouring of support and kindness we’ve received from the community. Please continue to keep [my husband] in your prayers as he continues his journey to recovery.”

Published on: June 15, 2012

Fred Thompson Lobbies against Litigation Restrictions

by Stephen Bilkis

The Tennessee Consumer Protection is under assault, some say. Its advocates claim that this act protects the consumer from businesses and products that produce goods or services that can harm, even to the point of maiming and killing victims, through negligence or unscrupulous manufacturing and selling tactics.

A new bill has been introduced in Tennessee that would make it more difficult to litigate against companies on the grounds of injury and wrongful death caused by negligence or wrongful actions. The proponents of the bill claim it would make the state more business-friendly. The former senator from Tennessee, Fred Thompson, among others has shown opposition to the bill. They have seen instances of what can happen when a company acts without seeming regard for human life. Many of those who advocate against this bill also believe the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act will also be compromised to the point of uselessness should this bill pass. They tell Lawyers that victims would have no legal recourse to pursue the means to gain compensation for their injuries and losses.

Tort reformers are very interested in seeing this bill pass. According to them, “lawsuit abuse” and “jackpot justice” are very common in Tennessee. They fear businesses will not come and invest in Tennessee due to the stifling environment created by easy lawsuits which could very well ruin a small business. A group in Tennessee and others in The Bronx and Brooklyn offered a study that stated the bill would create more than 100,00 jobs and $16.2 billion in “additional economic output” in the state over the next ten year.

Published on: June 7, 2012

Record Brain and Spinal Injury Payout Goes to 9-year-old Boy

by Stephen Bilkis

A 9-year-old boy who was accidentally run over by his own father on a family day out was recently awarded compensation worth £8.1 million today. This is a record-setting amount for a court-approved award for a spinal injury, a source says.

The boy will need lifelong care after suffering severe spinal and brain injuries in March of 2002 when he was just two-and-a-half years old.

The boy’s father did not see him when he reversed the car at Mead Open Farm, near Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. The father drove over his son.

Published on: June 3, 2012

The 1978 case of a white-haired man arrived at the Circuit Court one morning.

by Stephen Bilkis

The 1978 case of a white-haired man arrived at the Circuit Court one morning. The man entered the courtroom to testify in his $1 million lawsuit he filed against Edward H. White II Memorial Hospital.

He filed the lawsuit because he fell out of bed while admitted in the facility. The 50-year-old man claimed that the hospital staff was negligent when they left the railing down on his hospital bed. When he fell, he suffered a spinal injury.

The hospital refuted those claims and said that the patient had raised such a ruckus about having it up that they lowered it – against hospital policy – in order to hopefully prevent another coronary episode in the gentleman.

Published on: May 31, 2012

$7.6 Million Spinal Injury Awarded to Teen Paralyzed by Radiation Maltreatment

by Stephen Bilkis

A teenager’s spinal cordwas destroyed in 1978 after she received a lethal dose of radiation at a hospital she was receiving cancer treatment from. She was awarded $7.6 million by a jury.

Some believed at the time that it was the single, largest payment awarded in a malpractice suit in the U.S. After the trial, the 18-year-old said that the jury was full of “wonderful people and now I have a chance for my life.”

The girl’s lawyers said that most of the money was going to have to go toward medical payments.

Published on: May 29, 2012

Roderick McCauley was driving east on Route 3

by Stephen Bilkis

Roderick McCauley was driving east on Route 3 near the approach of the bridge crossing the Raquette River. He noticed a snow plow stopped at the edge, and then it moved forward. It again stopped and moved forward towards him. When he saw this, he drove his vehicle to the right. According to a report, his right wheels were on the shoulder. He drove in the same position at a speed of about 20-25 miles per hour until he passed the snow plow. He tried to turn the car back to the paved road. The front wheel went up, but as he accelerated to bring the rear wheel up, the back end shook and the car skidded across the road. It went through the space in between the guard posts, over the bank and into the river. There were five other people in the vehicle with Mr. McCauley. McCauley and two other passengers drowned, and the three others survived but suffered spinal injuries.

The representatives and the survivors filed a case against the State for the negligence in maintaining the roads, which included the shoulder. They said that the pavement was raised above the shoulder and that there were no guard rails. The Court of Claims in Queens and Westchester said that the elevation was not important because they did not have a reason to be on the shoulder as there was no emergency. They ruled that there is no liability from the State. They said that the car skidded because of the negligence of Mr. McCauley.

The Supreme Court Appellate Division received an appeal for this ruling and reviewed the facts. A Lawyer says that guard rails are set up to protect traffic from special hazards. Special hazards are high embankments, a deep and rapid river, or a sharp mountainside drop. It is their opinion that this is a negligence of the State in the maintenance. They said that it played a big part in causing more casualties. They also said that a careful driver who just trying to avoid an accident from happening should have been able to use the shoulder with no problem if properly maintained. It is not negligence for a driver if he used the shoulder to avoid an oncoming snow plow that may occupy part of the lane that he was using. According to the witnesses, they slowed down in the approach. The contest that he should have stopped on the shoulder or not have continued driving and causing the spinal injury on the shoulder still requires that the State maintain the shoulder of the road properly as it could have cause an accident. If Mr. McCauley was not a cautious driver, he would not have been using that shoulder in the first place and may have hit the snow plow instead.

Published on: May 26, 2012

The 1978 case of a white-haired man arrived at the Circuit Court one morning

by Stephen Bilkis

The 1978 case of a white-haired man arrived at the Circuit Court one morning. The man entered the courtroom to testify in his $1 million lawsuit he filed against Edward H. White II Memorial Hospital.

He filed the lawsuit because he fell out of bed while admitted in the facility. The 50-year-old man claimed that the hospital staff was negligent when they left the railing down on his hospital bed. When he fell, he suffered a spinal injury.

The hospital refuted those claims and said that the patient had raised such a ruckus about having it up that they lowered it – against hospital policy – in order to hopefully prevent another coronary episode in the gentleman.

Published on: May 23, 2012

$7.6 Million Spinal Injury Awarded to Teen Paralyzed by Radiation Maltreatment

by Stephen Bilkis

A teenager’s spinal cordwas destroyed in 1978 after she received a lethal dose of radiation at a hospital she was receiving cancer treatment from. She was awarded $7.6 million by a jury.

Some believed at the time that it was the single, largest payment awarded in a malpractice suit in the U.S.

After the trial, the 18-year-old said that the jury was full of “wonderful people and now I have a chance for my life.”