Spinal Injury Lawyer Blog 24/7

Published on: November 27, 2011

Blow Out Injures Octogenarian

by Stephen Bilkis

Studies have learned of an 84-year-old man who lived the life of a man decades younger. He didn’t take any medications, played golf, traveled, walked four miles most days, and worked out three times a week.

Part of that fitness routine was work on an inflated exercise ball, until the day after Thanksgiving 2009. He was sitting on the ball, pulling cables attached to weights, when the ball popped without warning. The fall to the hard floor broke his back causing spinal injury.

It was weeks before he learned the ball had been recalled in May of 2009. After surgeries and resulting digestive complications, he walks slowly and can’t sit or stand for extended periods, according to observers in Staten island and Westchester County . He also has to take blood pressure medication. His exercise is physical therapy to keep the pain in his back at bay.

Published on: November 25, 2011

Legislation to Include Traffic Tickets to Cure Paralysis

by Stephen Bilkis

Legislation has been introduced in the California legislature that seeks to impose a $3 fine onto every ticket that is issued in California for reckless driving. Assembly Bill 190, as the legislation has been titled, seeks to reestablish the goal of another California law that funded spinal cord paralysis research. That law was referred to as “Roman’s Law.”

Roman’s Law was named after the college football player who was involved in an accident while playing college football in 1994, in which he was paralyzed, discovered a person close to the scene. His father, Don C. Reed, worked hard to establish the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Center and was a citizen-sponsor for the Roman’s Law legislation. The laws official name was the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999, Assembly Bill 750.

Roman’s Law was one of the few pieces of legislation that has passed the legislature that almost everyone, republican and democrat alike actually agreed on and supported. Former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was also a supporter of the bill. The research the bill has been attributed with include stem cell, the Geron trials, the use of an “Avatar” helmet where the wearer can move a computer cursor across a computer screen by using their thoughts, and many others.

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: November 18, 2011

Three Men on Trial for Paralyzing Police Officer

by Stephen Bilkis

Earlier this month, a preliminary hearing wrapped up for three men accused of beating and causing paraplegia an Oklahoma City Police Officer. The Oklahoma County Special Judge ruled that the three men could stand trial.

The officer was attacked when he was escorting the defendants out of a northwest Oklahoma City bar last February after the bartenders there asked him to. The men were allegedly trying to start fights with customers.  Witnesses testified that one of the men held the officer in a headlock and lifted his body. This is likely when the officer’s neck broke.   The operating surgeon said the officer suffered a complete spinal cord injury. A spokesperson indicated that the injury likely shortened his life by 10 to 15 years.  Witnesses also reported that another of the men threw haymaker punches at the officer’s head while the third kept anyone from coming to the officer’s rescue.  All three men are charged with one count of maiming or assault and battery by means of force that is likely to cause death. If convicted, each defendant could face a life sentence in prison.  The judge dismissed another charge of conspiracy to assault and battery of a police officer. He agreed with defense attorneys who insisted the three men did not plan the attack.  The District Attorney reported that the man’s family has remained strong throughout the testimony, even if they were disappointed with the conspiracy charge being dismissed. The possibility of life imprisonment seems “just” enough to them, at this point.

The DA is expected to appeal the dismissal of the conspiracy charge. The three men are to be arraigned on June 10. The pre-trial date will be set then. Oklahoma City Police Officers have initiated a bowling and auction event set for June 11. The proceeds are to go to the officer and his family. Police in Queens and New York City are sympathetic to the officer in this case.

Published on: November 15, 2011

Man Falls 1,000 feet And Survives

by Stephen Bilkis

Adam Potter is becoming a household name after the 36-year-old Glasgow man fell a startling 1,000 feet and lived to tell about it. Potter and his companions had reached the summit of Sgurr Coinnich Mor (3,589 feet) when Potter somehow lost his footing and began to fall down a rocky, steep eastern slope of the mountain. According to a New York Spinal Injury Lawyer, a helicopter was nearby on training exercises and arrived on the scene thirty minutes after being called and began searching immediately.

The helicopter was able to spot the climbers that had been with Potter, who were able to point out the direction that the helicopter should search. The crew of the Helicopter became confused when the only person they could spot at the bottom was a man, standing up and reading a map. After retracing the route he fell off the mountain, they ascertained that it must be who they were looking forward. The paramedic who was lowered to Potter initially diagnosed him with a chest injury and superficial cuts and bruises, as well as emotional shock.

A reporter stated that after coming aboard the helicopter, Potter’s injuries were reassessed by a doctor who was on the helicopter due to the training mission. They immediately transferred Potter to the Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital.

Published on: November 11, 2011

Marquis Daniels Released From Hospital

by Stephen Bilkis

Boston Celtics player Marquis Daniels was released from the hospital on February 7th, 2011 after sustaining a spinal cord injury during Sunday’s game.

Daniels was playing with his team, the Boston Celtics, against the Orlando Magics when he sustained his injury. The injury occurred when Daniels tripped over Gilberu Arenas, reports a New York Spinal Injury Lawyer. Daniels hit his forehead against the ground, which resulted in his spinal injury. He lay motionless on the court floor for several minutes before being removed from the court on the stretcher. According to a knowledgeable person who has studied cases in Nassau and Suffolk County, to give the fans a sign of hope, he did manage to flash a thumbs up sign as he was being carted off the floor of the T.D. Banknorth Garden Stadium.

A spokesperson for the Boston Celtics team informed the press that Daniels was released from a local hospital early this morning. He was said to be in good spirits and joking with the nursing staff.

Published on: November 8, 2011

Judge Refuses Parents Treatment of Injured Wrestler

by Stephen Bilkis

A Philadelphia judge on refused on Monday to let the parents of a hospitalized Chichester High School wrestler treat him at home with alternative medicine. The judge did not resolve the battle with the family and the boy’s doctors.

The teenager from Boothwyn has been hospitalized since he collided with another player during wrestling practice and was briefly paralyzed. The boy’s mother described his injuries as a bruised spine, and stated that he can now sit up with assistance. She stated that doctors want to use screws, plates and rods to stabilize his neck, reports a New York Spinal Injury Lawyer. This is close to but not a slip and fall Injury.

The county won temporary custody after the parents rejected the doctor’s recommendations for their son. They wanted to treat him at home with natural herbal remedies and physical therapies.

Published on: November 4, 2011

Farm Accident Causes A Construction Worker’s Life To Be Forever Changed

by Stephen Bilkis

A 26-year-old was working on top of a farm-building when the roof of building collapsed out from under him, causing him to fall six meters to the floor. The roof sheeting, which he had been standing on, is what collapsed.

The 26-year-old was sub-contracting for a larger company at the time of the accident, stated a New York Spinal Injury Lawyer. After the accident, the 26-year-old is now a complete paraplegic and is forced to use a wheelchair.

A researcher in Queens discussed how the Health And Safety Executive (HSE) had found that there were no measures in place to assure that this kind of accident would not take place. They also stated that there was no real indication in the job to require the 26-year-old to be on the roof in the first place.

Published on: October 31, 2011

Businessman Fined After Employee Gets Injured

by Stephen Bilkis

A businessman was fined recently after one of his employees was injured on the job, sustaining a spinal injury after slipping and falling off of a ladder.

The employee was climbing a ladder; in an effort to reach a mechanism at the commercial vehicle garage that he worked at, when the ladder he was standing on slipped out from under him. A New York Spinal Injury Lawyer reported that the businessman who owned the commercial business was fined four thousand pounds, and was ordered to pay an additional two thousand pounds after an investigation took place into the injury.

The investigator discussed how, once the investigation began, that the employer faced more fines because of the state of his workspace. The ladder that the injured employee had been standing on was cut off at the top. It also had missing feet at both ends, as well as the bottom rung sustaining damage.

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.