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April 24, 2009

Paralysis Affects 1 in 50 Americans

According to a new survey, released by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, 5.6 million Americans have some sort of paralysis. That’s 1 in 50 Americans.

The survey was put together with input from over 30 experts in statistics and paralysis and conducted at over 33,000 households in the country. According to the report, One Degree of Separation: Paralysis and Spinal Cord Injury in the United States, findings included:

• 1.9% of the population in the US has been affected by paralysis.
• Spinal cord injuries are more common than previously thought, with 1.275 million people affected.
• African Americans and Native Americans are among the groups of people that have a higher number of people living with paralysis.
• Low income appeared to be more common in households where someone was affected by paralysis.
• Approximately 1/4th of households where someone had paralysis had one person making $10,000 or less.
• The average age of people who said they were paralyzed is 52.
• 48 was the average age of someone who is paralyzed because of a spinal cord injury.
• Leading causes of spinal cord injuries were work accidents, motor vehicle crashes, and recreational/sporting accidents.
• Other causes of paralysis included multiple sclerosis, stroke, post-polio syndrome, and cerebral palsy.

Living with a paralysis is never easy and a person may require specialized nursing care and have to regularly undergo specific medical treatments and procedures, as well as costly rehabilitation. If you sustained your SCI because another party was negligent, there may be a way for you to obtain financial recovery to help you deal with your injuries, lost wages and benefits, as well as secure the funds you need to support your family.

Our Maryland spinal cord injury attorneys can help you explore your legal options.

One in 50 Americans Lives with Paralysis, Forbes.com, April 20, 2008

You and Your Motorcycle Riding Tips (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Motorcycle Safety, NHTSA

2009 Motorcycle Safety Awareness, Maryland MVA

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November 17, 2008

Maryland Woman Who Suffered Catastrophic Injuries During Pedestrian Accident in Baltimore County Work Zone Will Receive $250,000 in Damages

In Baltimore County Circuit Court, Judge Susan Souder awarded Sandra Lee Meade $250,000 for personal injuries she sustained in a pedestrian accident in an Arbutus traffic construction zone more than 5 years ago. The amount is part of a high-low agreement made between Meade and general contractor Dick Corp, with a “low” of $250,000 and a “high” of $2 million.

Meade sustained traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries after she was hit by a car while crossing Westland Boulevard, which was undergoing construction, on December 3, 2003. She now lives in a Maryland nursing home.

While police placed the fault for the pedestrian accident with Meade for crossing the street illegally—she tried crossing the street diagonally to catch the bus to work—Meade’s Maryland car accident lawyer accused Dick Corp. of failing to put in place a maintenance of traffic plan. He noted the "willy-nilly" placement of barricades and lines that were incorrectly painted on the road.

The car driver, who says he did not see her until she was on his vehicle, was not charged in the accident. He is not named as a defendant in Meade’s Maryland personal injury lawsuit, which her sons filed against Dick Corp. The lawsuit sought $8 million in damages on her behalf. Following the Maryland personal injury trial, a Baltimore County jury found general contractor Dick Corp. negligent but not responsible for Meade’s Maryland pedestrian accident.

High-Low Agreements
In a high-low agreement, the defendant and plaintiff are in accord that a case’s verdict will be no more than a set maximum and no less than a set minimum. If the jury verdict reached is greater than the “high” set by the agreement, the plaintiff receives no more than the maximum amount agreed upon with the defendant. If the verdict is below the “low” set by the agreement, then the plaintiff receives no less than the agreed upon minimum.

Woman struck in work zone to get $250K, The Daily Record, November 16, 2008

Related Web Resource:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Posted In: Construction Accidents , Pedestrian Accident , Spinal Cord Injuries , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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October 10, 2007

New Drug Could Help Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Dr. Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon from Toronto Western Hospital is studying Cethrin, a new drug, for treating spinal cord injuries (SCI) soon after they occur. Cethrin is applied to an SCI during surgery. The drug is a recombinant protein made with artificial DNA technology. The protein acts as an inhibitor to Rho, which is a major pathway that increases damages after an SCI and stimulates the death of cells.

The Spinal Cord Injury Information Center says that about 11,000 people in the United States sustain SCIs every year. There are about 253,000 people in the U.S. living with an SCI.

Common Causes of SCIs:

• Motor vehicle crashes: Car and motorcycle collisions are the number one cause of SCIs and make up about 50% of new SCIs that occur annually.
• Falls: The number two cause of SCIs. Seniors older than 65 are at high risk of sustaining an SCI from a fall.
• Violent acts: Gunshot and stab wounds can lead to SCIs.
• Sports and recreational injuries: SCI’s have been known to occur during sporting and other recreational activities, including football, gymnastics, diving, soccer, snowboarding, surfing, and cheerleading.
Diseases. Arthritis, cancer, spinal cord inflammation, and arthritis, can lead to SCIs.

If you or someone you love has sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident, truck accident, pedestrian accident, bus accident, slip and fall accident, or any other kind of personal injury accident in Maryland or Washington D.C. that was caused because another party was negligent, you should contact a personal injury lawyer right away.

Although Cethrin is still undergoing tests, results based on a one-year study shows that 23% of the 37 spinal cord injury patients who were treated with Cethrin within 53 hours after their SCI injury occurred had improved by at least one grade level (or more) within six months. All 37 patients that participated in the test had been categorized as “A” grade injury patients, meaning that their SCIs were the most serious kind. Although usually there is some recovery following surgery for SCI, recovery rates without Cethrin tend to be a lot lower.

Dr. Fehlings cautioned that Cethrin does not cure SCIs, but that the drug could dramatically help patients, who could regain more physical abilities and motor skills than they would otherwise.

A number of medical institutions in the U.S. and Canada are continuing to study Cethrin’s effect on spinal cord injuries:

• St. Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona
• University of Cincinnati Mayfield Clinic and Spine Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia
• University of Washington Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington
• Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario
• Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec

Breakthrough For Spine Injuries, WFTU, September 21, 2007

Spinal cord injury, Mayo Clinic

Related Web Resources:

Spinal Cord Injury, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Continue reading "New Drug Could Help Spinal Cord Injury Patients" »

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September 19, 2007

New Spinal Cord Injuries Study Says Conducting Surgeries Earlier Could Prevent More Nerve Damage

A new study reveals that conducting surgeries earlier when treating spinal cord injuries could lead to better results and less damage to injury victims.

Currently, surgeries for spinal cord injuries are usually performed five days or more after the injury occurred. The surgery is intended to hopefully fix the spine and alleviate pressure. Most injury patients are able to get at least some function back in their limbs, hands, toes, and fingers after a surgery.

The new research, however, shows that more recovery is possible if the surgeries were conducted within 24 hours of the spinal cord injuries occurring. The earlier surgeries could prevent any long-term damages from the injury from becoming more serious and allow some people—who would be paralyzed otherwise—to walk again.
Over 300,000 Americans with spinal cord injuries are in wheelchairs.

Dr. Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon, says that the initial impact that causes the spinal cord injury isn’t responsible for all the damages that result. Secondary injuries can result from spinal compression and inhalation, and nerve cells that could have been saved end up dying.

A spinal cord injury is frequently caused by a traumatic blow to the spine. The nerves in the spine become fractured or dislocated. A spinal cord injury is often serious if not permanent. There are approximately 10,000 spinal cord injuries that happen every year.

The medical costs to treat a spinal cord injury can be astronomical. If you or someone you love has sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident, construction accident, motorcycle accident, fall accident, or any other kind of injury accident that was caused because another party was negligent, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer immediately.

The University of Alabama National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center offers a number of statistics regarding the costs of spinal cord injuries in 2002:

• Length of initial hospitalization following injury in acute care units: 15 days
• Average stay in rehabilitation unit: 44 days
• Initial hospitalization costs following injury: $140,000
• Average first year expenses for a SCI injury (all groups): $198,000
• First year expenses for paraplegics: $152,000
• First year expenses for quadriplegics: $417,000
• Average lifetime costs for paraplegics, age of injury 25: $428,000
• Average lifetime costs for quadriplegics, age of injury 25: $1.35 million
• Percentage of SCI individuals who are covered by private health insurance at time of injury: 52%
• Percentage of SCI individuals that are unemployed eight years after injury: 63%. (Note: unemployment rate when this article was written was 4.7%)

You shouldn’t have to pay for your medical expenses out of your own pocket. A spinal cord injury attorney can help you obtain financial recovery from the liable party.

Spine surgery: Timing matters!, 7online.com, August 30, 2007

Spinal Cord Injury Facts & Statistics

Related Web Resources:

Spinal Cord Injuries, Medline Plus

Spinal Cord Injury, Mayo Clinic

Continue reading "New Spinal Cord Injuries Study Says Conducting Surgeries Earlier Could Prevent More Nerve Damage" »

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