http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/spinal_cord_injury Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:39:48 -0800 pixel-app en http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/10954 Fri, 18 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/10954
Tami Martin did it and it changed her life forever.

"I thought I'd be married. I thought I'd have children, but everything changed just like that," Martin said.

Tami Martin has spent the last six years in a wheelchair. Her spine damaged in a car wreck.

Then 28 years old, Tami was riding in her mother's van, relaxed and reclined in the passenger seat, when their Ford Windstar struck a vehicle stopped in front of them. After that, Tami's independent go-getter life was gone.

"I didn't read the owner's manual. I was only worried about whether the radio was set. That's what's important to people, that's what they check out," Martin said.

A Jacksonville jury awarded Martin $17 million in damages, saying Ford knew of the dangers of riding in a reclined position when lap and shoulder belts can't function, but didn't properly warn people.

Ford is fighting the verdict.

Martin said she has offered to give half of the money back, if the automaker will put warning stickers on sun visors next to the warnings about airbag dangers. She said if she can get that done, being in her current condition will take on new meaning.

"I knew from the beginning, I'm a strong Christian and I knew God would use me to reach other people," Martin said.

However, with Ford keeping the case in court, it could take years for Martin to get any money.

A Ford spokesperson commented on the case saying, "this was a tragic accident caused when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and drove into a parked ambulance. The air bag deployed as it should have, but the passenger was reclined in her seat with her feet resting on the dashboard."

"We believe the jury's finding that Ford did not adequately warn against riding in this position is simply incorrect. We expect this verdict will be reversed on appeal," said Ford spokesman.

Martin said she will not give up though, she plans on taking her safety crusade all the way to Congress. She hopes to one day get the message out standing on her own two feet.

"I'm determined not to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I just want to help myself and other people."

Safety experts involved in the case explained reclining the seat is safe as long as the shoulder portion of the safety belt is still in contact with the person's body, any farther back and the person is at risk.
]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/10463 Mon, 08 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/10463
Spinal cord injury usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae. Accidents -motor vehicle accidents, falls and sports injuries and acts of violence cause most injuries to the spinal cord. The damage begins at the moment of injury when displaced bone fragments, disc material, or ligaments bruise or tear into spinal cord tissue.

Most injuries to the spinal cord don't completely sever it. Instead, an injury is more likely to cause fractures and compression of the vertebrae, which then crush and destroy the axons, which are extensions of nerve cells that carry signals up and down the spinal cord between the brain and the rest of the body.

An injury to the spinal cord can damage a few, many, or almost all of these axons. Some injuries will allow almost complete recovery. Others will result in complete paralysis. Spinal cord injuries are classified as either complete or incomplete. An incomplete injury means that the ability of the spinal cord to convey messages to or from the brain is not completely lost. People with incomplete injuries retain some motor or sensory function below the injury. A complete injury is indicated by a total lack of sensory and motor function below the level of injury. People who survive a spinal cord injury will most likely have medical complications such as chronic pain and bladder and bowel dysfunction, along with an increased susceptibility to respiratory and heart problems.

There has been successful research in a number of fields that may someday help people with spinal cord injuries. Genetic studies have revealed a number of molecules that encourage axon growth in the developing central nervous system (CNS) but prevent it in the adult CNS. Research of embryonic and adult stem cell biology has furthered knowledge about how cells communicate with each other.

Other research, such as that conducted at the University of Washington, is revealing ways to help those paralyzed from spinal injuries use their minds to control computers, and potentially, prostheses. The first step is figuring out how to use brainwaves to control a computer program.

Jeffrey Ojemann, M.D., is an associate professor of neurological surgery. He said the electrical signal our brain sends out to move our hand is the same whether we actually move it or just imagine it. Using electrodes implanted in the skull and attached to the brain surface, that signal can be translated into a command for a computer or for a wheelchair to move.

"What's exciting about it is when people can't move their arms or legs, and all they need is a little bit of ability to communicate or a little bit of help [to control something], this offers them a potential way that they can do that," Ojemann said.

He adds that although the strongest signal is generated when patients actually move, they are able to get a signal when patients are simply thinking. Right now, research is being done on epilepsy patients who already have electrodes in place to help them control seizures.]]> http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/spinal_cord_injury Mon, 08 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700 http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/spinal_cord_injury Spinal Cord Injury Approximately 250,000 to 400,000 people in the United States have spinal cord injuries. Each year, approximately 11,000 people sustain new spinal cord injuries. Most of these injuries are caused from auto and sports accidents, falls, and industrial mishaps. An estimated 60 percent of these individuals are 30 years old or younger, with the majority of them being men.

Spinal Cord Injuries result in damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Other common causes of damage are trauma (gunshot, falls, etc.) or disease (polio). The spinal cord does not have to be severed for a loss of function to occur. In fact, in most people with spinal cord injuries, the spinal cord is unbroken, but the damage to it results in loss of a person’s functions. Spinal cord injuries are different from back injuries such as ruptured disks or pinched nerves.

The spinal cord is the major bundle of nerves that carries nerve impulses to and from the brain to the rest of the body. The spinal cord runs from the base of the brain to your waist. The brain and the spinal cord constitute the Central Nervous System. Motor and sensory nerves outside the central nervous system constitute the Peripheral Nervous System, and another diffuse system of nerves that control involuntary functions such as blood pressure and temperature regulation are the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems.

Spinal cord injuries fall into two categories, complete and incomplete. A complete injury means that there is no function below the level of the injury, no sensation and no voluntary movement. As a result both sides of the body are affected equally. An incomplete injury means that there is some functioning below the primary level of the injury. Individuals with an incomplete injury may be able to move one limb more than another, may be able to feel parts of the body that cannot be moved, or may have more functioning on one side of the body than the other.

Spinal cord injuries often result in paralysis, paraplegia and quadriplegia.

If you or a loved has suffered a spinal cord injury, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified personal injury attorney.]]>