Miami Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Canadian and American researchers have concluded that decompression surgery to help those that have suffered a traumatic upper spinal cord injury should be performed as soon as possible after the accident. In fact, the study found that those who had surgery within 24 hours of the injury had twice the chance to improve their neurological recovery than those who were operated on later, according to cbcca.com.

Typical Spinal Cord Injury in Car Accidents

The spinal cord is encased within thirty three vertebrae that go from the base of the skull to the tailbone. However, this study concentrated on the seven vertebrae that normally conform the cervical spine. Traumas to the cervical spine (neck area) account for approximately 30% of the spinal cord injuries suffered by quadriplegic patients.

Although these high level spine injuries commonly occur in sports injury patients, they are also typical of falls and motor vehicle accidents. Almost 20 percent of the patients who underwent surgery within 24 hours of their injury showed marked improvement versus 9 percent of those for whom surgery was delayed. The goal of surgery in these cases is to reduce pressure on the spinal cord, something that the latest surgical techniques and advances in anesthesia have made surgeons more amenable to do these days.

Victims Also Need A Lawyer Immediately After A Spinal Cord Injury

Why, you may ask yourself, would victims of spinal cord injuries need an attorney as soon as possible after the accident? The answer is simple: to recover the funds to pay for medical expenses, including the immediate surgery suggested above, as well as monies to pay for the extensive rehabilitation and aftercare required, the lost wages, the home modifications, etc. Even if a victim has health insurance, many of the treatments and care are either not covered or have limited coverage.

The insurance companies of those responsible for the injury usually will not voluntarily disburse the funds necessary for the victim's recovery and daily support. The victims will need a law firm experienced in the handling of these matters to bring suit on their behalf and force those insurance carriers to pay. Please note that rehabilitation and daily support means that victims may be entitled to money for their past and future medical bills, as well as for their pain, suffering, mental anguish and lost wages. Similarly, spinal cord injuries may require a lifetime of future medical care that will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, including physical therapy, pain medications, hospital care and sometimes, modifications to the home.

Continue reading "Recommended to Have Surgery Immediately After Suffering Spinal Cord Injury" »

A team of scientists at RhinoCyte™ Inc., has announced promising results of a study they are conducting on the use of olfactory (nasal) stem cells to repair spinal cord damage caused by contusions, which are the most common traumatic cause of these injuries, according to timesunion.com.

Only Current Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury is Rehabilitation Therapy

Rehabilitation therapy is the only treatment currently available for the estimated 5 million people affected by spinal cord injuries in the World. The cost of rehabilitation therapy for the 1.275 million patients in the United States alone exceeds $40.5 billion each year. It is a long and expensive treatment with results that vary greatly from one patient to the next. Of course, no one knows at this point how long, expensive or effective this stem cell treatment will be. However, this new treatment is the first drug therapy to show great promise for spinal cord injuries. Previous studies conducted by RhinoCyte gained great notoriety when lab rats whose right front paws were disabled after their spinal cords were partially cut near their necks, regained significant use of their paws after being injected with olfactory stem cells.

For the current study, the cells were taken from the olfactory neuro-sensory epithelium (the part of the nose controlling the sense of smell), without causing any effect on the patient's ability to smell. Researchers grew the number of stem cells in an enriched solution and then injected them into a group of lab rats which regained control of their paws twelve weeks later.

Contusions Are Typical Spinal Cord Injury in Car Accidents

Contusions resulting from blunt force trauma are the most common type of spinal cord injury suffered by victims of car accidents or falls. As stated before, rehabilitation therapy is a long and expensive treatment that many victims simply cannot afford. This is why they need to hire as soon as possible after the accident an attorney that can help them recover the funds necessary to pay for treatment. Insurance companies will not pay such compensation unless forced to do so by a lawyer bringing a claim. The one thing that insurance companies will do voluntarily is to have their own lawyers and investigators start working the case as soon as the accident is reported. They will be collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses to try to limit their liability to the victim(s). Shouldn't victims have someone working as hard for them?

Continue reading "Promising New Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries" »

A 15 year old girl is slowly recovering from being hit by a car on a crosswalk. According to turnto23.com, Angeleigh Kumpel suffered multiple injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, a fractured pelvis and a broken left leg. Her father says she will have to learn how to walk and talk again. Yet, her family is happy because Angeleigh is forming simple sentences.

New Drug for Treating TBI is Being Tested

Citing the American Academy of Neurology, an article in ddmag.com talks about a new drug that is currently being successfully tested on lab rats suffering from TBIs. The new drug, Clazosentan, is thought to specifically block brain receptors called endothelin receptor A (ETrA), which contribute to the restriction of blood flow in the cerebrum of the brain as early as four hours after a brain injury. When prolonged, this reduction in blood flow can cause permanent cell dysfunction and death.

Expensive Therapy Marks Long Road to Recovery

While we await FDA approval of the medication for use on humans, recovery for traumatic brain injury patients like Angeleigh is achieved through rehabilitation therapy, which is long and expensive. This is why victims that have suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of another's negligent actions need the help of an experienced trial lawyer to recover the funds they need to pay for their rehabilitation, as well as for their ongoing medical and personal needs.

According to studies done to help injured N.F.L. players and wounded soldiers returning from the battlefield with traumatic brain injuries, the faster we provide them with rehabilitation therapy, the greater their recovery can be. Keith Cicerone, Director of Neuropsychology at the JFK Rehabilitation Institute in New Jersey, has stated that the longer a patient goes without therapy, the more likely it is that his or her brain may "develop bad habits" due to what he calls "mental disuse syndrome" because it is not being used at the same level it was prior to the injury.

Moreover, if left untreated, these victims may suffer the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injuries: headaches, vertigo, depression, dementia and memory loss, all of which may, in extreme cases, lead to suicide. Two former N.F.L. players, ex-Miami Dolphins' Michael Current and former Pro-Bowl safety Dave Duerson killed themselves after being unable to cope with the consequences of the concussions they suffered as N.F.L. players.

Continue reading "Car Accident Victim's Slow Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury" »

Call a lawyer directly, don't call a clinic or lawyer referral service when you or a loved one is hurt because of someone else's negligence. Why allow someone else, especially a service making money from referring you to a lawyer, to choose your lawyer or decide from whom you receive medical treatment? Choosing a lawyer is a critical decision that potential claimants' should not leave to someone else. The decision on what attorney to hire to represent you is too important a decision to delegate to others, especially phone operators handling calls who give you the number and put you in contact with the "next name up on the list, a "name" that has paid a fee to be on "the list" and to whom you will be referred without regard to that lawyer's experience in the first place.

We are all familiar with those television and radio commercials, as well as with those billboards dotting our highways that announce a catchy phone number or domain name that claim to connect the victim to some service that will help him or her get up to $10,000.00 in compensation if they were involved in an accident. In reality, although the telephone numbers and/or domain names sometimes include terms seemingly related to the practice of law (i.e., words like "law", "legal", "attorney", "lawyer", etc.), these advertisers are very careful to include in their disclaimer (the part with some incredibly fast talking guy that no one understands) that they are not lawyers. Florida law gives you the right to get "up to $10,000.00 in benefits) because that is the minimum insurance coverage required for any driver to be allowed to operate a vehicle in this State. You don't have access to those benefits because of something magical the referral service does. Most likely than not, the only magic that referral service will do will be make you waste a good portion of those $10,000.00 (if not all) in what may turn out to be inadequate medical treatment for your injuries...

The important thing is to make sure these benefits work to help you get proper medical care and treatment, as well as some lost wage payments. The quality of the care you receive can go a long way in improving the likelihood that you will get full and just compensation for your injuries.

Who Are These Companies?

So, who are these companies that spend so much money advertising? Often they are pain clinics or chiropractors' offices. These clinics refer the "client" (meaning you) to a lawyer, but only after making sure that the $10,000.00 of your P.I.P. insurance policy will be spent with them or with some company "allied" to them (like companies that provide MRI services, other medical services or equipment, etc.). Of course, these referrals are not based on the quality of the services that these companies "provide" or on the experience that the lawyer has handling your particular kind of case, but on the "deals" that these other "providers" have formed with the pain clinic.

According to clickorlando.com, this is exactly what happened to Jazzmil Rodriguez. After being involved in a car accident last summer, she remembered the familiar commercial jingle prompting viewers and listeners to call a catchy toll free number and did just that...

Sure enough, she was referred to a law firm, but she was also sent to a pain clinic, where a paralegal (not an attorney) met with her. She was instructed by both the pain clinic and the law firm to attend daily treatment sessions at the clinic for ten days and three to four times a week after that.

You May End Up in Debt

This course of action potentially makes victims the biggest losers after a car crash. As a result, crash victims may end up getting sub-standard medical services by not being "referred" to or seeking out the best available specialists for their injuries. Similarly, they may be sent to a specialist once the $10,000.00 available in their P.I.P. insurance policy for medical services have been exhausted by the pain clinic and its allies. Should they need to see a specialist at that point, the specialist will treat them contingent on getting paid once they win their case. But, what if they don't have a case against the other driver, don't win their case or simply do not recover enough money to satisfy the additional medical bills? They end up in debt or not getting treated at all.

This was an additional consequence of calling the referral service for Ms. Rodriguez. The $10,000.00 of her P.I.P. insurance policy were exhausted by the pain clinic in just two months. Then, after she had wracked more than $15,000.00 in chiropractor treatment, the attorney to whom the pain clinic had referred her suddenly called to say that she had no case because the other driver had no bodily injury coverage that she could recover from. Result: the crash victim ended up owing $5,000.00 in medical bills.

You May Lose Your Car Accident Case

Something similar may happen with the lawyer. You do not get "referred" to the lawyers with the most experience in your particular kind of case. You get referred to the lawyer "allied" to the pain clinic. This means that you may very well lose the case or not recover as much compensation as you would have if represented by an experienced law firm.

The Florida Attorney General has launched an investigation into the referral service used by Ms. Rodriguez and its relationship with the pain clinics. Also, the Florida Bar has formed a committee to review the practices of these referral services.

Continue reading "Call a Lawyer Directly, Don't Call a Clinic Referral Service" »

Tyler Robinson was not texting while he drove home. He was not on the phone and distracted. He had not had any alcohol to drink either. He was simply driving when another vehicle pulled out in front of him, making him swerve trying to avoid a crash. As a result, cherokeetribune.com reports, Tyler's car flipped five times before coming to a stop and Tyler ended up with a broken neck.

Lengthly and Expensive Rehabilitation Therapy

Rehabilitation therapy may help someone in Tyler's condition regain mobility. How much mobility is a question of many different factors like the specific kind of spinal cord injury, the age of the victim and how soon the victim starts receiving the therapy. Even then, there is no guarantee of how much the victim will recover, but there is always hope. Tyler broke his C5 cervical vertebra in three places. He also had a nerve pinched between the C5 and C6 vertebrae that has caused his paralysis. Tyler has started his rehab therapy wearing a halo brace that keeps his head and neck immobile to allow his spine to heal properly.

Motorcycle Accident

According to 9news.com, on November 7, 2011, Ben Meyerhoff was riding his bike to work like he had done thousands of times before. This time, however, he rear-ended at full speed a garbage truck that had stopped in front of him. His C6 and C7 vertebrae were crushed and his spinal cord severely injured. In the following weeks he often heard the term "quadriplegic" or the newer term "tetraplegic", which meant he suffered paralysis of his limbs and torso.

Besides the quality of rehabilitation therapy he is getting, Ben's biggest asset is his mental attitude. He does not think in terms of what he may never be able to do again, but in terms of the odds he overcomes everyday.

Victims of spinal cord injuries face a long and expensive specialized rehabilitation process, which is why those who have been the victims of a car accident, a motorcycle accident, a tractor-trailer accident, an amusement park accident or any other kind of accident caused by another's negligence need the help of an experienced lawyer that can get them the funds they need for their rehabilitation therapy, as well as for their daily survival. It is very important that these victims (or their families) hire a lawyer quickly and allow this lawyer to begin working on their case immediately. Their attorney will then be in a position to do the same thing the attorneys for their opponents' insurance companies are doing from the moment of the accident: preserving evidence and speaking with potential witnesses while the incident is fresh in their minds.

Continue reading "Motor Vehicle Accident Victims Suffer Spinal Cord Injuries" »

Traumatic brain injuries, concussions or blows to the head may have many more consequences than previously thought, even for small children that have suffered them at an early age, according to health.usnews.com. Traumatic brain injuries occur as a result of a blow to the head in a fall, a car accident, a sport activity or simply by getting hit by a moving object.

Long Term Consequences of T.B.I.

Two recent Australian studies looking at the long term impact of T.B.I.s in children as young as two years old indicate that this kind of injuries affected cognitive function, IQ and even behavior. Both studies indicate that contrary to popular belief, the fact that small children have soft developing skulls and brains actually puts them at greater risk of future problems.

Long Term Consequences Not Only For Small Children

The long term consequences of T.B.I.s are not limited to small children. Soldiers and professional athletes also suffer long term consequences of traumatic brain injuries such as headaches, vertigo, depression, dementia and memory loss which may lead, in extreme cases, to suicide. The latest of these extreme cases was that of former Miami Dolphins player Michael Current, who fatally shot himself with a shotgun last January 16. He followed in the steps of former Pro-Bowl safety Dave Duerson, who shot himself in the head a year ago after sending several text messages asking friends and family members to make sure his brain was examined for chronic brain encephalopathy, a condition linked to dozens other N.F.L. players. In both cases the players were unable to deal with the consequences of the concussions they suffered as N.F.L. players.

Soldiers Suffer From The Consequences of T.B.I.s Too

Another group that suffers from the consequences of T.B.I.s are our wounded warriors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, traumatic brain injuries have often been called the signature wounds for those wars because of the number of bomb attacks (I.E.D.s) targeting our troops. Shock waves from these bombs pass through helmets and the brain. Also, as pointed in an article at npr.org, soldiers may suffer secondary trauma when the explosion throws them against vehicles or walls, causing the brain to shake again.

The official number of soldiers that have suffered some form of traumatic brain injury since the beginning of these wars is 150,000. However, independent studies have suggested that the number can be as high as 400,000. Both enormous numbers. Soldiers interviewed for the NPR article included a sergeant who used to command 60 men in battle, suffered a traumatic brain injury and after coming home became lost in a supermarket. It also included a soldier who used to plot sniper attacks and could not assemble a bird house after being wounded.

There Is Hope

Thankfully, many of these studies indicate that the faster we provide rehabilitation therapy to people that have suffered some kind of traumatic brain injury, the greater their recovery can be. Keith Cicerone, a leading rehabilitation researcher and director of neuropsychology at the JFK Rehabilitation Institute in New Jersey has stated that "the longer you go without therapy, the greater likelihood there is of falling into what I would call a mental disuse syndrome, where the brain is not being used at the same level," "The brain, he says, "is in essence going to develop bad habits."

However, this brain or cognitive therapy does not come cheap, which is why victims that have suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of another's negligent actions need the help of an experienced lawyer to recover the funds they need to pay for their rehabilitation and ongoing medical and personal needs.

Continue reading "Long Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injuries" »

Peter Moore is a 45 year old victim of a hit and run accident left with a mild traumatic brain injury, a broken neck and other injuries, according to berkshireeagle.com. This accident did not happen in South Florida, where hit and run accidents seem so prevalent as of late, but in Pittsfield, MA. However, no matter where it happened, it shows how the negligent operation of a motor vehicle may cause potentially catastrophic injuries to a person while doing something many of us do everyday. It also shows how those at fault may leave the scene without regard for their victims' fate.

Mr. Moore was simply walking his dog on a local road at about 8:15 p.m. when a car struck him. The driver of the car left the scene. It was later determined that the driver was Meredith Nilan, the daughter of the Chief of Probation of Berkshire Superior Court. Although Ms. Nilan was initially charged with abandoning the scene of a personal injury accident and negligent operation of a motor vehicle, the charges were dismissed. The State is appealing the case.

Lucky Traumatic Brain Injury Victim

Luckily, Mr. Moore seems to be recovering well from his injuries. It is surprising that he was able to walk home when he came to after being struck. He only learned that he had been struck by a car after being checked (and told) by his doctor. He is expected to be able to go back to work soon.

Not Every Traumatic Head Injury Victim Is So Lucky

Yet, not every person suffering a traumatic brain injury is so lucky. We represented a young lady that crashed her Honda Civic against a tractor trailer truck that suddenly made a U-turn in front of her. Our client could not stop in time and her vehicle went under and thru the trailer. As a result, our client suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as orthopedic injuries that will keep her partially incapacitated for the rest of her life.

Thankfully, the lawyers at Greenberg & Stone were able to help her recover the policy limits of the trucking company's insurance policy. Our exhaustive investigation of all possible sources of compensation, allowed us to recommend that she accept the policy limits and avoid a protracted legal battle that could end up with no recovery if the trucking company's insurance carrier were to become insolvent, as the trucking company itself already had. Thankfully, she followed our recommendation and accepted the policy limits offered by the insurance company. A few months later the insurance company did in fact become insolvent. To learn more about this and other cases successfully handled by the lawyers at Greenberg & Stone, please visit the Notable Cases section of our website.

Continue reading "Hit and Run Victim Left With Traumatic Brain Injury" »

It is an unfortunate and specially sad fact of life that small children continue to lose their lives in Florida when they wonder into a backyard swimming pool and drown. A few days ago in Orlando, a 4 year-old boy somehow gained access to a neighbor's backyard and was found by police face-down in the pool. According to newstalkflorida.com, police officers were near his house on an unrelated call when the boy's mother approached them saying that her son was missing. Officers attempted CPR on the child, who was immediately transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine is part of Tort Law. It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing onto his land if the injury is caused by hazardous object or condition on the land that is likely to attract children who are unable to appreciate the risk posed by the object or condition. Over time, landowners have been held liable under this doctrine for injuries caused by abandoned cars, piles of lumber or sand, trampolines and swimming pools.

Plaintiffs must meet the following five conditions to prove that a landowner is liable under the doctrine:

1. That there is a dangerous condition to children on the land that the landowner should have been aware of;




3. That the owner knows or should have known that children often wonder in the area where the dangerous condition is located;




5. That the condition is dangerous and can likely cause injury or death to children because they cannot appreciate the risk;




7. That the utility to the landowner of maintaining the condition and expense of fixing the dangerous condition are minimal when compared to the risk it posses to children; and




9. That the landowner has failed to exercise reasonable care to eliminate the dangerous condition or adequately protect the children.

Continue reading "Property Owners May Be Responsible for Accidental Drowning" »