If you’ve injured your spine before you probably know that all spinal cord injuries are not created equal.  Even so, if you’ve had one, you know that they can be quite debilitating no matter how minor the injury.  While spinal cord injuries can be caused by any number of incidents, most are caused by motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, falls or some other type of violence.  Since spinal cord injuries can vary in severity depending on any number of factors, knowing the types of spinal cord injuries out there is a great place to start when looking for a doctor or personal injury lawyer to help you.

Complete Spinal Cord Injury:

• Complete spinal cord injuries result in a total loss of sensation and movement below where the injury occurs and results in either complete paraplegia or complete quadriplegia and is permanent.
  • Complete paraplegia: A type of paralysis that causes permanent loss of motor and nerve function at or below the T1 vertebra which is below the neck.
  • Complete quadriplegia: A type of paralysis that causes permanent loss of hand and arm movement and some more serious quadriplegics need ventilator systems in order to breathe.

Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury:

• Incomplete spinal cord injuries are characterized by some degree of sensation and movement loss below the point of injury and the true extent of the injury isn’t fully known until 6-8 weeks after the injury once spinal shock has subsided.
• Incomplete spinal injuries fall under five different classifications:
  • Central cord syndrome: Damage to the center of the spinal cord that results in a loss of function in the arms but some leg movement is possible. Some recovery is likely.
  • Anterior cord syndrome: Damage to the front of the spinal cord, resulting in a loss of motor function, temperature, and pain sensation below the injury. Some movement may later be recovered.
  • Posterior cord syndrome: Damage to the back of the spinal cord, resulting in poor coordination, but good muscle power, pain sensation, and temperature sensation remain intact. This condition is very rare.
  • Brown-Sequard syndrome: Damage to the lateral side of the spinal cord, resulting in loss of movement but preserved sensation on one side of the body, and preserved movement and loss of sensation on the other side of the body.
  • Cauda equina lesion: Injury to the nerves located between the L1 and L2 region of the spine, resulting in partial or complete loss of sensation. Nerves can regrow and function can be recovered sometimes.

NSCIA Statistics on Spinal Injuries:

• According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA), spinal cord injuries are caused in the United States by:
  • Motor vehicle accidents (44%)
  • Acts of violence (24%)
  • Falls (22%)
  • Sports (8%)
  • Other causes (2%)

While this isn’t article isn’t intended to help you make a diagnosis, it can be helpful for gaining information about what spinal cord injuries are out there.  If you or a loved one has suffered any one of these spinal cord injuries due to the negligence of someone else contact Haire Law for a free evaluation to see how we can help.

When it comes to cyclists and automobiles, sharing the road can sometimes be a daunting task. While cyclist fatalities aren’t that common, they do sometimes happen.  Such was the unfortunate case in Amarillo, Texas this past week when David and Anna Isom were both struck from behind by a motorist while on a late afternoon ride. Sadly, David was pronounced dead at the scene and Anna was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Both cyclists were wearing helmets and were practicing proper bicycle safety but that just wasn’t enough.  While sites such as bicyclesafe.com are excellent resources that offer plenty of helpful tips for cyclists regarding safety, they unfortunately can’t always prevent every accident from taking place due to driver’s negligence.

Currently, Anna Isom remains in critical condition and our thoughts and prayers are with the Isom family during these very difficult times.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a personal injury or wrongful death accident in the DFW area because the negligence of another contact the Haire Law Firm for a Free Case Evaluation to discuss your case.

Have you ever hurt yourself by slipping and falling on someone else’s property?  If so, was it because of a temporary hazard on that property?  If not, was it because of carelessness, inattention, or poor conditions?  These are the questions you must ask yourself to help determine if you can take legal action because of a slip and fall, but none of these answers means anything if you don’t know what a slip and fall accident is.

A slip and fall accident as defined by Wikipedia is, “a claim or case based on a person slipping (or tripping) and falling.”  A slip and fall is an offense that is centered on a claim that the property owner was negligent in allowing some dangerous condition to exist that caused the slip or trip.  For your own knowledge, defined below are the different types of slip and fall accident that can occur at any time.

• Trip-and-fall accidents are accidents that occur because a foreign object in a walking path causes a person to trip and injure themself.
• Stump-and-fall accidents are accidents that occur because an object is dangerously jutting out of a walking surface, such as uneven concrete sidewalk, which causes a person to trip and injure themself.
• Step-and-fall accidents are accidents that occur because someone steps on a hidden hole or indentation, such as an open manhole, a broken stair, or a hole in a walkway covered by leaves, which causes a person to fall and injure themself.
• Slip-and-fall accidents are accidents that occur because a walkway or floor that is expected to be safe is left covered with slippery materials such as water, ice, snow or grease, which causes a person to slip and injure themself.

Now that you know what the definition of a slip and fall accident is, contacting a slip and fall attorney to determine if there is grounds for a case should be your next step.  If you or a loved one has been hurt because of a slip and fall on someone else’s property in the DFW area contact the Haire Law Firm for a Free Case Evaluation to discuss your case.

When trying to recover compensation for an injury that happened on someone else’s property, did you know that all states are not created equal? I’m not just saying this because I live in the best state of all, Texas; I say this because the hurdle that any plaintiff must face is dependent on the nature and extent of the property owner’s duty. This duty will vary depending on the facts and jurisdiction of the situation.  Listed below are two different methods that states use to determine if damages will be awarded to a plaintiff when the injury is sustained on someone else’s property.

Some states focus solely on whether an injured visitor on your property is an invitee, licensee, or trespasser.

• An invitee is someone who has been invited onto your property, such as a customer in a store. In this situation the owner of property is required to exercise reasonable care for the safety of the invitee.
• A licensee is someone who enters upon the land for his or her own purpose, and is present at the consent, but not the invitation, of the owner, much like a door-to-door salesman. The owner’s duty to a licensee is only to warn of hidden dangers.
• A trespasser is an individual who enters onto a property without the knowledge or consent of the owner.  The owner’s only duty is to not place traps and hazards on their property, and warn trespassers of any hazards that can cause serious injury or death like a dog.

Other states focus upon the condition of the property and the activities of both the visitor and owner, instead of considering only the status of the visitor.

• In these states there is a uniform standard that requires the property owner to exercise reasonable care to both invitees and Licensees when on a property.
• Trespassers are factored into these states are when you are dealing with foreseeable harm to a child.  A classic example of this is a property owner’s duty to fence, gate and lock a pool in a manner that keeps children out.  If the property owner fails to do so and a child is hurt, they are liable for damages.
• In these states it is the burden of the plaintiff to prove that reasonable care was not meet by the property owner.  To do this there must be an examination of the circumstance when entering the property, the use of the property, the foreseeability of the plaintiff’s injury, and the reasonableness of the care taken to place a warning or fix the condition.

While this article defines the different methods used by states to determine damages in accident’s which occur on another’s property, it has probably left more questions than answers.  If you don’t know the way your state determines damages you should contact an attorney to find out.  If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident in Texas that occurred on someone else’s property and need some guidance, contact Haire Law Firm for a free consultation to see how we can help.

It should be safe to bet that if you own a cell phone, you have at one time or another used it while driving.  While most of us are guilty of this sin at times, most of us would like to think we do so appropriately.  With a growing trend across the country to ban all cell phone usage and texting while driving all together, Texas isn’t following this trend just yet.  Texas Legislators tried recently to pass legislation but failed because Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the Legislature’s ban on text messaging.  Perry believes the distracted driving legislation is a “government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.” Perry also feels “the keys to dissuading drivers of all ages from texting while driving are information and education.” The only area where Perry doesn’t seem to mind taking away freedom of choice in this matter is when it comes to under age drivers and school zones.  Below is a list of the newly passed Texas distracted drivers laws for your education and some teenage driver’s statistics that should make you happy these laws have been approved.

Texas Distracted Drivers Laws:

• Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using cell phones and text messaging devices.

• Drivers prohibited from using handheld devices in school crossing zones.

• School bus operators prohibited from using cell phones while driving if children are present.

• Learners permit holders are prohibited from using handheld cell phones in the first six months of driving.

2009 Teenage Accident Statistics and Cell Phones

• Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old

• 56% of teenagers admit to talking on their cell phones behind the wheel

• Teens admittedly say that texting is their number one driver distraction

• 34% of drivers under 18 admit to texting while driving

• 48% of young Americans ages 12-17 say they’ve been in a car while the driver was texting

• Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage

• The AAA reports that car and traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 20 years old

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of teen deaths, accounting for 38% of all teen fatalities in the U.S. In fact, every day, more than 10 drivers in the 15 to 20 age group are killed in car accidents. An additional 745 are injured.

If you or your child have been hurt in a motor vehicle collision caused by someone else’s negligence, contact a us today to learn about your legal rights. You may be able to recover compensation for your lost wages, medical bills and even your pain and suffering. Send us a message here.

The Haire law group

www.hrj-law.com

940-484-5555