Spinal Cord Injury

Subscribe to Spinal Cord Injury via RSS

Our personal injury clients often give us great inspiration with their fortitude and positive spirit. A client recently forwarded this poem written for her by her sister in Ireland.

WON’T TAKlibra public domain 1E ME DOWN

What you see on the outside
Is not what’s inside
Crippled in pain that I feel I must hide

The pain unbearable
Beyond my control
Trying and fighting with my mind body and soul

To get up each day and try to fit in
To work and love and play
I must fight this from within

My mind is strong
My will power on drive

…

Ken Shigley of Atlanta, who was president of the State Bar of Georgia in 2011-12, is now chair of the largest practice area section in the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the national organization of plaintiffs’ trial attorneys. Shigley took the helm of the Motor Vehicle Collision, Highway & Premises Liability Section of AAJ and the organization’s annual convention in Montreal on July 14, 2015.

ken_shigley_coverWith over 2,500 members nationwide, the section includes specialized litigation practice groups on Trucking Litigation, Bus Litigation, Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Motorcycle Litigation, Bicycle Litigation, Resort Torts Litigation and…

Over years of representing clients with spinal cord injuries resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia, I seize upon any new development that offers hope for improving the quality of their lives and function.

For several years I have seen articles about the use of stem cells to mend damaged spinal cords. One of the most promising ideas has been the use of olfactory nerve stem cells from the patient’s own nose.

Now there is a report of this idea moving from animal research to clinical implementation with a human patient. The effect on our representation of paralyzed clients is that we…

Since 1992, I have watched with great interest the development of 3D printing. When I first read about the concept at the dawn of the Internet, I was fascinated with the futuristic example of downloading the digital design for a replacement part for a sailboat in the middle of the ocean, and printing the part thousands of miles from port. It took a while for the technology and economic feasibility to catch up with the idea. Now my nephew in New York City is doing very well selling industrial 3D printers to companies around the world. This week a 3D…

Former Olympic swimming champion Amy Van Dyken-Rouen is recovering following surgery to stabilize her spine after her spinal cord was severed at the T-11 vertebra during an all-terrain vehicle accident in Scottsdale, Arizona last week.

The latest report is that she is out of ICU and looking forward to rehab in Denver. Demonstrating a resilient spirit like most of the spinal cord injury survivors we have represented.

Following the accident, the 41 year-old six-time Olympic gold medalist told emergency personnel she had no feeling in her legs or toes, according to The Associated Press, which reported that she severed…

Many prospective clients in serious personal injury and wrongful death claims ask questions about legal fees and litigation expenses in handling their cases. As an Atlanta personal injury trial attorney handling serious injury and death cases across Georgia, and as an individual who remembers very well what it is like to be flat broke and in debt, I am very sensitive to those questions.

The short answer is that in handling personal injury and wrongful death cases for individuals and families, I do not require any money up front from clients whose cases I accept. I evaluate the merits of…

As an Atlanta personal injury attorney, I have come to view our quadriplegic and paraplegic spinal cord injury (SCI) clients as friends and survivors rather than mere victims. Their never-ending quest for ways to overcome adversity and improve quality of life is awe inspiring.

This week there is news that researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a still experimental system that enables a quadriplegic to operate a robotic arm with mind control.

The Pitt research team embedded a computer chip with 200 needles into the brain of a woman who became a quadriplegic in a…

Cruise ships are like floating cities with thousands of passengers on board. Usually a lot more fun than the typical workaday city, but probably no less likely to involve accidents and injuries.

Cruise ship lines cannot guarantee that no one will get hurt aboard, but they do have a responsibility to prevent dangerous conditions on board that can cause serious injury to its passengers. When a cruise ship accident occurs because of poor maintenance, incompetent or  improperly trained employees, inadequate safety equipment or emergency precautions, the cruise  line can be held accountable.

Cruise ship tickets typically have a provision that…

In the past 10 days this plaintiffs’ trial lawyer, in the capacity of State Bar of Georgia president, has co-presided over a joint meeting of the State Bar Executive Committee and the Georgia Supreme Court, had a joint press conference with the Attorney General of Georgia and spoke at a lunch meeting that included general counsels of some of Georgia’s leading corporations. In 75 days, I will complete my term as State Bar president and get back to practicing law full-time.

I do not expect any favoritism from anyone as cases must be decided on their merits.  But if a…

My law practice is focused on personal injury, wrongful death and commercial trucking law practice. As president of the State Bar of Georgia, I have many occasions to speak to groups, both in and out of my practice area. The following is excerpted from my presentation — “Trial Preparation: 30 tips in 30 Minutes” – at the Georgia Law of Torts seminar at Mercer University Law School in Macon on September 23, 2011.

11. Propose a stipulation that attorneys issue deposition subpoenas.

While federal law authorizes attorneys as officers of the court to issue subpoenas on standard forms, current Georgia…