Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog

Two Georgia residents found out recently that it is unwise to underestimate the public's willingness to help fight crime or the ability of law enforcement to uncover the facts. After a fatal motorcycle accident on I-75 last month, two are now charged with the hit and run portion of the accident. In my experience as a Gwinnett County motorcycle accident lawyer and having represented many riders and their families, this case is particularly disturbing.

On August 20, a Norcross resident was riding his bike near Windy Hill Road. He was in the southbound lanes of I-75 when a car struck him and then drove away. After he had already been struck, a second car hit him again. That driver obeyed Georgia law and remained at the scene where the motorcyclist died.

The second driver was able to tell the police that a silver Porsche had originally hit the motorcycle. The second car's driver will not be charged. Evidence from the first car was collected at the scene.

The Cobb County police had been looking for the hit and run driver for ten days according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The AJC reports that an observant body shop worker at a business in Alabaster found the situation with a vehicle in the shop suspicious and began to research on the web. The body shop worked learned that a silver Porsche had been involved in a hit and run and alerted police.

The two that had been in the uninsured Porsche and have now been arrested are alleged to have taken the Porsche to the body shop and ensured that the paper work was falsified to state that the work on the car was done prior to the date of the fatal accident.

The two had also wanted evidence destroyed and sought to have the car painted - a totally different color. Apparently, it was an observant person at the body shop who tipped police to the situation. The evidence from the Porsche that had been collected at the scene of the fatal motorcycle accident was a match with the suspects' vehicle.

The two arrested suspects, who were placed in the Cobb County jail and are being held without bond, are charged with several Georgia crimes. These include the crime of second-degree vehicular homicide, the crime of hit and run and the crime of tampering with evidence, among others.

Sometimes drivers think that when they hit another vehicle and cause minor damage they can get away with driving off. That is a hit and run.

We should all find it shocking and abhorrent that when a driver hits a motorcyclist, a pedestrian or any vehicle on the road and leaves, it is absolutely in violation of Georgia Motor Vehicle and Traffic Code section 40-6-270. This provision requires drivers who have been involved in an accident that results in either injury or death or damage to immediately stop and not only provide information of insurance and identity, including registration and if asked, one's license, but must also make a reasonable attempt to get medical assistance for the injured person or persons. In addition depending on the severity of the situation and if the injured persons are unconscious or appears to be deceased, the driver must by law seek emergency medical attention or contact law enforcement.

Georgia law requires drivers to "in every event remain at the scene of the accident until fulfilling" these requirements. Failure to do this where there is serious injury or death is a felony and can result in a sentence of one to five years in prison.

If you or a loved one has been injured or has suffered a fatality in a motorcycle crash, we have the expertise and experience in motorcycle injury cases to help you recover. Please contact our Duluth and Atlanta metro area injury law firm for a free consultation. As a highly-respected motorcycle injury and wrongful death attorney, Charles Scholle has the expertise to help guide you and your family.

Last week, two Atlanta area motorcycle crashes remind us of the importance of safety when riding a motor bike. In my experience as a Gwinnett County motorcycle accident lawyer, I have counseled and represented bike enthusiasts who have been injured while riding, as well as the families of those who have been seriously injured or tragically died while riding their bikes.

I am always saddened to learn of motorcycle crashes, because I know how much bike riders enjoy their experience. I also know that by virtue of the exposure one has while on a bike with other larger vehicles on the road, safety is key.

In the first incident last week, a motorcyclist slammed into a MARTA bus that was stopped in Buckhead in the 3800 block of Roswell Road. The motorcycle driver ended up pinned under the bus.

According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Atlanta police intended to charge him with two Georgia misdemeanors, one following too closely Georgia Motor Vehicles and Traffic Code section 40-6-49 and the other driving without a license in violation of Georgia Motor Vehicles and Traffic Code section 40-5-20.

Given that the motorcyclist ended up under the bus in this crash, he is truly fortunate to be alive. It is difficult to think about what might have happened if the bus had moved at all once he was trapped under it. The bus passengers were not harmed in the accident.

Driving defensively while on a motorcycle is just as important as when driving a car or any other motor vehicle. That includes riding with sufficient distance in front of you so that you can stop safely when there is a road hazard or vehicle stopped in front of you. Many drivers do not realize that in addition to being unsafe, driving too closely is a form of aggressive driving that can be cited by Georgia authorities as occurred in the MARTA bus incident last week.

In another bike crash last week, a motorcyclist was tragically killed on I-75 in Clayton County while riding southbound near Jonesboro Road. In this incident, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution stated that (similarly with the MARTA bus accident the prior day), the Georgia Department of Transportation reported that cyclist ended up pinned under another vehicle. We do not know at this point, whether the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time to the fatal crash.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) maintains accident statistics on motorcycle and other vehicle crashes. According to the NHTSA in 2008, 5,290 motorcyclists were killed and 96,000 motorcyclists were injured during that year. In 2009 there was a six percent drop in the number of motorcyclist fatalities which was noted at 4,462 motorcyclists. In addition, the NHTSA published an estimate in 2008 that helmets saved 1,829 motorcyclists' lives and also stated that "823 more could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets."

Charles Scholle is a Gwinnett County motorcycle injury and accident lawyer, available for a free consultation to evaluate your motorcycle accident matter. Please contact our law firm at any time, we are laser focused on helping clients recover from catastrophic injuries due to motorcycle, car and truck accidents. We have offices in several locations around the Atlanta area, including Buckhead, Decatur and the Perimeter.

Just in time for the major global event called "Ride to Work Day," we have learned about the most dangerous intersections that have resulted in motorcycle accident injury or death in the Atlanta area. Before sharing thoughts on the newly-released information on Atlanta's dangerous intersections, I do want to encourage riders to participate in the Ride to Work Day event and to ride safely to avoid personal injury.

The big Ride to Work Day event will take place on June 20, 2011. it is a worldwide effort to demonstrate the benefits of riding motorcycles or scooters to work. The global event, which is expected to draw millions of participants, is meant to show the efficiencies in riding these smaller vehicles and their positive impact on traffic congestion, fuel consumption and parking.

Georgia's Motorcycle Safety Program manager noted that: "It is important to spread the word that motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life. We are proud to be joining hundreds of cities, groups and organizations worldwide already supporting the annual Ride to Work Day." I hope the event will be very successful throughout Georgia.

Georgians are committed to their enthusiasm for motorcycling. And there are many resources for safe riding in Georgia. For example, The "Ride Safe and Legal Georgia!" program encourages riders to wear safety gear, get licensed and take a course to make sure your riding skills are as good as they can be. Among many other things, the Georgia Department of Driver Services offers programs to ensure rider safety and share the road campaigns.

Now for the information on the dangerous intersections. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported recently that a large insurance company received 2009 data from the Georgia Department of Transportation to rank various intersections in Fulton County and indeed found that 14th and Peachtree is statistically the most dangerous. The intersection was the scene of seven fatal motorcycle crashes in Fulton County, which represents 39 percent of the total of 18 fatal crashes. Overall, there were 337 crashes within the county in 2009.

A list of the other intersections in Fulton and Dekalb that had more than one motorcycle crash in 2009 are as follows: Barge Road and Campbelltown Roads; Camp Creek Parkway and Welcome All Road;10th St. and Piedmont Avenue; Bolton Road and Marietta Road; Buford Highway and Peachtree Street; Delmar Lane and Delmoor Court; and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and Eugenia Avenue.

In an effort to make these intersections safer and provide greater awareness to all, the AJC reports that new traffic signs will be installed to alert motorists and cyclists that they must use caution in these intersections.

As an experienced motor vehicle accident lawyer, I have always urged riders to follow Georgia traffic and motorcycle licensing and safety laws when riding their bikes. I hope all riders will consult some of the resources provided by Georgia, such as the Georgia's Motorcycle Operator's Manual which includes a great deal of technical and safe driving information.

Earlier this week, a woman was killed in a motorcycle crash on I-285 in Atlanta that began with a simple flat tire. The deceased was a passenger on the motorcycle that her husband was driving at the time of the accident.

This serious and deadly motorcycle and vehicle collision began with a disabled vehicle, but ended in the death of a motorcycle passenger. The accident is instructive, because the way it unfolded is in some ways a very common occurrence, but some aspects of this accident are also unusual and worthy of serious consideration. As an experienced Georgia motor vehicle accident lawyer, I want readers to understand both the facts and the law in this incident.

To begin with, the driver of a Toyota Corolla had a flat tire and came to a full stop in the second lane from the median on the northbound direction. That driver, Mr. Touray, a resident of Atlanta apparently was not able to, or did not, move his car from the second lane. This failure to move his vehicle has led to serious consequences that might not be obvious to most drivers.

The next event in this series was that an SUV had to stop in highway traffic to avoid hitting the Toyota -- thus, the SUV also came to a stop behind the Toyota. The final and tragic part of this accident occurred when the motorcycle, a Harley Davidson, driven by Mr. Jerry Miller with his wife Mary Joyce as passenger, crashed into the stopped SUV. The Millers were thrown from the bike. Mrs. Miller sustained fatal injuries and Mr. Miller was bruised, but is said to have declined treatment. The driver of the SUV was not injured.

The driver of the Toyota has now been charged with vehicular homicide and improper stopping on the highway. This is a serious consequence to a flat tire.

Vehicular homicide in Georgia carries various penalties. Depending on the severity of the charge, whether it is deemed a first or second degree vehicular homicide, a driver charged with this offense can receive a sentence that is anywhere from one year to 15 years in prison. There is some leniency in the penalty for an unintentional homicide by vehicle (second degree) which carries the potential for a fine and the lesser prison sentence.

What is instructive about this incident is the fact that the police have charged the driver of the stopped vehicle with this crime. The driver apparently presented other cars with a dangerous condition by staying in the lane and should have moved to the side of the road -- even with the flattened tire and even if it meant damaging his own vehicle.

It is important to consider this in the event that you are ever in a situation in which your vehicle is disabled. If your engine will not allow you to move that is one thing, but if your engine is not disabled and you can drive your vehicle, it is important to get it off the road so that it does not become the hazard that happened in this tragedy.

The driver of the Toyota might not have anticipated the consequences of his blocking the highway lane. Now he is dealing with criminal charges.

Recently, Southeastern Georgia's WTOC 11 carried an Associated Press (AP) report that motorcycle accident injury and motorcycle deaths have decreased by two percent during the first three quarters of 2010. Unfortunately, this may not mean that a downward trend will continue for any lasting safety improvement. Practicing as a Gwinnett County catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawyer, and having a platform to speak to the public about safety in the Atlanta Injury Attorney Blog, I want to go through the sobering statistics with our readers.

The statistics show that from January through September 2010, 80 fewer bike riders lost their lives in the same period in 2009. Unfortunately, the situation changed in the last three months of 2010 as fatal motorcycle crashes began to increase again.

Since the 1990's, annual motorcycle fatalities have more than doubled. In 2008, fatalities climbed to 5,312 deaths. And then dropped over 15 percent in 2009.

Some experts believe the reason for the decline in fatal bike crashes, was the economy. These same experts believe that as the economy improves more riders will be out on the roads with a possible rebound in the deaths of recreational motorcycle riders. But others do not see this correlation and believe that increases in gas prices also increases motorcycle ridership and that more bikers are out on the roads when gas is at such high prices.

The most worrisome trend reported by AP is that "the number of motorcyclists wearing federally-approved, impact-absorbing helmets dropped 13 percent in the first nine months of 2010." During this period the use of lighter weight helmets increased by 9 percent. These helmets are said not to protect riders as well as the heavier helmets.

Here is another sobering statistic: helmets that comply with federal safety standards have a huge impact on saving lives. They reduce the biker's chances of being killed in a bike crash by 40 percent. Many bike enthusiasts would prefer not to wear helmets and have successfully lobbied to reverse mandatory helmet laws.

The National Transportation Safety Board says there are 20 states that require motorcyclists to wear helmets and 13 of those states go beyond the basic requirement and require the use of helmets that meet federal standards.

Motorcycle ridership will be up throughout Georgia during the spring and summer months. As we continue to report on Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, we hope our readers will consider the statistics and safety recommendations when they get out to enjoy their bikes.

As part of my practice as an Atlanta injury and accident lawyer, I have represented many clients involved in serious motorcycle accidents in our area. It is well-known that drivers of these vehicles are more vulnerable to motorcycle crashes involving serious injury and death than drivers of other types of vehicles. There are no more enthusiastic drivers than those who own and enjoy riding their bikes.

The National Safety Council (NSC) wants to help avoid death and injury to motorcyclists and keep them as safe as possible. To further that effort the NSC has made the month of May, Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. We would like all Atlanta area drivers, whether they are driving a truck, car or a motorcycle, to pay close attention to the information that the NSC has provided.

According to the NSC, many accidents involving cars and motorcycles are caused by the fact these vehicles can be hidden in a driver's blind spot. Those driving a car or truck should always check their blind spots visually prior to changing lanes. Many motorcycle crashes and tragic injuries result from these common maneuvers on the road.
The NSC also urges that motorists share the road with motorcycles by taking extra precautions when they are traveling in proximity to one another. Suggestions for motorists include several important points.

First, motorists should allow more distance when following a motorcycle. Second, it is critical to be very careful when traveling in an intersection. The NSC says that "[m]ost crashes occur when a motorist fails to see a motorcyclist and turns left in front of a motorcycle." Third, the NSC suggests that it is very unwise to try to share the lane with a bike -- instead, give the motorcycle a complete lane.

The statistics of bike crashes, injuries and deaths are not good. In fact, deaths that involved both motorists and motorcyclists increased 131 percent in the decade between 1998 and 2008. Alarmingly, the motorcyclists' death rate by miles was "37 times greater than for passenger car occupants."

The advice to bike riders to avoid crashes is also very important information. If at all possible, do not drive your bike in bad weather. Second, avoid riding in the blind spot of the vehicles around you, whether they are trucks or cars. Third, make sure to signal when you are turning or making a lane change.

Road Departure Motorcycle Crash

Earlier this week, the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog posted readers on the important new studies being done at Virginia Tech regarding various aspects of what are called road departure crashes. These are crashes in which a motorcyclist or motorist veers off the road and is seriously injured or killed. Very little is actually known about why these accidents happen and the studies should provide some answers.

Tragically, this week an Atlanta-area motorcyclist was killed in a road departure crash while coming out of a curve in unincorporated Auburn. No other vehicle was involved in the crash, which is the case with road departure crashes.

The Gwinnett police have told the Atlanta-Constitution Journal that although they are investigating this crash, they do not believe that either speed or alcohol were factors in the accident. The young man was only 24-years old and he passed away after being taken to Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville.

Our hearts go out to the family of this young man. This is precisely the type of accident that is being studied at Virginia Tech and it our hope that one day there will be better answers for motorcycle enthusiasts about how and why road departures occur and how to best avoid them.

All Terrain Vehicle Move Ends in Tragic Accident

In another terrible tragedy, we have learned that earlier this month, a Cornelia Municipal Court judge was killed while moving his all-terrain vehicle. This occurred while he was simply backing the ATV up to move it and the vehicle accelerated suddenly with no warning and for no apparent reason.

We are saddened to learn of this accident and express our deepest sorrow to the family. The cause of the accident is not yet known.

We do know that the judge was apparently thrown from the ATV and when it hit an embankment, he was trapped under the vehicle after it fell on top of him. A neighbor came to his assistance and was able to pull the ATV off of him, but he was pronounced dead at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville after he was transported there.

Late last year, the National Academies of Science awarded the renowned Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's (VTTI) Center for Injury Biomechanics two research grants amounting to $1.5 million. These grants will go towards the study of a very specific area: fatal road departure crashes. The study is an effort to help identify how road departure crashes occur, as well as the injuries and fatalities involved in these crashes.

The statistics are daunting. In the United States over 10,000 motorists suffer fatal injuries in road departure crashes. We hear of these road departure fatalities and crashes in Georgia and on the news regularly. Sometimes drivers are under the influence, sometimes they are speeding. But when these crashes happen and cars or motorcycles collide with objects on the side of the road -- whether a guardrail, a tree, a telephone pole or other object -- the result is often fatal. Although guardrails are often intended to protect lives, they sometimes can be just as harmful in a road departure crash as other objects on the side of the road.

One of the VTTI grants is for a very large-scale study of passenger vehicles and will cover a four-year period and the other is specifically focused on the injuries resulting in fatal motorcycle crashes and roadside barriers. The purpose - to save lives.

VTTI is well-known in the area of research regarding crash causation studies. The hope is that in the close study of what is called "injury biomechanics" which includes the study of many factors that occur in an injury or fatality as a car or motorcycle goes off the road, more can be done to avoid serious injury and fatalities.

The reason these studies are so important is that we really do not know why road departure crashes are so serious and fatal. The study will gather information to provide more insight into why this is the case. The motorcycle study will focus on crashes in which the motorcycle road departure involves a traffic barrier since these are statistically more likely to be fatal than passenger vehicles that go off the road.

The Atlanta, Georgia region has many intersections with red light cameras that monitor potential offenders who might otherwise go undetected. The big news this week is that red light cameras are saving lives by lowering the number of motor vehicle crashes at intersections using these cameras.

The Study
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has issued a study report that included 14 major cities with red light cameras and compared statistics of fatal crashes in cities that do not have these cameras. The study included a broad look at 99 cities with populations over 200,000 and then compared fatal crashes between 2004-2008 and 1992-1996, the latter period being prior to the use of red light camera programs.

The study's objective was to: "estimate the effects of red light camera enforcement on per capita fatal crash rates at intersections with signal lights." The result is that the red light cameras have reduced fatal accidents by 24 percent. And in cities using these cameras, fatal intersection crashes that did not include running red lights were reduced as well.

According to the study, 159 lives were saved with the use of cameras and concludes that over the same period, 815 lives could have been saved if more major cities used this tool. It is thought that drivers pay more attention at intersections they know have cameras and slow down to avoid running a red light.

Some Concerns About Red Light Cameras
The AAA has voiced concerns that these systems can be abused as "revenue generators" rather than lifesavers. Others argue that in fact rear-end crashes have increased due to these cameras and still others voice concern that automating law enforcement removes the human element that enables drivers with special circumstances to explain their situation to an officer.

Study Conclusion: Red Light Cameras Reduce Fatal Crashes
The study's final conclusion states a good case for the use of these computerized systems: "Red light camera enforcement programs reduce the citywide rate of fatal red light running crashes and, to a lesser but still significant extent, the rate of all fatal crashes at signalized intersections. Cities wishing to reduce fatal crashes at signalized intersections should consider red light camera enforcement."

The Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog has posted numerous examples of the terrible consequences of combining excessive alcohol use with driving. Over this past weekend in Cobb County, this dangerous activity is likely to have caused another tragic loss of life.

According to Cobb County authorities, alcohol apparently played a role in the death of a 28-year old man who lost his life while driving his motorcycle in Powder Springs. He failed to properly negotiate a curve and hit a mailbox at a residence on Moon Road, finally coming to a stop in a neighboring yard.

Although in this motorcycle accident the driver did not harm anyone but himself which is itself a terrible and heartbreaking tragedy, we know that the risk of getting on the road while under the influence not only raises the potential for a DUI, it also raises the potential for serious injury or death to other drivers.

So why do people still get on the road when they should not? This may be because of the impaired judgment that goes along with alcohol abuse and the fact that over time, our brains can deteriorate with substance and alcohol abuse and impair our judgment to even a greater extent than an occasional lapse in good thinking. Over the next several weeks, the Atlanta Injury Attorneys Blog will be posting on brain health and how you can protect your brain, the most important organ in the human body. Having good brain health is important for recovery from injuries that can happen in one's life, such as a simple concussion from a motor vehicle accident.

In our Georgia community, the tragedy of car and motorcycle accidents involving drugs or alcohol is all too common. We also know that Georgia's laws, and often its juries, treat the perpetrators of death or injury in these cases with much more harsh consequences when substance abuse is involved in an accident.

Last September, Sgt. Ray Gunter of the Snellville Police Department and his wife Renee were seriously injured in a Snellville motorcycle accident. After multiple surgeries, Gunter's left leg had to be amputated. His wife's injuries were also very serious, and at this point neither of them is able to work. Having lost the ability to bring in regular income and having gained sky-high medical bills, things looked bleak for Gunter and his family.

Enter Heroes-Helping-Heroes, an organization founded in 2006 to help a Walton County police officer with expenses as he battled a brain tumor. This year, the organization expanded to Gwinnett County to help Gunter . The idea of Heroes-Helping-Heroes is to help police officers and other emergency responders who incur injuries in the line of duty.

As a result of Heroes-Helping-Heroes' efforts, more than 100 motorcyclists turned out this past weekend for a benefit ride to help Gunter. The bikers, led by Gwinnett County police, took a one-and-a-half hour ride that looped through Lawrenceville, Monroe, Loganville and Grayson. About $4,700 was raised for the cause.

A tragic Snellville motorcycle crash occurred yesterday when a DeKalb police officer, working an extra job as a funeral escort, was seriously injured in a wreck with an SUV.

The officer was moving ahead to stop cross traffic in the next intersection when an SUV made a left turn in front of him from a bank parking lot. According to Snellville police, the policeman's motorcycle plowed into the SUV's side. The SUV driver was not seriously injured but the officer sustained extensive lacerations and bruises, including considerable damage to his face which may require reconstructive surgery.

This was a tricky situation, because the policeman was speeding ahead and the SUV driver was clearly not anticipating him when she turned her vehicle out of the lot. However, according to witnesses and Snellville police, there were loud sirens and flashing lights indicating that caution should be used when entering the street. The funeral procession should have been apparent, according to accounts, but the driver still evidently was unaware of the danger.

Early this past Saturday on Ga. Highway 8, a man on a moped was hit by a Subaru Forester in a head-on Dacula motorcycle collision. According to police, the Forester's driver, Stephen Ventress of Auburn, crossed over the center lines while negotiating a turn in the road. The biker, Roger Shimmin of Winder, was thrown from his motorbike as a result of the impact and died shortly thereafter. Ventress, who posted $11,600 bond and was released from Gwinnett County Jail today, is now being charged with misdemeanor second-degree vehicular homicide, failing to maintain a single lane, and driving on the wrong side of the road.

This accident was truly a double-whammy. Not only was the motorcyclist at a distinct disadvantage due to lighter weight and less protection against impact, it was hit with the full force of a head-on collision. Besides which, the wreck took place early in the morning on a highway, which suggests that there was much more momentum in this case than in that of a head-on accident in an area with many stoplights and stop signs. It is tragic, but not surprising, that the Winder motorcyclist died at the scene of the accident.

This past Thursday saw an unfortunate but all-too-common incident in Gwinnett County: a motorcyclist was hit by a truck, and the victim is in critical condition in Gwinnett Medical Center.

There is the problem of who's at fault. The Journal-Constitution only says that the truck made a left turn into the victim who was proceeding southbound, and that charges have yet to be filed pending an investigation. So one can guess endlessly at the accident's circumstances: was the motorcyclist's visibility compromised by a curve or a hill? Was he or she speeding through a red light, or accelerating to beat a yellow? Were they wearing a helmet and other proper road gear? Or did the truck simply misjudge his or her left turn?

Who knows, but we do know one thing for certain: the road fatality rate for motorcyclists is much higher than that of their car- and truck-driving counterparts. A motorcycle is simply no match for a truck, whether that truck is an eighteen-wheeler or a pickup. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "per vehicle mile traveled in 2007, motorcyclists were about 37 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle traffic crash."

The most common serious injury suffered by the victim of an auto, truck, boat, motorcycle or other vehicle accident in Georgia is a back or spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injuries are extremely serious and require immediate medical attention. The symptoms depend on the severity and location of the trauma. A "complete spinal cord injury" is defined as an injury where the nerves are not functional at any point below the injury, where with a "partial spinal cord injury" there is some nerve function below the injury.

The human body has 24 movable vertebrae: 7 cervical, 12 thoracic and 5 lumbar. The spinal nerves wind through the spinal canal. The cervical vertebrae are in the area of the neck, the thoracic center around the upper back and the lumbar are associated with the lower back. The vertebrae are numbered in sequential order with #1 at the top, so C1 would be the top cervical vertebra and C7 the bottom cervical vertebra and the one above T1. An injury occurring higher up the spinal cord results in relatively more paralysis than one affecting the lower vertebrae.

A complete spinal cord injury in the C1 region is considered a catastrophic spinal injury and could affect a victim's breathing and result in quardraplegia, paralysis of all limbs. A compete injury of the thoracic or lumbar vertebrae might result in paraplegia, or paralysis of the arms or legs. Other symptoms of spinal cord injuries could include: stiffness or spasticity of the affected arms or legs, loss of bowel or bladder control and sexual dysfunction.

Treatment of the injury for spinal cord usually consists of 3 distinct phases:

1. Stabilization of the injury and minimization of further injury to the spinal cord;

2. Rehabilitation of the injury so that the patient can function at maximum mobility;

3. Coping with the injury and the life changes associated with any permanent impairments.

More than 10,000 American suffer serious spinal injuries each year. Most of these occur in automobile wrecks and trucking accidents. Motorcycle accidents and boating crashes are other common causes. If you are injured in an accident, even if you don't necessarily feel seriously hurt, seek medical attention immediately. If the injury is a complete spinal cord injury, you will likely have no choice. However, even with a partial spine injury, wait for the ambulance. Adrenaline may cause you to feel stronger and less injured than you really are. You can make the injury worse if you don't stop moving immediately.

I represented a man with a partial spinal injury who exacerbated the injury by his unrestrained movement after the fact. Not only was he more severely injured than he should have been, but he also could not seek damages for the exacerbation caused by his post-accident movement, as it was not caused directly by the wreck. Don't let this happen to you. And, by the way, wear your seatbelt in your vehicle and your helmet on your motorcycle because a severe head or brain injury is not just devastating, it's likely fatal.

Hire a lawyer who is experienced in cases involving spinal cord and head injuries. The medical details can be confusing, and you don't your lawyer to learn on the job when so much is at stake.