New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

A Florida-based company has announced plans to begin production of, what it calls, the first purpose-built wheelchair accessible car. The vehicle is called the MV-1, and is the brainchild of Miami-based Vehicle Production Group. According to the CEO of the company, the car meets all the requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and is designed to accommodate all wheelchair sizes.

As a New Jersey accident lawyer with a special interest in patients with spinal cord injury, I believe this is a great innovation. With more than 4 million Americans currently wheelchair-dependent, there's definitely a need for a vehicle that comes ready for a paralyzed patient to use. Currently, the only option these people have is to outfit their current vehicle with a wheelchair ramp. Not only does this affect the structural integrity of the car, but it can also render your car's warranty invalid, because of all the changes you’ve made. With the MV-1, patients with a spinal cord injury will be able to overcome a lot of the mobility challenges they face every day.

 

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The answer, according to a group of American and Japanese researchers, could be yes. Mice hair contains cells that could help repair damaged spinal nerves and treat spinal cord injury.

The researchers unveiled their new discovery at the World Hair Congress in Cairns, Australia earlier this week. Researchers stumbled upon this discovery by chance. They were examining the skin of mice when they chanced upon head cells that had possibly rejuvenating properties. Researchers found that when these hair cells were placed in the damaged nerve of a mouse with spinal cord injury, the hair cells help the damaged nerve join. Soon after the cell therapy, the mouse was able to regain almost complete movement, and was able to walk about.

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As a car accident lawyer in New Jersey, I am pleased with some dramatic new advancements in the field of spinal cord injury treatment. Clinical trials into a new robotic exoskeleton that could help patients with these injuries to walk again, are on at a research center in Philadelphia.

The device has been developed by an Israel-based company, and comprises of a harness, backpack and leg supports. The equipment also includes sensors that can detect and communicate to a computer in the backpack that a step needs to be taken. The person can then walk using his crutches.   The device works with the help of a battery that can be charged for three hours of use. However, in order to be able to use the device, a person must have the use of his upper body.

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A long awaited breakthrough in the treatment of spinal cord injuries may be realized this summer as an American company announced its plans to begin the world's first study of stem cell treatment for spinal cord injuries.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a study by biotech company, Geron Corporation of California. The study will involve injecting eight to ten patients with stem cells or cells that are extracted from embryonic cells. The subjects will all be paraplegics, and the study will involve administering a single injection just two weeks after they have suffered a spinal cord injury.

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As a Monmouth County personal injury lawyer, I constantly meet people with debilitating traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, but as this report shows, these are not always caused by workplace related accidents or automobile accidents. It's the season for sledding, skiing and skating, and also the time for some extremely serious and life altering injuries, if you're not careful out there.

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimates that every year, these winter sports injuries send thousands of men, women and children to emergency rooms around the country. 

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Motorcycle accidents and related fatalities and traumatic injuries is a serous problem in both New Jersey and our neighboring states. A recent article from The Express-Times reports a 27 year old was recently riding his motorcycle south on Route 611 about 2 a.m. when he veered into the northbound lane and crashed into a curb apparently suffering serious injuries. The police do not know what caused the rider to crash into the curb and the crash is under investigation.

 As Monmouth County and New Jersey motorcycle accident attorney I have witnessed first hand the devastating life altering effects of motorcycle crashes. In this particular situation there could be many factors that made the rider swerve into the opposite lane leading him to strike the curb. What ever the cause of the accident may be, drivers on the road have to make sure they are careful around motorcycle riders. A simple act of having your high beams on can blind a driver and when the driver is a motorcycle rider they can more easily lose control and crash. One way to simply lower the motorcycle fatalities is to always keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the motorcycle and always proceed with caution before entering into a turn or a lane change. Motor vehicle drivers can do their part by being more responsible on the road and hopefully motorcycle riders will do their part by taking the right safety precautions.

 

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We all know that drinking and driving often results in death, serious injury or the destruction of life.  A recent local news story reported an accident in South Jersey recently sent several innocent grocery shoppers to the hospital. A car spun out of control and slammed into 3 people - two of them were in wheelchairs. The police are saying the driver was intoxicated when she crashed into pedestrians on a Shoprite sidewalk in front of the store.

 As a Monmouth County and New Jersey car accident attorney I have represented hundreds of victims that suffered critical injuries because of alcohol related car accidents.  This news story above highlights a all too common scenario whereby alcohol appears to have impaired this driver’s sense of judgment. The alleged intoxicated driver may have destroyed the lives of these innocent grocery shoppers who never would have imagined that they would fall victim to a drunk driver while going through their normal every day routine of pushing their grocery carts at their local supermarket.  Drinking and driving frequently leads to victim's extreme suffering.  I have witnessed first hand clients that have suffered at the hands of drunk drivers’ : traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, spinal cord injuries including paralysis fractures, herniated disc injuries leading to spinal fusion or inter-body fusion surgery and a myriad of other life altering injuries and even death.  So as a seasoned New Jersey and Monmouth County accident attorney lawyer I can attest unequivocally that alcohol mixed with driving of motor vehicles, motorcycles or trucks many times equates with the total destruction of innocent life and also destroys both individuals and their families.  We can significantly reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities in New Jersey by never ever driving while intoxicated or in any way impaired.  

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I read this article on MSN Health recently, announcing some promising news for men who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) resulting from from spinal cord injuries. A French study of about 200 male spinal cord injury patients revealed that the ED drug Cialis significantly helped treat the patients' ED. The study noted that only one-fourth of male spinal cord injury patients are able to have erections that are adequate for intercourse.

After the 12-week treatment period during the study, researchers found that the patients who took Cialis were 75.4 percent successful when attempting penetration and 47.6 percent successful when attempting intercourse, compared with 41.1 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively, for the men in the study who took the placebo.

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In New Jersey, as a general rule if you are injured while occupying or driving a motorcycle, moped, commercial vehicle, taxi cab, chauffeured rentals or bus you will not be able to seek PIP no-fault benefits for payment of your medical bills. That's right, if you have private health insurance your medical bills may be covered as long as your policy does not contain any specific exclusions for treatment you receive as a result of an accident while driving for example a motorcycle.  

 

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• "Delay, deny, defend" is the battle cry for the auto insurance industry to protect their multi-billion dollar empire. In a recent report filed by CNN's Drew Griffin, he uncovered that this practice is rampant among the nation's auto insurance companies when people are injured in what insurance representatives consider a "minor impact" auto accident.   New Jersey attorneys representing persons who have suffered injuries in auto accidents have long experienced first hand these tactics of the nation's largest insurance companies.  Throughout the past decade I have represented many individuals that were involved in what the insurance company deemed a "minor impact" and as a result of the accident they suffered serious permanent injuries such as a herniated disc. Many times the injuries were so debilitating that after multiple steroid injections, extensive narcotics usage, physical therapy and chiropractic care, spinal surgery became the only option.   The suffering was very real.

 

 

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Over 10,000 people in the US suffer a spinal cord injury, also called SCI, each year. SCI is defined as any damage to the spinal cord that results in loss of function or mobility. Such injuries can be caused by trauma or disease and can result in temporary or permanent loss of sensation, loss of movement (paralysis), or loss of bowel or bladder control. Auto accidents are the primary cause but violence related accidents have been increasing steadily as a cause of SCI’s. Falls and sports accidents also cause many SCI’s each year.

There are two types of injury, complete and incomplete. A complete injury is one in which the victim has no sensation or voluntary motor movement on either side of the body below the level of the injury. If the victim has some feeling or partial movement, it is called an incomplete injury.

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Every year millions of people are injured in motor vehicle accidents. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury in the United States for people ages 1-34.

Many vehicle manufacturers have made safety improvements to their vehicles including air bags, rollover bars, reinforced frames, better tires, etc. Additionally, many states have passed tougher drunk driving laws. As a result, many lives may have been spared. However, with an ever increasing number of vehicles on the road, motor vehicle accidents still occur with alarming frequency. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every 10 seconds someone in the United States is involved in a car accident.

If you have a young driver in your family, or a young person preparing to obtain his or her first driver's license, take a few moments with your child to obtain some really useful information from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.

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