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.

According to the company, prices for the car are expected to start at about or below $40,000. There have already been about 4,000 reservations for the vehicle.

Vehicle Production Group expects to begin production of the car in September in Indiana. As a New Jersey accident lawyer, I am always interested in new developments and innovations that can improve the quality of my clients’ lives. This is one of those innovations that could revolutionize the way patients with spinal cord injury view their life after an injury. With increased mobility, these patients can have much of the quality of their lives, returned.

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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. 

According to the CPSC's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, there were more than 6600 head injuries caused during snowboarding, 5700 caused during sledding, 5400 injuries caused during ice hockey and 3700 caused by skiing. A total of more than 1200 head injuries were caused by snowmobiles, toboggans, and snow tubing. Many of these head injuries were caused because the person wasn’t wearing a safety helmet, or because the helmet wasn’t sturdy enough to take the massive impact of a fall or collision. In any case, head injuries at their mildest can cause concussion, or disorientation, and at their most severe, can result in traumatic brain injuries with possibly long term effects. 

When it came to neck injuries on the ice, skiing was the number one risk with 1385 injuries occurring while navigating the slopes. Next was snowboarding with more than 1900 neck injuries, and hockey with more than 600 injuries. The rest of the injuries were caused by snowmobiles, sleds, skating and snow tubing. Most of these injuries are caused because of falls while playing, or colliding against another player or against a hard concrete surface. Spinal cord injuries can have debilitating consequences, at their very worst leaving patients in a quadriplegic state.

Although speed and the accompanying adrenalin rush is a big part of the winter sports experience, it's entirely possible for you to have safe fun on the slopes and ice.  The ASTM has a few precautions for safe sports this winter. Always wear helmets that have the ASTM stamp of approval, and wear protective body clothing that’s appropriate to the sport. Avoid getting too adventurous, and follow all posted signs carefully. Look for any warnings of dangerous curves or posts ahead.

Danger can lurk in the most unexpected places whether you're circling a rink, or racing down the slopes. So, take all precautions, and practice safe sports this winter!

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