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I’m very sorry to hear about your spinal cord injury. Some spinal cord injuries can be recovered from using surgery and therapy, and in other cases the victim may have lifelong injuries. Typically, the severity of the impact as well as the force on the spinal cord will impact the type of injury and whether or not the victim can recover. The most common cause of spinal cord injuries is vehicular accidents. Some other common causes include falls, sports injuries, and violence. Normally, the closer the spinal cord injury is to the brain, the more serious the injury. If a …

It depends on the situation, but typically if a product causes bodily harm, whoever has been injured can receive compensation for medical treatment and other expenses. If you have been injured because of a defective ladder, you should speak with an attorney who can help advise you on your legal rights. Surprisingly, the vast majority of ladder accidents occur at home, not at work. Typically ladder accidents are caused by a failure to use the ladder safely, although some ladder accidents occur due to defects in the ladder itself. Although ladders are used in many workplaces on a daily basis, …

You may be able to sue, depending on the circumstances. Many people who have been fired or laid off believe that they were illegally terminated. They believe that their employer is required to have a good reason to fire them. However, in California employees can fire employees for any reason or no reason at all, unless there are special circumstances at play or the reason for firing is illegal. Even though employers can fire employees for almost any reason in California, employees do have legal rights. An employer cannot fire an employee for an illegal reason, such as age, race, …

What particular techniques are used during your surgery is a question for your surgeon. In general, deep brain stimulation surgery involves placing a thin metal electrode into one of several brain targets and attaching that electrode to a computerized pulse generator which is implanted under the skin. The surgery is designed to alter the abnormal function of the brain tissue. Deep brain stimulation is sometimes described as a pacemaker for the brain, and the purpose is to help treat a number of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and other brain conditions. Deep brain stimulation can be risky and complex, and …

I am not a medical doctor and am not qualified to give medical advice, although I am an amputee. Making decisions about when to stop saving a limb can be extremely difficult. There is always the hope that the limb can possibly be salvaged and the fear about living the rest of your life as an amputee. A study from the VA and the Naval Health Research Center looked at a group of wartime amputees. They examined the medical records of 625 troops with severe lower limb injuries between 2001 and 2008. The study found that the group who had …

Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) involves monitoring the nervous system during surgery, using electrodes hooked up to the body. There are a number of methods (or modalities) used during IONM. Some of the more common techniques used include somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs), transcranial motor evoked potentials (TcMEPs), brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), nerve conductions studies, and electroencephalograms (EEGs). The modalities used during your particular procedure will depend on what type of procedure you are going to have, the risks involved, and the concerns of the medical team. In general, the methods of IONM used have the same risks, and none are …

Smoke detectors and fire alarms are invaluable tools for saving lives. It’s estimated that about 60 percent of deaths that occur due to house fires happen because there were no smoke alarms in the home. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, fires are the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the home. Alarms that can detect smoke, fire, and carbon monoxide are critical. Those alarms must be properly maintained as well as properly installed. Your landlord may be legally liable for failing to install smoke detectors. Property owners have a duty to take steps to ensure that guests …

I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Age discrimination is illegal under both federal law and California law. In order to prove an age discrimination claim, a plaintiff must be able to prove several things occurred. First, the plaintiff must be over 40 and must have been discriminated against in firing, hiring, or promotion because of his or her age. The employee must be able to prove he or she was negatively impacted because of the discrimination. The employee must also be able to prove that younger employees were treated more favorably. Age discrimination laws do not protect individuals under …

When a person loses a limb, he or she may experience phantom pain or phantom sensation that feels as if it is coming from the missing limb. According to experts, almost everyone experiences phantom sensations after losing a limb. About 85 to 95 percent of amputees report phantom pain after losing the limb. Amputees report a variety of phantom feelings after losing the limb. It may feel as if it is frozen into position. The feeling may be burning, itching, tingling, or even an electric shock sensation. Some amputees even report feeling that the limb is shrinking inward and disappearing. …

I’m very sorry to hear about your amputation. Several stories have made national news lately related to people losing their limbs due to a rare strain of strep throat. According to experts, there are a few hundred cases every year of a particular strain of strep throat, which can cause limb loss and even death. The rare type of strep throat is not contagious, and and some people catch it through their respiratory system of their skin. Strep throat is a bacterial infection, and that particular strain is very hard to detect. In one recent case in which a man …

Signing a waiver or a consent form does not release your doctor from liability for medical malpractice. It’s very common for doctors to ask patients who are doing to have some type of medical procedure done to sign a waiver. This is done for routine, simple procedures, or invasive medical operations. The waivers typically say that the doctor has explained your medical problem, lists any alternate treatments available, and the procedure you have chosen. It will normally list all potential risks associated with the procedure. Signing a form like that does not waive your right to sue the doctor for …

In California, drivers are required to carry insurance on their vehicles. Drivers must have evidence of financial responsibility available to show to a police officer if asked, or if involved in an accident. Drivers are required to carry $15,000 in coverage for injury or death to one person, $30,000 in coverage for injury or death to more than one person, and $5,000 for damage to property. Unfortunately, not everyone in California chooses to obey the law and purchase insurance. It’s estimated that 15 percent of the drivers on California’s roads do not have insurance. Many drivers choose to purchase uninsured …