San Diego Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that results in a loss of function such as mobility or feeling. Frequent causes of damage are trauma (car accidents, gunshot wounds, falls, etc.) or disease (polio, spina bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia, etc.).
The spinal cord does not have to be severed in order for a loss of functioning to occur. In fact, for most people with SCI, the spinal cord is intact, but the damage to it results in loss of functioning.

Almost 11,000 people in the U.S. sustain a traumatic spinal cord injury each year, resulting in temporary or permanent sensory deficit, motor deficit, or bowel or bladder dysfunction. In this country, more than 250,000 people live with paralysis caused by SCI.

More than half the people who sustain an SCI are between the ages of 16 and 30. More males than females sustain this type of injury - the ratio is more than four to one. The most common cause of SCI is a motor vehicle crash, accounting for at least 36% of these injuries (broken down as follows: no restraints used - 20%; restraints used - 13.7%; motorcycle - 7.4%; accidents involving pedestrians - 5.2%; other - 2.1%).

Violence-related SCIs have been steadily increasing over the past two decades, and today, violence is associated with 29% of SCIs. Falls and sports injuries result in 21% and 7% of SCI cases, respectively.

Damages In SCI Cases

The amount of damages that may be recovered against a party responsible for causing SCI injury is substantial. The average out-of-pocket cost of coping with a spinal cord injury in the first year can be as high as $741,000 for the most severe injuries. For each year after that, the average cost is approximately $132,000. These amounts don't include indirect damages (which averaged $60,000 in 2006) such as:

If you or a loved one has sustained an SCI due to the negligence of another party, you may want to consult with an experienced SCI attorney to find out what your legal rights are.

Continue reading "Have You Or A Loved One Sustained A Spinal Cord Injury?" »

Have you or a loved one been seriously injured in an accident in Cardiff-By-The-Sea? If so, you should consult with an experienced, aggressive attorney to find out what your legal rights are and what your next step should be.

Choosing A Cardiff-By-The-Sea Serious Injury Lawyer

After an automobile crash, dog bite attack, slip/trip-and-fall incident, bicycle injury, motorcycle injury, or any other event involving serious injury or the wrongful death of a loved one, it is very important to work with a law firm that specializes in personal injury.

The types of skills required to successfully handle a serious accident or wrongful death case are very specific. Don't be fooled by choosing a lawyer who dabbles in these types of cases, rather than one who handles them exclusively, as we do. Making a bad choice in getting the wrong attorney can be one of the most regrettable decisions you can make, and may significantly reduce the outcome you might otherwise be able to achieve.

Our Cardiff-By-The-Sea accident lawyers are experienced trial lawyers and have in excess of fifty years combined experience providing legal representation to serious accident victims in southern California, including San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Imperial Counties.

Continue reading "Cardiff-By-The-Sea Serious Accident Lawyers ~ Cardiff By The Sea Injury Attorneys " »

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has debuted a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about its Pool Safely campaign (www.poolsafely.gov), illustrating how simple steps saves lives at pools and spas.Partnering with the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) and the YMCA of the USA (www.ymca.net), the CPSC produced broadcast, print, and radio PSAs which are being distributed to media outlets throughout the United States.

The new PSAs are intended to remind parents and children to stay safe in and around pools and spas, by practicing water safety steps. The "Pool Safely" campaign encourages everyone to adopt new safety behaviors while having fun in the pool.

It is important to remember that each drowning incident represents a family tragedy.

Continue reading "Swimming Pool & Spa Safety In San Diego ~" »

Have you or a loved one been seriously injured in an accident in Cardiff-By-The-Sea? If so, you should consult with an experienced, aggressive attorney to find out what your legal rights are and what your next step should be.

Choosing A Cardiff-By-The-Sea Serious Injury Lawyer

After an automobile crash, dog bite attack, slip/trip-and-fall incident, bicycle injury, motorcycle injury, or any other event involving serious injury or the wrongful death of a loved one, it is very important to work with a law firm that specializes in personal injury.

The types of skills required to successfully handle a serious accident or wrongful death case are very specific. Don't be fooled by choosing a lawyer who dabbles in these types of cases, rather than one who handles them exclusively, as we do. Making a bad choice in getting the wrong attorney can be one of the most regrettable decisions you can make, and may significantly reduce the outcome you might otherwise be able to achieve.

Our Cardiff-By-The-Sea personal injury lawyers are experienced trial lawyers and have in excess of fifty years combined experience providing legal representation to serious accident victims in southern California, including San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Imperial Counties.

Believe it or not, swimming is the third most popular activity in the United States and a good way to get exercise. It is very important to follow good water safety practices.

Swimming rules are extremely important for children to follow:

It is necessary that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Children can learn to swim by being enrolled in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses.

NEVER leave a young child unattended near water.

Do NOT trust a child's life to another child.

Teach children to always ask permission to go near water, whether it's the ocean, a swimming pool, or a lake.

Make sure young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets in or around water (ocean and lake), but do not rely on life jackets alone.

Always remember to wear sun screen when swimming or participating in any activity outdoors.

Continue reading "Swimming & Sun Safety In Cardiff-By-The Sea ~" »

Believe it or not, swimming is the third most popular activity in the United States and a good way to get exercise. It is very important to follow good water safety practices.

Swimming rules are extremely important for children to follow:

It is necessary that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Children can learn to swim by being enrolled in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses.

NEVER leave a young child unattended near water.

Do NOT trust a child's life to another child.

Teach children to always ask permission to go near water, whether it's the ocean, a swimming pool, or a lake.

Make sure young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets in or around water (ocean and lake), but do not rely on life jackets alone.

Always remember to wear sun screen when swimming or participating in any activity outdoors.

Continue reading "Swimming & Sun Safety In San Diego ~" »

Have you or a loved one been seriously injured in an accident in Encinitas? If so, you should consult with an experienced, aggressive attorney to find out what your legal rights are and what your next step should be.

Choosing An Encinitas Serious Injury Lawyer
After an automobile crash, dog bite attack, slip/trip-and-fall incident, bicycle injury, motorcycle injury, or any other event involving serious injury or the wrongful death of a loved one, it is very important to work with a law firm that specializes in personal injury.

The types of skills required to successfully handle a serious accident or wrongful death case are very specific. Don't be fooled by choosing a lawyer who dabbles in these types of cases, rather than one who handles them exclusively, as we do. Making a bad choice in getting the wrong attorney can be one of the most regrettable decisions you can make, and may significantly reduce the outcome you might otherwise be able to achieve.

Our Encinitas personal injury lawyers are experienced trial lawyers and have in excess of fifty years combined experience providing legal representation to serious accident victims in southern California, including San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Imperial Counties.

Continue reading "Encinitas Serious Injury Lawyers ~" »

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission kicked off the Pool Safely campaign (www.poolsafely.gov). This is a first-of-its-kind national public education effort to reduce child drownings, and non-fatal submersions and entrapments in swimming pools and spas.

The Pool Safely campaign will start off with a national conversation with parents and children, pool owners and operators, and industry professionals about the simple safety steps they can take to protect themselves and their families in and around pools and spas. Pool & spa incidents are preventable, so the mission is to change the way families think and act about pool and spa safety.Safety in the water comes with adopting and practicing as many water safety measures as possible, including: learning and practicing water safety skills (knowing how to swim and perform CPR); installing barriers that completely surround the pool & spa with self-closing, self-latching gates; staying close, being alert, and watching children while in the pool and/or spa; and having the appropriate pool/spa equipment in place (i.e., compliant drain covers, alarms, sensors, and barriers).

Statistics reveal that from 2005 to 2007, there was an annual average of 385 pool and spa-related drownings of children younger than 15. Approximately 78 percent of these (299) were children younger than five years old.

Then from 2007 to 2009, the estimated annual average was 4,200 pool or spa emergency department-treated submersions for children younger than 15, with children between the ages of 12 to 35 months representing 47 percent of the estimated injuries for those years.

Approximately 54 percent of the estimated injuries for 2007 to 2009 and 74 percent of the fatalities from 2005 to 2007 involving children younger than fifteen occurred at a residence. Most of the reported fatalities occurred on the day of or within a week of the submersion incident. Only four percent of fatal victims survived beyond a week from the submersion. These victims sustained severe injuries and required intensive medical care and treatment.

Continue reading "California Pool Safety Campaign Kick-Off ~" »