• 02
  • February
    2012

It was just two days before New Year's Eve. The 17-year-old high school student had spent Christmas with his grandmother and was now returning home for New Year's. It was on that drive home that life changed for him forever.

As he drove down an interstate highway, a car suddenly pulled out in front of him. He swerved to avoid a collision -- and his car rolled five times. When he regained consciousness after the accident, he learned his neck was broken and that he would have to deal with the devastation of quadriplegia.

The accident was far from Newburgh, but the story of his struggles and unbroken spirit resonate regardless.

The Georgia teenager said the last thing he remembers before blacking out that day was the crunch of gravel.

The first person on the accident scene happened to be a Navy crash responder, the teen recalled recently. "He knew my neck was broken, so he disconnected my car battery, made sure there was no oil leaking and kept me from going into shock."

His mother learned of the accident when a chaplain at the hospital answered her son's cell phone and told her of her son's injury and paralysis.

The boy can't, at present, make use of his hands or triceps, though he has limited use of his shoulders.

However, he still has sensation throughout his body, though his C5 cervical vertebra was broken in three places.

The teen says he can move a finger on his left hand that his arms and shoulders have gotten stronger in his grueling therapy sessions.

He hopes his spinal cord heals enough to allow him to regain his previous mobility, but acknowledges that more limited futures are possible for him, too.

In these kinds of situations, medical bills are obviously going to be enormous. Most people would agree that the person responsible for the car accident should bear financial responsibility for those costs rather than the person who has lost use of their limbs.

An experienced personal injury attorney can explain the legal options so that victims and their families can make informed decisions and get the compensation they deserve.

Source: Cherokee Tribune: "Future uncertain for car accident victim," Megan Thornton, Feb. 1, 2012