Car Accident Causes Spinal Cord Injury

Larry Buckfire

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An inspiring story about a University of Michigan medical student appeared in the local paper earlier this month. The 26 year old medical student suffered a significant spinal cord injury in a car accident back in 1998, resulting in a broken neck and causing paralysis. Despite needing a wheelchair, he prospered in medical school and also as a wheelchair rugby player. Then on n May 24, 1998, he fell asleep while driving home and was in a second accident. His vehicle struck a tree and he broke his neck, sustaining a spinal cord injury to the C6 and C7 vertebrae.

Tests after his most recent crash showed he had fractured his C2 vertebrae and injured another area, but there appeared to be no spinal cord injury. Dr. Stephen Sullivan, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at U-M, performed successful surgery, fusing the C4 and C5 vertebra together. "He escaped being paralyzed by about an inch,'' Sullivan said. My firm represents a significant number of clients with spinal cord injuries and we understand how this can impact someone's life.