Articles Posted in Spine Injury

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Svetlana Vitus, 33, was operating her motor vehicle with her two minor daughters as passengers when she stopped for pedestrians at a crosswalk near a park. Zachary Ripsom was driving a van owned by the Southern Oregon Education Service District; the van rear-ended Vitus’s vehicle.

Vitus lost consciousness after the crash and was taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed as having suffered a concussion and whiplash.

For the next three years, she required conservative care, including physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and acupuncture, and she received an epidural injection.

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On May 12, 2011, the plaintiff, John Barrow IV, age 58, was a coal mine forklift operator. Barrow walked into a coal mine near Equality, Ill., when a hydraulic hose on the ground caused him to fall and land on his back. The defendant in this case, Temper Fabricators, a fabrication contractor working at the mine, had left several steel-reinforced hydraulic hoses lying across a walkway just inside the entrance to the mine’s main warehouse.

Barrow apparently did not see the hoses when he entered the mine after walking in from the outdoor sunlight. He stepped on one of the hoses, which then rolled out from under his foot. While falling, he sustained lower back injuries that required spinal fusion surgery and left him with ongoing pain, disability and severe sexual dysfunction.

Barrow’s wife, Kimberlee, claimed loss of consortium. The Barrows asserted that the Temper Fabricator’s employees were at fault for choosing not to post any barricades or warning flags before leaving the hoses unattended. The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) regulations required all safety hazards to be barricaded or flagged off. Employees of contractors were subject to the same MSHA safety regulations as employees of mine owners.

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On Oct. 30, 2009, Filberto Meza, 37, was traveling eastbound on 25th Street at Central in Cicero, Ill., when his car crashed into the rear end of a stopped motor vehicle.  Juan Magana and Raquel Magana were driver and passenger in that car.  Juan Magana, 27, a custodian, suffered aggravation of a pre-existing herniated disc at L5-S1, his low back and sacrum.  He had been receiving treatment for that herniation during the previous year. He had undergone physical therapy and was scheduled to be discharged from care after his next scheduled appointment three days later.

Because of this crash, Juan returned to “square one,” which required additional medical treatments including injections.  Juan’s wife, Raquel, suffered soft tissue injuries in the crash.

The defendant, Meza, admitted that he was negligent, but maintained that both Juan and Raquel were not injured to the extent that they claimed.  At the close of evidence, the jury deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict of $14,809.  $10,947 was the verdict for Juan made up of the following damages:

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