Hi, I'm Paul Breen and I am a spinal injury lawyer. I would like to contribute to the forums and pass on as much information as possible which will be of use.

Very few people actually understand how lawyers such as myself can help as they have had no reason to talk to someone such as me before. Spinal injury lawyers provide more than compensation, we can provide private rehabilitation, 24 hour nursing care and help with adaptations to housing. We can also supply modified vehicles, in home technology and immediate financial assistance. Please feel free to ask any questions you have, regardless of where in the world you are, and I will contribute wherever I can.

Paul

Hi Paul Breen ,

I am sure that you will find the posts here interesting - perhaps you have done so already! My situation/experiences perhaps should have included the legal aspects, but having friends who did go that route and are still tangled up in it, I was dissuaded. I am sure many have had positive experiences though!

The more the merrier here, as far as I am concerned...

Take care,

K

Hello Paul and welcome! Good of you to join our little community, particularly as you are offering free legal advice !? Are you sure you know what you may have let yourself in for?

Fortunately, I had good legal representation following my injury, so I do know how important it is to get good advice. So on behalf of everyone here - thanks for joining.

Hi,

Thanks both for your replies. I do tend to get a wide range of reaction being a lawyer, until people understand exactly what I do. I hope I know what I am in for, but you never know!

Look forward to speaking to you in the future.

Hi Paul,

I noticed you are from the UK. What we also need is a injury lawyer from the US, and maybe even specific to the state. Anyone out there???

Also, it's tax time. Is there anyone who has good tax deduction advise?

Carole

Hi Carole,

I am quite different in that I have clients all over the world including the US. If you have any US questions I will be able to help.

Paul

Hi Paul,

I have to confess that I saw you listed as being online a few days ago and I googled for your name. So I have taken a look at your site, pretty comprehensively. It does seem very thorough and informative. You have a lot more on your site than some others I have perused. I have a question, if I may?

How long from a said accident/set of events, is the limit for filing a lawsuit etc?

When I was employed as an RN in the NHS, we were counseled re: our paper work etc because " you could be called to court up to 7 years later". I was unsure if this was an across the board thing, and whether a claim had to be made say within 3 years, thus allowing for addition time for it to be settled ( up til 7 years)? etc. I hope I am being clear ( not as mud! lol) about this.

I apologise if this information is on the site!

Take care,

K




Hi Carole,

You may have checked this already and it may have been little use, lol, but please see Taxes about com

and
FreemoneyFinance

for US specific Taxes info

Take care,

K

Hi K,

You are correct that under English and Welsh law you have to submit a claim with in 3 years of the accident date. However, depending on the circumstances this deadline can be removed. This may be due to factors such as degeneration of the injury, which may change the nature of the case.

Hope this helps. If you are outside England or Wales, let me know and I will post another reply.

Paul

Hi Paul,

You are correct, I am from and residing in the UK. I am sorry if I caused confusion by posting those US sites for Carole re Taxes, I was just trying to be helpful! lol..

Thank you very much for your reply. Your explanation re: circumstances affecting the deadline, was very helpful. I am sorry to ask such a rudimentary question! It just seemed that we were told a different time scale at different times during Professional guidance pertaining to Record keeping.

Thanks again,

Take care,

K

No confusion, thanks for the reply.

Speak soon.

Paul

Hello

you mentioned that you work internationally. I'm from Albania, do you think you can be of help over here?

Hi,

If you drop me some details I will be as much help as I can. Is Albania an EU member state at the moment?

Paul

hello

no Albania is not part of the European Union still however it is part of the European Council if that helps.

I've had my accident during some political crisis in my country from a gunshot but as everybody had weapons it's impossible to identify the person who did that. I had no life insurance so I wonder on what grounds could I bring the claim. I am quadraplegic as a result and have suffered additionally also from clinical negligence if that can help.

I will conduct some research on this basis and email you before the weekend. Does that sound ok?

Hi Paul...

In regard to the statute of limitations issue:

Is there such a thing as 'point of discovery', in terms of finding out 10+ years later that a previous surgery was ill-advised and resulted in ongoing and progressive degeneration of function?

I had contacted an attorney a couple of years ago, but was told that I had waited too long. The thing is, I didn't know seven years post-op what harm had been done. My current neuro-surgeon said that the surgery in question should never have been performed, based on the fact that I had no symptoms that would justify this type of surgery.

Thank you for any thoughts on this...

Hi Joed,

Am I correct to assume that the attorney that you consulted with was within your state and was a specialist in assisting with spinal injury as a result of clinical negligence?

Paul

Yes it sounds OK I will be looking forward to it

Yes, the attorney practiced within my state, however I believe he specialized in medical malpractice in general, not specifically specializing in spinal injury cases.

I have a question, if you don't mind.

I'm in North Carolina, USA. My SCI was caused by a hit-and-run. The highway patrol officer that was assigned to my case went on a week's vacation the day after I was hit, and no one was reassigned to my case, which means that there was absolutely no action other than an accident report. They didn't even get a statement from the person that called 911 to report that I was lying on the side of the road. I was told later by a criminal justice student that I should go after the highway patrol for negligence or some such thing, but I don't know....

Any thoughts? Do you have any idea what the time frame on something like this would be?

Hey Paul thanks for introducing yourself. Welcome aboard and keep in touch!

hi paul one of the big problems i see with people suing is you are trying to proove your to a insurance company your life will be shit & you are usless. often they are advised to fail with work to help validate claim . the process takes so long by the time you receive a big payout lots of people actually beleive it. if insurance co's gave a decent initial payout people could get on & realize their true potential much earlier

Hi Andrew,

I often come across situations where people have not received the correct financial assistance quickly enough as their situation has not been understood correctly. In the UK a lawyer will very quickly be able to secure interim payments once he or she has taken a case on in order to support their client. Spinal injury cases do take a long time to settle due to the complexities involved, but a good lawyer should support their client from day 1.

Paul

Hi Cheshire,

Sorry I have only just seen your post. How long ago was the accident and do you have a lawyer who is advising you?

Thanks

Paul

Incident was October 2006. No, I don't have a lawyer. I kinda got screwed out of the money to get one. Another story, and I've been told there's nothing I can do to get the money back. (Got screwed on a 5-digit medical bill.)

Hi Cheshire,

Was your accident in North Carolina? I can do some digging to see what I can find if you like?

Paul

HI PAUL!

My name is Emily and I'm 23 and had a C6 spinal scord injury from a MVA in 2001. I am in Michigan, USA. It's tricky here because my insurance is "no fault auto insurance" that pays for my medical care. When I was first injured my insurace bought an accessable van and we signed a contract with them that they would provide a new one after 7 years. Well, my parents signed with out a lawyer present beause they didn't know ad were very overwhelmed at that time. Well the contract actually said, they would "consider" the replacment of my vehicle after 7 years. Now they say there is absolutely no way they will help with that cost now!

I feel blessed to have had a vehicle purchased for me to begin with, and wouldn't nessisarily be worrying about replacing it too much, however....My van has had MAJOR problems this past year. ...Stalling out, door not opening or closing, computer hand controls shutting off mid drive. It really isn't safe for me to drive because I could get stuck somewhere alone. Also I am a student and do not have the money to buy a van myself or keep up with taking it in every week to the shop!

Do you have any reccomendations for lawyers in Michigan who have won cases with no fault auto and had a sute specifically against State Farm Insurance?

Thank you!

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your situation. I will take a look at your state and see if I can help or provide some advice.

Hope this ok.

Paul

Hi Paul, my name is Kelli, my son David was in a motorcycle accident Oct. 2004 that left him paralysed from the chin down and ventilator depentent. We had a lawyer that was only able to get a settlement of 10,000.00 because the officer who wrote the accident report didn't include some vital infomation that may have helped prove that the other party was partially at fault. They said it was David's fault.

FAST FORWARD TO MARCH, 2007. David was on the edge of death due to an intestinal blockage. 5 ft of intestine were removed, he was in the hospital for 2 months and just doesn't seem to be the same as before.
Prior to his acute condition I took him to 2 local hospitals where he was admitted for pnemonia. When admitted to the 2nd hospital, they called it pnemonia too. But failed to pay attention to his huge bloated stomach, severe stomach pain and a very strange secretion coming from his G-tube location. I asked them several times to look at his stomach, no one did. I even had a gastro specialist check him. She said the G-tube site was streched out and he needed a larger one. Never once did they take an x-ray, sonogram or anything. They sent him home on antibiotics. He continued to become worse, the pain was unbearable. I finally called for an ambulance and they took him to another local hospital. His stomach was so bloated that when I tried to pull liquid from his G-tube to find some relief, what I got was pure blood. Shortly after he became completely unresponsive due to the poison in his system. He was rushed to a trama center (Loma Linda, CA in the USA) where I was told his chance of survival was dim. His youth (18), strength and the good lord helped him pull through.
I feel that the first 2 Hospitals were grossly negligent. Can you help?
Thank you, Kelli Haggerty (David's Mom)

Hi paul, my son was injured 7 weeks ago and his injury is T3-4 don;t know whether complete or not yet but he is paralysed from his nipple line down at the moment. He was travelling to work in a van driven by his dad. A car ended up broad side in front of the van, the driver died instantly. My husband suffered a broken arm and fingers and swelling to his chest, my son was asleep in the back of the van without a seat bealt on! he had a fractured skull in 3 places, broken ribs, smashed collar bone, broken ear bone leaving him deaf in one ear, broken ribs, ruptured spleen which has been removed along with his appendix. A broken neck and back, he has titanum rods and plates to secure his spine. My question is, we have very little money so ciaran will need some sort of compensation to allow him to live some sort of life after the accident, will he be entitled to a claim even though he was not wearing a seat belt. also there is going to be an inquiry because the driver of the car died although the police have said it is conclusive it was his fault, should we wait till after the inquiry or what do we do and how do we set the ball rolling.

Hi Nuna,

This is something I, or another lawyer should be able to help with. Indeed, I have recently settled a spinal injury case where my client was not wearing a seatbelt. I will send you an email with some information and links to allow you to complete some research. Please feel free to contact me at any time.

Paul

Hi Kelli,

Thanks for the message, you have clearly had a terrible time. Were the first 2 hospitals both in CA?

Paul

Yes, both are in California and in the area where I live. The first was Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville CA, and the second was St. Mary's Medical Center in Apple Valley CA. I may not have a case with Desert Valley because David's stomach issues were just beginning. However, St. Mary's hospital is the focus of the negligence. I have pictures of David in their emergency room showing his stomach and the yellowish-blue liquid coming from his G-tube. I understand I only have one year after the incident to bring a case to the tabe.

Kelli

Hi Nuna,

Just a message to let you know that I have sent some information to your inbox on the forum. If for some reason this has not arrived please let me know and I will resend. Please feel free to conatct me at any time.

Paul

Hi Paul,
I have a questions and it is not about a spinal injury case. We have a lawyer on a contract dispute, I refer to him as "good for nothing." I had to call and practically harass him to get him to file the lawsuit so the statute of limitation did not run out. This has been going on since June of 2006. All we need to do is negotiate a settlement, how do we get him off his butt? Just so I can tell my husband I was right, there is a statute of limitation on a employment contract right? Should this be taking this long or am I just impatient?

Hi All,

Just to let everyone that I am gathering information for, that I am still working on your behalf. Working across internation boundaries is quite a long process, but I will provide all of the information as soon as I have compiled it.

Hope everyone is well.

Paul

I like that, "clinical negligence." I suppose this is what happened to me. Thirteen doctors and only 2 really had a clue.

Susi,

Just posting to let you know that I received your email over night. I will look through the content as you have requested.

Paul

Hi Mr Breen,

I am recently semi-paralysed as a result of a hernia operation performed in Belgium.

I'm looking for any information/academic papers about the correlation between delay in operating and the degree of eventual damage sustained.

I wonder if you could suggest or send me any academic articles that deal with this question?

More info:

I live in Belgium where I was left to wait for an operation for 23 hours after I began to lose feeling/movement in my legs in the hospital's A+E. This was noted by the nursing staff but my surgeon was not informed.
The research that I've been able to access seems to indicate that the 'golden opportunity' is to operate within 6 to 8 hours of paralysis being observed. I'm now looking for evidence that supports this view. This is necessary for my court case for compensation here in Belgium.

Any articles, published papers or links to further sites would be much appreciated. The problem is that much research is only available to medical institutions, libraries etc, not to me as an individual...

As I said; any help will be most welcome.

Thank you for your time.

Yours,
John Lewis