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What’s that spell? Paralysis.

Cheering might seem like it is all about good looking people dancing and doing tricks, but in reality, it cheerleading is considered one of the most dangerous sports and can cause paralysis more frequently than you might think.

Our firm’s experienced paralysis attorneys have seen so many instances of spinal cord injuries (SCI) that happen due to atheletics, but were surprised that an activity most usually do not consider a sport had the potential to cause paralysis as easily as contact sports.  A study by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) showed that in 2008 there was 30,000 cases of cheerleaders admitted to the emergency room with some type of personal injury directly related to their sport.

Between 1982 and 2008, there were 73 accounts of catastrophic injuries reported due to cheerleading accidents that left cheerleaders with physical disabilities, including paralysis, compared to the nine catastrophic injuries from gymnastics chronicled during the same time period.  Of the 73 cheerleading injuries, two resulted in wrongful deaths.

One paralysis accident that garnished the attention of the public was that of high school cheerleader, Patty Phommanyvong, who’s injury during a routine caused her breathing to stop.  Phommanyvong’s parents filed a lawsuit against her former school because their defibrillator stopped working, leaving the cheerleader without oxygen for 45 minutes.  The result was a significant brain injury that left Phommanyvong to live with paralysis, permanently, for the rest of her life.

The paralysis attorneys who work at our firm know that it might sound ironic, but the outlook for recovery from paralysis is fairly good and things like sports and fitness can help those, like Phommanyvong, overcome their physical condition.  Cheering is supposed to be something that makes people happy and gets them excited to watch sports, but now, hopefully you know how dangerous and potentially life threatening it is.

If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident and suffered a spinal cord injury or paralysis, we urge you to contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible following the accident at 1-858-551-2090 or please click here for a free consultation with an experienced paralysis lawyer.  We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing until we recover money on your behalf.