It is an unfortunately side-effect of spinal cord injuries that those who are living with paralysis are more susceptible to wrongful deaths due to minor accidents that do severe damage to their bodies.

According to The New York Times, the family of a quadriplegic activist is suing National Seating & Mobility Inc after the company’s repairmen accidentally killed their son during routine maintenance.  The family is seeking $10 million in damages to set up a fund for paralysis treatment and finding a cure for those who’ve lost the ability to move on their own.

Our firm’s paralysis lawyers in San Diego know how fragile bodies become after a spinal cord injury.  For those who have quadriplegia, injuries may become fatal if medical treatment is not administered quickly and correctly, making their outlook for recovery grim, but not impossible.

National Seating & Mobility, as stated in the lawsuit, is said to have sent unskilled and under qualified technicians to the home of this man’s home to fix his wheelchair, but instead made the chair “jump”, causing the man’s legs to become pinned under the tabletop where he was seated.  The man experienced severe seizures and died a day later at the hospital.  The lawsuit claims that the technicians should have removed the man from the wheelchair before beginning repairs.

”There’s no reason the wheelchair should have shorted out (during) routine servicing, there’s no reason why the battery should have been connected, there’s no reason [this man] should have been in that chair, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be here today,” said the attorney who is representing the Thompson family.

The man was 29 at the time of his death in 2007 and had been an advocate for disabled accessibility to Massachusetts’ public transportation after being paralyzed in an auto accident 12 years earlier.  Family members say that he was an independent individual who liked to get around on his own and was frustrated that public transportation in his state did not cater to those who are disabled.

Our spinal cord injury lawyers in San Diego believe that no one living with paralysis should have to worry about the company who makes and fixes their wheelchairs and it is a shame that a young man lost his life over such a small mistake.  Hopefully this story will further push for changes in the paralysis community for safety measures to prevent an accident like this from every happening again.

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 in San Diego.  We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing until we recover money on your behalf.