When we think of the men and women who serve our country, it usually involves the military and troops overseas, but we must not forget those who serve our neighborhoods and communities with the same risk of injury, including spinal cord injuries.

In that light, the Great Falls Tribune wrote an article about former Missoula police sergeant who passed away after living with paralysis for 12 years after a gun shot wound struck his spinal cord in 1998.  He was 47-years-old.

Our San Diego paralysis attorneys know that living with paralysis is no easy task to accomplish.  Most of the time, someone diagnosed with a spinal cord injury and become quadriplegic, as he was, is only expected to live on average for 10 years.  Instead, this man surpassed all odds and lived a full 12 years after his paralysis.

In 1998, this man pursued a suspected check forger near a downtown Missoula bank and was critically wounded by a gun shot to his spinal column.  The assailant — now serving a life sentence behind bars — was caught one year later and found guilty of attempting to murder a police officer.

He never recovered from his quadriplegia — meaning, he was paralyzed from his neck-down — in a physical sense, but his fellow officers in blue describe him as a resilient individual who kept hunting, fishing, and fitness training in the wild out-doors as part of his routine.  No matter that a gun shot shattered his spinal cord.

Most of us would do anything to avoid a spinal cord injury, but as our San Diego paralysis attorneys can tell you, there are men and women who put themselves in harms way to make a living.  Our firm wants to salute this Sergeant for his time in the line of active duty as a police officer.

If you or a loved one have suffering a spinal cord injury, 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 spinal cord injury lawyer. Our initial telephone or office consultation is FREE and CONFIDENTIAL. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you do not pay anything until we recover money on your behalf.

Your Take

Do you have any stories about brave police officers in the line of duty, who received spinal cord injuries while doing their job to protect others?