A jury in Florida has awarded Manos Milien $33.1 million for his Broward County car accident injuries. The 62-year-old became a quadriplegic after the 1996 Toyota Corolla that he was a passenger in was rear-ended by a 2004 Kia Sedona driven by Ponte Vedra Beach resident Wendy Whitney. The catastrophic South Florida car crash occurred on December 31, 2008 at around 2:40 am near Deerfield Beach on Interstate 95. Milien, who now lives in the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation in Wauchula, cannot live independently and requires extensive nursing care.
Broward Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips is expected to readjust the amount of compensatory damages awarded to Milien down to $31.4 million. This is account for the fact that the jury found Milien 5% at fault for not wearing a seat belt at the time of the Florida car accident happened.
Spinal Cord Injury
Quadriplegia is a type of spinal cord injury that involves paralysis to the four limbs. A person with quadriplegia usually needs specialized medical care and nursing assistance, which can be very costly. If the SCI is “incomplete,” a quadriplegic may experience some movement or feeling in the impacted areas. If the SCI is a “complete” one, then he/she will likely experience no movement or feeling below the injury level.
Some people with quadriplegia may need the help of an electrical implant or a ventilator to breathe. Health complications, such as skin breakdown, bedsores, fractures, osteoporosis, infection, aspiration, pneumonia, atelectasis, heterotopic ossification, spasticity, autonomic dysreflexia, deep vein thrombosis, cardiovascular disease, neuropathic pain, syringomyelia, and respiratory dysfunction can occur. Common causes of Florida spinal cord injuries include car accidents, fall accidents, sporting events, gunshot wounds, physical violence, and birth defects.
Jury awards $33.1 million to man left paralyzed in Broward crash, SunSentinel, November 10, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Living With a Spinal Cord Injury – Overview, WebMD
What is Quadriplegia?, Spinal Injury Network