There’s Hope: Our Favorite Spinal Cord Injury Resources

August 13, 2014 | By Greene Broillet & Wheeler

In 2004, Andrew Skinner was in love. He had just graduated from college and was celebrating Thanksgiving at a Lake Arrowhead cabin with his future wife, Kirsten. A fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, so the entire family was outside sledding, snowboarding and making snowmen.

Andrew fell while snowboarding and broke three cervical vertebrae in his neck in addition to suffering a spinal cord injury. He was paralyzed from the neck down.

With the support of his family, Andrew made it through many surgeries and years of rehabilitation. He has gone from being a completely immobile quadriplegic to being able to stand and walk with a walker. Andrew eventually married Kirsten and became a father.

Seeking to inspire others, Andrew and Kirsten started the Triumph Foundation in 2008 and grew it into one of the largest spine injury advocacy organizations in the state. The Triumph Foundation is a valuable resource to those with spine injuries. It provides advice and information and helps injured individuals with purchasing equipment and making their homes wheelchair-accessible.

For more information about Andrew and the Triumph Foundation, visit Triumph-foundation.org.

Five Valuable Spinal Cord Injury Resources

There are many valuable resources and communities for those suffering from spinal cord injuries, including:

1. CareCure Community: CareCure is a disability forum hosted by Rutgers University. CareCure features over 70 forums on disability-related topics, including pain management, advocacy and managing day-to-day life with a disability.
2. Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation: The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injuries and paralysis. In addition to funding research, this organization provides grants, information, and advocacy.
3. Apparelyzed: Apparelyzed is a large website with a wealth of information about spinal cord injury-related topics, including temperature regulation, pain management, and mobility. Apparelyzed also includes a robust peer support forum.
4. United Spinal Association: The goal of the United Spinal Association is to enhance the quality of life of all people who have spinal cord injuries. This organization provides advocacy, guidance, peer support and veterans-related resources.
5. National Spinal Cord Injury Association: The National Spinal Cord Injury Association is a membership program of the United Spinal Association. Members have access to support groups and resources such as publications and advocacy support.

About Greene Broillet & Wheeler’s Spinal Cord Injury Cases

The Triumph Foundation is one of many charitable organizations supported by the legal team at Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP. Our firm is honored to be able to help, in whatever way we can, to support the outstanding work of this organization and to assist in improving the quality of life for so many victims of spinal cord injury.

Our team has represented numerous individuals who have suffered spinal cord injuries. We understand how serious these injuries are and strive to obtain the maximum compensation possible on behalf of our clients.

The attorneys at Greene Broillet have produced more million-dollar verdicts than any law firm in California and have obtained several substantial verdicts in spinal cord injury cases.

Cases won by our firm include:

• Lattanzi v. City of Los Angeles – A case involving a cyclist who became paraplegic after falling over an unguarded retaining wall. This case resulted in a $6.7 million settlement.
• Weidenaar v. State of California – A case involving an inadequately guarded highway median. We obtained a $9 million settlement for our client.
• Mathews v. Goodyear – Our attorneys represented a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who became paraplegic after the tires on his GM Suburban failed. Our case led to a federal investigation that ultimately compelled Goodyear to recall many LRE tires.