Delivering The Help You Need

Diving injuries can change your life in a second

| Mar 30, 2018 | Spinal Cord Injuries

During the summer, your social media feeds are likely full of pictures of people diving into pools, lakes and rivers. They dive from docks, boats, decks and diving boards. It always looks like harmless summer fun.

That’s not always the case. A diving accident can change your life in a second flat.

One young woman told her story about going down a homemade slip-and-slide that was fashioned out of a tarp. At the bottom was a ramp that threw people into the air, and they landed in the water. She watched other people do it before deciding to go down herself.

The water was not as deep as she thought it was, and she broke her neck when she hit. This paralyzed her immediately, and the Coast Guard had to pull her from the water. She was taken to one hospital that was was ill-equipped to deal with the severity of the injury, so she was airlifted to another.

She spent an entire two months in that facility. She needed major surgery. She had to do months of daily therapy. Her entire life changed, all because of that one dive.

This is more common than many people realize. Per the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, diving is the fifth leading cause of injuries to the spinal cord for women. For men, it ranks fourth. In a state like Georgia, with warm weather for far longer than northern states like Michigan, the risks are very high.

If you suffer a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, make sure you know all of your legal options to seek compensation. Medical bills can be incredibly high, and injuries can be life-changing.

Source: Shepherd Center, “Diving Injury,” accessed March 30, 2018

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