When bicycles and automobiles collide, there is no dispute about which party fares worse. For all their benefits, bikes don’t provide any external protection to the rider, and they are far smaller and lighter than cars, trucks and SUVs.
For all of these reasons and more, bicyclists constantly need to contend with the possibility of permanent disability if they are struck by an inattentive or otherwise negligent driver. Spinal injuries and paralysis are serious dangers, and modern medicine has yet to offer effective remedies to these problems. At least, that was the case until recently. The results of an exciting study may be especially good news for anyone who has lost use of parts of their body due to a spinal injury (in a bicycle accident or otherwise).
Discovery prompts hope and excitement
In a recently published article in the journal Nature Immunology, joint teams of researchers announced the discovery an immune cell line that could possibly repair nerve damage in the spinal cord and in the optic nerve. The cell exists in both humans and mice, and lab studies on mice have so far proven to be very promising.
How long research and development will take and how useful this discovery will be are obviously unknowable at this point. However, anyone who suffers from a spinal injury knows just how devastating they can be as well as just how rare medical breakthroughs are in this area. Anything that could restore function or otherwise improve quality of life would be a game-changer for those who have been injured.
Advocating for bicycle accident victims
Most people tend to focus on property damage when they think of automobile accidents. But the highest costs and the most unaffordable losses are the injuries and disabilities resulting from crashes. This is especially true for bicyclists and pedestrians, who are far more likely to suffer serious injury and death in a collision with a car or truck.
When bicyclists are struck, they can easily suffer devastating injuries, including spinal cord damage, paralysis and traumatic brain injury. Not only are these injuries life-altering, they are also incredibly expensive to treat. That’s one of the reasons why our firm fights so hard on behalf of bicycle accident victims. We want to ensure they have the resources they need to live as normally as possible following a tragic injury.
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a bicycle accident in the Los Angeles area, contact our office to discuss your case with an attorney who has the experience, skill and resources to help.