Robot Helps NY Woman Injured in Fall

1/26/2011
Randy Appleton
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Robot Helps New York (NY) Woman Injured in Fall

The Post-Standard reports that a robot at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York (NY), is helping a disabled woman relearn how to walk.

In 2009, the 45-year-old woman was partially paralyzed after falling down a flight of stairs. The damage she sustained to her spinal cord during the fall left her unable to walk, and she has used a wheelchair ever since. At Upstate's outpatient rehabilitation unit, however, she was hooked up to the Lokomat, a new robotic walking therapy device.

The device suspends the patient in a harness over a treadmill, while computer-controlled braces on the person's legs move him or her in a natural walking motion. Lokomat is designed to help patients learn how to walk again after spinal cord injuries, strokes, traumatic brain injuries, or neurological diseases such as cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis.

Made by Hocoma, a Swiss company, there are 85 Lokomats in the United States. In New York at present, Upstate and the VA Medical Center in the Bronx are the only hospitals using the device.

What an amazing scientific contribution: a robot that can help people walk. We wish the best of luck to this courageous patient, and hope her rehabilitation continues to progress in a positive manner. However, in the interest of preventing terrible accidents like the one that left her disabled, be especially careful when walking up and down steps. Keep your eye out for surfaces that are slippery or in poor repair, and seek treating for injuries promptly. If you feel that your accident was the fault of someone else's negligence, seek legal advice as soon as possible.

IW

Category: Brain Damage/Head Injuries

Labels: accident Appleton Attorney compensation legal negligence NY patient robot slip and fall spinal cord injury Syracuse traumatic brain injury victim

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a VA injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have experience handling cases brought by victims of traumatic brain injury and closed head injuries. In fact, in 2000, our firm helped a plaintiff receive what was then the largest verdict ever in a Virginia brain injury case. Then in the year 2012 we won a $21 million brain injury verdict. We also have a blog in which we discuss only topics related to brain injuries and head wounds.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been named to the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008.Shapiro and Lewis have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2008. Fewer than 5 percent of lawyers receive this professional honor. In addition, our firm was the first in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our VA injury law firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.
We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia, including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Suffolk and Newport News if you or a family member has been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. While not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.

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Robot Helps New York (NY) Woman Injured in Fall

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