Texas woman breaks neck, back in turbulence

[Rubberbiscuit]

Texas Woman Breaks Neck, Back In Airplane Turbulence
Doctor: 'Passenger Has Same Injuries As Christopher Reeve'
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
April 21, 2009



A woman who was paralyzed after disobeying warnings to remain in her seat during a turbulent flight over Texas has suffered the same type of catastrophic injuries as the late Christopher Reeve, according to her doctor.
Lawyer says his client didn't get "high standard of care" during turbulence.

"She is paralyzed from the nipples to her toes," said Dr. Trey Fulp, the spinal surgeon who will perform a second operation today on the passenger at the McAllen Medical Center in McAllen, Tex. The woman was one of two passengers and one crew member on Continental flight 511 from Houston to McAllen who were injured early Saturday morning in mid-flight.

Fulp described the severity of the passenger's injury as a "hangman's fracture," a term used to describe the neck break commonly seen in patients who hang themselves.


Fulp's wife, Kathy Fulp, was one of the first nurses to treat the patient. She told ABCNews.com that the 47-year-old Spanish-speaking woman, whom she declined to identify by name, suffered a broken back at the thoracic level and a fracture between the C1 and C2 vertebrae in her neck, the same injury that left Reeve paralyzed after falling off his horse in 1995.

"She had gotten up and gone to the bathroom," said Fulp. "When she was in the bathroom the flight apparently hit turbulence and she was thrown to the ceiling, which is how she got the C1 C2 fracture. Then she was thrown back against the toilet, which broke her back."

It was not immediately known if she will be able to walk again.

Kathy Fulp said that flight attendants rushed to the passenger's side and moved her into the aisle of the aircraft for the remainder of the approximately 50-minute flight.

The two other individuals were treated for minor injuries, according to Fulp, who said one of them had torn a ligament in her knee. The injuries were sustained during the descent of the aircraft, approximately 15 minutes before landing.

Mary Clarke, a spokeswoman for Continental Airlines, confirmed that three individuals from Flight 511, en route from George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport to the McAllen-Miller International Airport, had been taken to the local hospital after being injured in the turbulence.

Storms in the Houston area had delayed the flight several hours and had caused major delays for both inbound and outbound aircraft.

[Widow]

Ouch. A frightening reminder of why staying seated and belted whenever possible is advised.

[200hr Wonder]

And now the dumb *** EDITED *** is gunna sue for not listening to instructions!

[Inverted2]

She's not going to be doing a whole lot of anything with a C1 vertabrae fracture.......

[shamrock104]

And as she is in the States she will probably get something too. Theres probably going to be some sort of small print or clause saying that the flight attendants were at fault for not making her sit down and belt up. Anywhere else and she would be told to take a hike.

[crazy_aviator]

George Busch houston international airport ? Give me a break !!! They should name a morgue in Iraq after him and his daddy !!!!!

[mcconnell14]

I was on a skyservice flight 3 years ago, and there was some turbulance and ya some was pretty heavy., well the captain had the belt sign on..the FA's would not allow ANYONE to get up to use the washrooms i mean ANYONE! not even first couple rows near the bathroom, the light went off every once in a while (only about 30 mins total for the 3.5 hour flight) i guess they didnt wanna risk injury/lawsuits... there wernt any T-storms tho. just some rain as we departed punta cana.

[deflux]

I have a nice bump on my head from trying to take a leak on an RJ a couple weeks ago. We hit a nice bump and I slammed into the ceiling.

Maybe if people start sueing airlines for this then the seatbelt sign is going to remain on at all times and they might even stop allowing people out of their seats...

[200hr Wonder]

Then someone will sue for getting a deep vein thrombosis.

[Louis]

(The following assumes the bit about this passenger disobeying to the seatbelt sign to be exact.)

If this idiot and her ambulance chasing pet shark gets their way...

Are there going to be seatbelts added to the lav seats? Or are they going to hand out adult diapers prior to boarding?

On a more serious note: The lawyer is quoted talking about "insufficient standard of care". I don't believe much more could have been done in any airliner, other than divert, which wasn't an option given they already were pretty close to destination. (I'm not a doctor, but afaik, there's not much that can be done for this sort of injury once it has occured period.)

[Louis]

Maybe if people start sueing airlines for this then the seatbelt sign is going to remain on at all times and they might even stop allowing people out of their seats...

Imagine all the weight and fuel savings from removing the lavs and associated plumbing and tanks. Plus you could always stuff a few more pax in there.

[Widow]

If there was indeed an ignored warning, the pax was the one with an "insufficient standard of care".

[VikVaughan]

Are there going to be seatbelts added to the lav seats?

I think they ought to just add one of these as standard equipment on every plane and tell these sue happy obtusians to take a hike.

[Wilbur]

Is there a good reason for there not being a restraint system for the lavs? It's great to turn on the seatbelt sign, but would you really expect someone to piss or crap themselves in their seat if they become incapable of waiting any longer? If they know some people will need to use the lav no matter what, they have to do what can reasonably be done to mitigate the risks.

[Nark]

Hygiene.

Is your aim perfect during a lite chop?

[VikVaughan]

Is there a good reason for there not being a restraint system for the lavs? It's great to turn on the seatbelt sign, but would you really expect someone to piss or crap themselves in their seat if they become incapable of waiting any longer? If they know some people will need to use the lav no matter what, they have to do what can reasonably be done to mitigate the risks.

-How would it work when you're standing up to pee?
-What about the trip between your seat and the lav?
-I can't fathom how many wieners would make contact with some sort of toilet seatbelt or how many people would piss all over it/leave it half hanging in the toilet.

I think a little hershey squirt beats a broken neck!

[Wilbur]

A restraint system doesn't need to be a conventional seat belt. I'm sure some cleaver engineer could devise something different.

[VikVaughan]

Perhaps a pair of floor based "shoe belts". Works standing up and sitting down, easy to use, no mess!

Its mine! I'm calling the patent office, none of you bastards better steal my idea!

[culver10]

How about magnetic gravity boots, or super velcro shoes?

[Wilbur]

The key word was "clever," which of course rules me out on account of my spelling.

[VikVaughan]

The key word was "clever," which of course rules me out on account of my spelling.

[Prairie Chicken]

Hygiene.

Is your aim perfect during a lite chop?

Sailors sit down to pee.