ODU PLAYER’S BROTHER PARALYZED IN AUTO ACCIDENT

Old Dominion tackle DJ Morrell is excited that his brother will get to see him play college football for the first time. Brian was paralyzed in a car accident, so the Make-A-Wish foundation is stepping in to make the trip from Norwalk, Connecticut to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania possible.

Their single mother raised D.J. Morrell and his brother in Norwalk, Connecticut. At age 14, Brian was diagnosed with a failing heart and nearly died a few times before receiving a heart transplant that finally gave him the ability to lead a normal life.

But, in November 2012, he was a passenger in a one-car crash with a telephone pole that left him paralyzed. Today, he can only move his hands slightly and stays at a nearby rehab facility since the accident.

Motor vehicle accidents are responsible for 311,000 of the 1.2 million people suffering from spinal cord injuries in the U.S. Spinal cord injuries are responsible for 23 percent of all paralysis cases. Average yearly expenses for spinal cord injuries can range from $228,566 to $775,567 in the first year. The average 25-year-old suffering from a spinal cord injury will spend an estimated $681,843 to more than $3 million for care over their lifetime.

Research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that teen drivers are three times more likely to be involved in motor vehicle crashes than older drivers. The risk of crash goes up with the number of teen passengers in the car. Male drivers ages 16 to 19 are the most likely to be involved in car accidents.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, call the Connecticut auto accident attorneys at The Pickel Law Firm.