Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Spinal cord injuries and gunshots:
The [1]Reuters story I mentioned [2]below reports:
Amy Sisley, an emergency room doctor at the University of Maryland
Medical Center, speaking on behalf of Physicians for Social
Responsibility . . . said 90 percent of spinal cord injuries in the
United States are caused by gunshot wounds and noted that $1.8
billion a year is spent on spinal cord injuries.
On the other hand, the [3]Spinal Cord Injury Information Network,
hosted at the University of Alabama, reports that acts of violence
caused [4]11.2% of spinal cord injuries (presumably a smaller
percentage comes from acts of violence that involve firearms). The
[5]Centers for Disease Control likewise gives data inconsistent with
the 90% figure:
The leading causes of [spinal cord injury] vary by age. Among
persons under age 65, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause.
Among persons over 65, falls cause most SCIs.
Many thanks to Nancy Johnson and another reader for the pointers.
References
1.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=3&u=/nm/20040907/ts_nm/congress_guns_dc
2. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2004_09_07.shtml#1094703539
3. http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=21446
4. http://www.spinalcord.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=25426
5. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/fact_book/25_Spinal_Cord_Injury.htm
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://highsorcery.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
