X-rays of the comminuted fracture in Carol Shuler's arm, showing it broke into more than two pieces. |
We've already shown that Carol was seat-belted and restrained in the patrol car, so she was not able to flail about. But even if she had, her injuries are not consistent with any form of self abuse. They are consistent with trauma, and that's why they required trauma surgery (not orthopedic surgery) for repair.
We recently obtained a copy of Carol's records from Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri, where her broken arm was diagnosed and treated. An individual who is knowledgeable about such cases instructed us to look for any notations about a "spiral" fracture, which involves a twisting action and could not be caused by bumping about in a vehicle. It turns out that Carol's records show her injuries were significantly worse than a spiral fracture. (A document from her medical records is embedded at the end of this post.)
Here are findings from an exam at 5:25 p.m. on 9/9/15, the date of our eviction and Carol's injuries. Dr. Jock D. Porter ordered the X-rays, with interpretation from Dr. Kan Ying:
Bones: A large comminuted fracture involving the distal humeral metaphysis. The distal fracture is displaced medially for about 3.5 cm and posteriorly for about 6 mm. There could also be overlapping between proximal and distal fragements for about 15 mm.
These are not words you want to see on your medical chart. They mean your arm has met with violence of a traumatic nature. Consider the definition of a "comminuted fracture:"
A comminuted fracture is a break or splinter of the bone into more than two fragments. Since considerable force and energy is required to fragment bone, fractures of this degree occur after high-impact trauma such as in vehicular accidents.
External fixation devices such as splints and casts are usually inadequate in treating this type of fracture. Repairing a comminuted fracture often requires open surgery to restructure the bone to normal anatomy.
In a spiral fracture, the bone is broken into two or fewer pieces, and surgery usually is not required:
You may develop a spiral fracture pattern in the humerus due to some twisting injuries. You develop it in the shaft of the humerus when you lock your lower arm or have it trapped in machinery while the body rotates. Similarly, direct twisting forces applied during arm wrestling or throwing may also cause a spiral fracture in humerus.
Into how many pieces did Carol's arm break? We have posted X-rays that show at least three distinct pieces. Members of her treatment team told us her injury involved a pulverizing action that left a large number of tiny bone fragments. Some of these were preserved and put back into place for healing, others had to be washed away. It's likely that Carol's bone broke into several dozen pieces; we just don't know. We do know that it was much worse than a spiral fracture.
We also know this type of injury is not seen very often. People hurt themselves from banging into stuff all the time. They don't hurt themselves this way very often; this kind of injury is inflicted upon them:
Distal humerus fractures are uncommon; they account for just about 2 percent of all adult fractures. They can occur on their own, with no other injuries, but can also be a part of a more complex elbow injury.
A "more complex elbow injury?" Yes, the kind where a thuggish cop almost rips your arm off at the elbow -- and then his colleagues lie about it.
Whew, it hurts just to read this. Can't imagine the pain Carol must have been in.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of lowlife do you have to be to break someone's arm like this and then try to blame it on the victim?
ReplyDelete@9:21 --
ReplyDeleteThe kind of lowlife who becomes a cop?
Geez, it hurts just to look at that X-ray.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a pretty stupid cop to think people will believe the BS story they made up about this.
ReplyDeleteLS, you taught me a new word today. A "comminuted" break of the arm means it broke into 2 or more segments. Don't think I want one of those.
ReplyDeleteWrite to the doctors who treated her and ask to speak about the cause.
ReplyDeleteHandcuffing is not usually associated with this type of fracture, but falls (in this case a fall caused by force) are.
She was slammed to the ground and she probably received a direct blow to the elbow when she made contact with the ground,or reflexively braced with her hand. This type of injury is often associated with even relatively low energy falls in person's Carols age.
Handcuffing fractures are possible but they usually affect the wrist or break MUCH higher on the arm (Not the distal humerus.)
You were smart to get the medical records. This will blow the cops' story all to hell.
ReplyDelete@10:25 --
ReplyDeleteWho are you, and what makes you an expert on such injuries? Were you there, did you see what was done to Carol? I was, and I did. A cop grabbed her around the shoulders, from behind (she didn't see him coming), and for no reason (in cops' own words, she wasn't threatening anyone) slammed her butt-first to the ground. She did not receive a blow to the elbow while being slammed and she did not reflexively brace we her hand. Her arm was intact when she hit the ground. It broke when a cop violently grabbed her just above the elbow (on both arms) and yanked in an upward and back direction while she still was seated on the ground. Carol's arm was fine when she hit the ground, and it already was broken when she was placed in the squad car.
It wasn't necessarily broken while handcuffs were being placed on her. But it was broken during the process of putting handcuffs on her -- the yanking on her arms to get them upward into a position for handcuffing. To make matters even worse, there were no grounds for handcuffing. The prosecutor's documents -- probable cause statement and misdemeanor information -- show she had committed no crime.
On top of that, the cops had no lawful grounds to be on the rented property. If you are smart enough to know about comminuted fractures, you surely know the cops had no grounds to be on the property; they violated our Fourth Amendment rights up one side and down the other. You do know that, correct?
We've already spoken to multiple doctors, multiple times. We've got their words in medical records. Nowhere do they say Carol has weak bones or that her injuries were due to a "fall." No matter how many times you try to pull that act out of your fanny, it's going to fail because it does not square with verifiable facts.
I'm familiar with a spiral fracture, the one caused by a twisting motion. I've had one of those, and it caused huge pain. I can't imagine how bad it must be to go through a comminuted fracture. Sounds horrible.
ReplyDelete@10:25 --
ReplyDeleteYou have to be a lawyer. Only a lawyer, who wasn't there, would be arrogant enough to try to tell an eye witness what happened.
Agreed, @1:13. Only a lawyer would be arrogant enough to act like an expert in a professsion -- radiology -- that he likely knows nothing about.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of police brutality and stupidity, get a load of this horrible story out of Minnesota. Can't comprehend how this can happen:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2017/07/16/us/australian-woman-shot-minneapolis/index.html
@2:30 --
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable story. Thanks for sharing. Like you, I can't imagine how a woman calls cops about disturbance in alley behind her residence, and the idiot cops wind up shooting her. From the story:
"At some point one of the officers fired a weapon, killing the woman. The officers were wearing body cameras but they were not turned on during the incident, the mayor said."
Gee, that doesn't sound suspicious.
This is from the root.com:
ReplyDelete"Details of what exactly happened that night remain murky, but three sources with knowledge of the incident told the Tribune that two officers in one squad car pulled into the alley in response to the 911 call. Damond, who was in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and spoke to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat then pulled his gun and shot Damond—a yoga and meditation teacher—through the driver’s side door, the sources told the Tribune. No weapon was found at the scene."
The woman had called the cops to report a possible assault outside her residence, and was in her pajamas, and a cop shot HER. How on earth does this happen? Actually, given the cops I've interacted with over past 4 years, I can see how this happened. But it's still unreal.
http://www.theroot.com/australian-native-fatally-shot-by-minneapolis-police-af-1796976921?utm_source=theroot_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Look, if a guy comes in you apartment an pushes you hard off tht back deck, do you hang in mid air, ot fall? The fall part doesn't mean Carol tripped over her own feet or was walking along and fell. So get over that, what is significant is that it is that event of landing from an unbroken descent to ground...and you say yourself she was knocked down.
ReplyDeleteCarol does have the bones of a post menopausal woman, and they are necessarily thinner and more brittle than a health 25 yos. She does have an older persons bones, and probably some demineralization typical in thyroid conditions. You have stated she wasn't even treating her thyroid condition.
That doesn't mean the police were right to knock her down, or that they didn't cause her injury. But her injury is not the kind usually caused by handcuffing.
@7:09 --
ReplyDeleteLook, you are full of feces -- and you don't even realize it.
(1) What you describe is an assault, not a fall. And that's what happened to Carol. She was assaulted, by a cop. Just because a cop did it does not make it any less of an assault. That's why your con game is so stupid and offensive. My wife was assaulted, and you are playing games with it. Go to hell, fella. I guess that's how you've many your "career" as a lawyer -- playing games with the suffering of others. You are a worthless sack of manure.
(2) You don't have the foggiest idea what kinds of bones Carol has. She has never been diagnosed with any bone issue, the doctors who treated her for these injuries never said she had a bone issue, and you have no clue what you are talking about. For the record, you don't know a thing about thyroid conditions. Carol has hypo-thyroid (under active), which does not affect the bones. She does NOT have hyper-thyroid (over active), which can affect the bones.
(3) Since you seem to be unusually dense, I will repeat: Carol's arm was not broken while handcuffs were being placed on her. It was broken while her arms were being yanked, with her sitting on the ground, to get into position for handcuffing. That is part of the medical records. Sorry, but those are the facts, and you can't change them.
You are wildly wrong and uneducated on every point. At least you are consistent. You are wrong and a con artist every time you write a comment.
@7:09 --
ReplyDeleteA final point I forgot. The police did not "knock" Carol down. They slammed her to the ground, from behind, where she landed butt-first. I know facts don't matter to you, but they matter to me.
The law also matters to me, and I notice that you did not address the issue I raised above -- that cops were unlawfully on the property, on 5-6 different grounds. You are always trying to tell me what to do, so I will tell you what to do. Address this issue: Do you realize the cops had no lawful grounds to be on the property that day? Do you understand the role that landlord Trent Cowherd and lawyers Craig Lowther and David Shuler apparently played in causing cops to be present without legal justification?
Let's quit hearing your stuff about falls, which is established BS. Let's see if you understand tenant/landlord law, that the eviction was contrary to Missouri law on more grounds than I can count on one hand.
@7:09 --
ReplyDeleteDude, making claims that a woman is post-menopausal, when you don't know her, is downright creepy. It's also extremely bad form. Makes me think you are a douche to the extreme. More than that, you come across as a sexist pig. Why don't you share the latest results of your prostate exam. Asshole.