FAA Issues Regarding my 4-Wheeler Spinal Injuries

[HighFlyingA380]

The other day, I was stupid and ended up hurting myself during a bad 4-wheeler accident. I flipped over the front of the 4-wheeler and smashed into the ground going 52MPH with no protective gear. I ended up smashing my nose into "countless pieces that couldn't be traditionally fixed" and getting end-plate fractured my T6-T10 thoracic vertebrae. It took me 45 minutes to stumble a couple hundred feet towards the house to get help. Upon notifying others, I got some assistance from local volunteer first responders, then got a Medevac flight from my farm in South-Central Missouri to a Hospital in St. Louis, MO. I was kept for a few days in intensive care to be watched and treated, then released a couple days ago to go home.

I now have only two appointments in about a week to see both a spine and nose specialist, but judging by their previous experiences, nothing worse should develop or become an issue for me.

Obviously I'm grounding myself due to medical, pain, and movement reasons, but what I need to ensure is to what extent I let the FAA know, for both my personal use of my certificate as well as the commercial use of my certificate. Do I need to let them know and have them also ground myself, or is it just up to me to decide on grounding until I determine it's safe to fly? Along with that, I'm taking medicine that's not approved, so is there something I need to report/get approved to fly again after that?

If I just have to wait to report something until my next 8500-8 form (Feb. 2014), how in-depth do I need to report it?

• I'm guessing since I'll be done with medicine in about a week, I won't have anything to input on 17(a)?
• 18(d) - I don't have any permanent vision trouble, but should the temporary trouble from blood and dirt be reported every time now?
• 18(u) - Pretty obvious that one will be filed.
• 19 - Do I need to report every health professional that tended to me? That would be like 30 people to back-track, to include all the primary first responders all the way up to each and every person I've interacted with at the hospital. This is the main one that I need some assistance on so I don't get burnt by the FAA for accidentally omitting some info.

Thanks for any and all help. I just want to make sure I'm ahead of what I need to do, to ensure I don't lose my right to fly after just narrowly avoiding it with my idiotic physical choice. If you have any other input not related to any specifically asked question would be grateful as well, thanks!


P.S, if case you missed the pictures of the "Daily Pic" thread, here's some of the better ones I have of my first (and hopefully only) Medevac flight:

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

No help with your questions, but glad to hear that you are home. I'm sure that feels much better than being in the hospital.

 

[dmspilot]

Wow that's awful. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

The AME guide should be helpful.

For #19, "Multiple visits to one health professional for the same condition may be aggregated on one line."

I would probably just put the name of the hospital.

 

[bbchien]

Not quite enough information. I'd want to see the first responder report(s). But if you recover from the spine injuries without numbess nor power loss, and require no meds, you should likely be certifiable.

 

[LDJones]

P.S, if case you missed the pictures of the "Daily Pic" thread, here's some of the better ones I have of my first (and hopefully only) Medevac flight:

Glad you're on the mend. For future reference, there are cheaper, less painful ways to get a chopper ride!

 

[AdamZ]

Wow Scary! Glad you are ok!

 

[PilotAlan]

Not quite enough information. I'd want to see the first responder report(s). But if you recover from the spine injuries without numbess nor power loss, and requrie no meds, you should likely be certifiable.

Glad you chimed in, Doc. Thanks for all you do here!

Jim,
I was a pax (before my PPL) in a fuel starvation accident, broken back, dislocated hip, 300 stitches in my face and head. Took a year to recover.
Like Doc said, the AME wanted to know if I could perform the functions of PIC. No closed head injury problems, no numbness or loss of motor functions. Can you push the pedals, move the yoke, and get in and out of the plane?

Your outcome will be based on your commitment to physical therapy. Do what the therapist says, and do it on schedule. Even when you don't want to, even when you need to be somewhere else. Do your exercises.

As to my reporting of the incident, the incident is reported with the dates of hospitalization, with all the PT appointments under one entry with dates.
Several years ago when I trashed my knee in a work related injury, the preop visits were one line with dates, the surgery on a line, the postop visits on a line with dates, and all the PT visits on a line with dates.

I would sit down with your AME and go through it, making sure that how your documentation should be. If you're really concerned, pay Doc his consultation fee, and go through it with him.

 

[Skylane81E]

Yikes, respect those ATVs, my pane came to me after the PO died on one.

 

[flyingron]

My doc's line is "you got better, right?" when I had some trauma due to having my Suburban (thank god i was in something big like that) was struck nearly head-on by a moving van.

 

[HighFlyingA380]

Thanks for the support and encouragement guys! I'm already feeling quite a bit better.

Not quite enough information. I'd want to see the first responder report(s). But if you recover from the spine injuries without numbess nor power loss, and require no meds, you should likely be certifiable.

So Doc, if I can get whatever these first responder report(s) are, what should I be looking for or on alert for in those that could throw a wrinkle into my FAA reporting?

 

[poadeleted20]

BTW, there is no need to make any report to the FAA now, and good reasons not to do that. You need only self-ground and don't have to say anything to anyone at least until you want to fly again. At that point, if your current medical is still valid, and you have a good faith belief that you meet the Part 67 standards for a medical certificate, you can just go back to flying and report all this on your next medical application. If when you feel ready to fly again, you know or have reason to know that you do not meet the standards for a medical certificate but feel you can fly safely, then you can start the process for a Special Issuance, at which time you will report the situation.

 

[bbchien]

Thanks for the support and encouragement guys! I'm already feeling quite a bit better.

So Doc, if I can get whatever these first responder report(s) are, what should I be looking for or on alert for in those that could throw a wrinkle into my FAA reporting?

You needed to be coherent, and oriented or you will spring the trap of the "neurocog" requirement.

If they say you were, then just get better.
Do get the hospital discharge summary

 

[douglas393]

Glad you are okay. As for the vertebral endplate fractures, that term encompasses everything from degenerative changes in the endplate that are chronic and of no significance(and often misread) to actual traumatic fractures that are typically painful but get better with time. Rarely they can be associated with ligamentous disruption or other fractures that can make them unstable and require stabilization. The real pain typically comes not so much from the fracture in your case but from the associated muscle injury. As soon as your spine doc says you can exercise, I would start as soon as possible. Good luck.

 

[HighFlyingA380]

A quick update for ya'll: I'm feeling great. I do have to constantly wear a brace for a couple more weeks to help re-align the broken vertebrae, but that's it. I do have a bit of pain still, but it's all from the brace rubbing weird. My shattered nose is great and I don't feel it anymore, unless I really hit it or something. It also looks great and was reassembled just fine. My coworkers didn't even know my nose was shattered until I told them, because it's straight and there are no visible cuts or bruises or anything. I'm also back to work now. I'm only doing light duty working the desk dispatching aircraft and not flying or pushing planes, but I love being back.

You needed to be coherent, and oriented or you will spring the trap of the "neurocog" requirement.

If they say you were, then just get better.
Do get the hospital discharge summary

Hey doc, that brings up something that I just learned from a trauma doc today. I apparently did go unconscious for a little while not due to being induced. The trauma doc stated that me being unconscious is a must, as my charts say I had a slight concussion. So I guess I'd need to check "yes" on 18(c) and add a comment stating it was due to the ATV accident. So will that cause issues for me that I'd need to address beforehand? Also, is that an issue that means I cannot fly again until I address it?

 

[poadeleted20]

Hey doc, that brings up something that I just learned from a trauma doc today. I apparently did go unconscious for a little while not due to being induced. The trauma doc stated that me being unconscious is a must, as my charts say I had a slight concussion. So I guess I'd need to check "yes" on 18(c) and add a comment stating it was due to the ATV accident. So will that cause issues for me that I'd need to address beforehand? Also, is that an issue that means I cannot fly again until I address it?

Let's start with 14 CFR 61.53:

Sec. 61.53

Prohibition on operations during medical deficiency.
(a) Operations that require a medical certificate. Except as provided for in paragraph (b) of this section, no person who holds a medical certificate issued under part 67 of this chapter may act as pilot in command, or in any other capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember, while that person:
(1) Knows or has reason to know of any medical condition that would make the person unable to meet the requirements for the medical certificate necessary for the pilot operation; or

Since unexplained loss of consciousness (which seems to be what you describe) is grounds for denial of a medical certificate, if there is no explanation for your loss of consciousness, then you'd have to self-ground until a cause is determined. However, in your case, the concussion due to impact would be a pretty good explanation for the loss of consciousness. Seems to me that once it's been determined that your brain is functioning normally again, you can un-self-ground, at least on that issue.

 

[bnt83]

Yikes!!! Glad your doing fine. Looks like an easy way to blow employment in your chosen field. Take it from me, you don't want to go down that road!!

Disclaimer: A few graphic pics in the link.
My Journey was illness and unavoidable but I don't recommend trying similar.

 

[JOhnH]

Wow, Glad you are getting better.
And people say "flying" is dangerous!

I agree with Dr. Bruce that you are probably certifiable, but I think we mean different things: Driving a 4-wheeler 52 mph with no protective gear! That IS certifiable in my book.

Get well. Follow Dr. Bruce's and everyone else's advice and slow down on the 4Ws. Save your luck for the air.

 

[jbarrass]

Let's start with 14 CFR 61.53:
Since unexplained loss of consciousness (which seems to be what you describe) is grounds for denial of a medical certificate, if there is no explanation for your loss of consciousness, then you'd have to self-ground until a cause is determined. However, in your case, the concussion due to impact would be a pretty good explanation for the loss of consciousness. Seems to me that once it's been determined that your brain is functioning normally again, you can un-self-ground, at least on that issue.

Isn't it "explained" by the wreck? This is not a case of walking along and falling out for no reason.

 

[bbchien]

Isn't it "explained" by the wreck? This is not a case of walking along and falling out for no reason.

No. When the level of trauma is sufficeint to break the spine, everyone is looking for evidence that he did not lose consciousness, have a Closed head injury ala Afghanistan, and does NOT need a braincase evlauation. In the automotive injury literature there is a DEFINITE prevlaence of undiagnosed brain injury in this situation.

That wreck had LARGE forces involved.