Arcade Boxing Game Leaves Chinese Man Paralyzed

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
5,449
0
0
Arcade Boxing Game Leaves Chinese Man Paralyzed



A Chinese man is completely paralyzed after punching an arcade boxing game too hard.

It's more than likely that we've all fed a few dollars into some random arcade machine to kill some time at some point in our lives. Maybe you played a few rounds of vintage Pac-Man while you wait for your laundry to dry. Or, perhaps, you're like me and toss a few dollars at <a href=http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9066>Police 911 every time you visit a particular local restaurant. If you're A Zhen from Foshan, China however, you played a round of arcade boxing and are currently regretting it with every fiber of your being.

A few months ago, you see, Zhen (not his real name) decided to stop into an arcade to help pass a little time while his phone underwent repairs. One of the games he played was an interactive boxing title that involves actual punches to a solid target. At one point Zhen delivered a punch that was excessively forceful. He then left and went about his life. Three days later, he woke up completely paralyzed.

According to doctors, the excessive punch combined with a pre-existing <a href=http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_12_2_2.htm>congenital stenosis of the cervical spinal canal, led Zhen to injure his spine in a way that left him completely unable to move his mouth and body. He has since had surgery to try and correct his condition, but it has thus far been unsuccessful. Zhen, in turn, now has to rely completely on his family to assist his basic needs. His continued treatment has also led to some hefty medical bill that the arcade apparently has no liability to cover as it posted a warning sign on the game in question.

Source: The Nanfang Insider via <a href=http://kotaku.com/man-paralyzed-after-playing-an-arcade-game-1500898758>Kotaku


Permalink
 

CriticalMiss

New member
Jan 18, 2013
2,024
0
0
Proof that videogames are dangerous! Alert the Fox News anti-videogame division!

Are the arcade session and paralysis actually connected? A three-day delay seems a bit odd, but I'm no Spineologist so maybe it's legit. Where's Doctor Zoidberg when you need him?
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
13,769
5
43
Well, that's pretty bloody horrible.

I'm having trouble imagining how hard he must have punched the thing to do that to himself.
 

RoonMian

New member
Mar 5, 2011
524
0
0
After reading the link for the condition he had this sounds like a ticking timebomb. It could have been triggered by a short skirt in an elevator with a glass bottom just as well.

Sometimes life just sucks.
 

chikusho

New member
Jun 14, 2011
873
0
0
I always find it so unfair that some people can miraculously survive a fall from several thousand feet, while others have their lives destroyed by a gentle knock to the head.

It's weird how the human body is so resilient, yet so fragile at the same time.
 

Exterminas

New member
Sep 22, 2009
1,130
0
0
If he suddenly woke up paralyzed, how do the doctors know the arcade story?

Did they teach the paralyzed guy to communicate with his eye-movements and started asking him random questions about what he had been up to the previous days?
 

Leemaster777

New member
Feb 25, 2010
3,311
0
0
Exterminas said:
If he suddenly woke up paralyzed, how do the doctors know the arcade story?

Did they teach the paralyzed guy to communicate with his eye-movements and started asking him random questions about what he had been up to the previous days?
They have computers that can read eye movements to use a keyboard. They use them in cases like this where a person is so paralyzed they can't communicate anymore.
 

Azuaron

New member
Mar 17, 2010
621
0
0
His continued treatment has also led to some hefty medical bill that the arcade apparently has no liability to cover as it posted a warning sign on the game in question.
"Apparently"? Why would the arcade be liable? It's not like the game hit back.

Exterminas said:
If he suddenly woke up paralyzed, how do the doctors know the arcade story?

Did they teach the paralyzed guy to communicate with his eye-movements and started asking him random questions about what he had been up to the previous days?
Morse code via blinking.
 

Exterminas

New member
Sep 22, 2009
1,130
0
0
Leemaster777 said:
They have computers that can read eye movements to use a keyboard. They use them in cases like this where a person is so paralyzed they can't communicate anymore.
Azuaron said:
His continued treatment has also led to some hefty medical bill that the arcade apparently has no liability to cover as it posted a warning sign on the game in question.
"Apparently"? Why would the arcade be liable? It's not like the game hit back.

Morse code via blinking.
My point was that it is pretty hard to communicate in either morse code or by using such a computer. Hence they usually only ask yes or no questions, starting with medical classics like "do you feel your legs?". I don't see any reasonable pathway along any route of questions that would lead a medical professional to conclude that this guys crippled himself - with a few days of delay - by punching "really hard".
 

Winthrop

New member
Apr 7, 2010
325
0
0
Exterminas said:
If he suddenly woke up paralyzed, how do the doctors know the arcade story?

Did they teach the paralyzed guy to communicate with his eye-movements and started asking him random questions about what he had been up to the previous days?
Family maybe? He has to live with someone or how would anyone have found him? Its a scary thought actually. Waking up paralyzed and just starving to death on your bed. The phone is SO close but you cannot call for help. Lucky this guy had someone to get him to a doctor.
 

nightmare_gorilla

New member
Jan 22, 2008
461
0
0
Yeah if you noticed all the "punching bag" games have disappeared some time ago in America due to the liability, they used to be big in bars until they realized a bunch of guys drinking and trying to out punch one another leads to a lot of injuries and lawsuits. honestly I'm glad the arcade is not liable, it's not their fault he laid into the machine with everything he had and most likely crushed his hand against the back wall. that's how most of these happen, some sap drives his hand right through the bag and punches the hard case of the arcade itself or they hit the wall and bust their knuckles something awful. so most likely this guy was using way too much force, these machines aren't really intended for you to take a running start and throw your weight into it and most of them have instructions printed on them not that anyone would ever read them. hey Q-tips expressly forbid putting them into your ear on the box, so if you bust your eardrum with one that's on you.
 

ryo02

New member
Oct 8, 2007
819
0
0
pre-existing congenital stenosis? so not the arcades fault then? if this could set it off I doubt he would've had long to wait for it to happen even if he never went to the arcade at all.
 

balladbird

Master of Lancer
Legacy
Jan 25, 2012
972
2
13
Country
United States
Gender
male
nightmare_gorilla said:
Yeah if you noticed all the "punching bag" games have disappeared some time ago in America due to the liability, they used to be big in bars until they realized a bunch of guys drinking and trying to out punch one another leads to a lot of injuries and lawsuits. honestly I'm glad the arcade is not liable, it's not their fault he laid into the machine with everything he had and most likely crushed his hand against the back wall. that's how most of these happen, some sap drives his hand right through the bag and punches the hard case of the arcade itself or they hit the wall and bust their knuckles something awful. so most likely this guy was using way too much force, these machines aren't really intended for you to take a running start and throw your weight into it and most of them have instructions printed on them not that anyone would ever read them. hey Q-tips expressly forbid putting them into your ear on the box, so if you bust your eardrum with one that's on you.
wait, these kinds of injuries are that common? It beggars belief. O.O

I admit, it makes me worry a bit. I've been boxing as a hobby for almost a decade now, but outside of muscle strain it never occurred to me you could damage your spine by punching. these people must have been doing something wrong, or all suffered from the same pre-existing condition.
 

Scarim Coral

Jumped the ship
Legacy
Oct 29, 2010
18,157
2
3
Country
UK
Now I just feel sad for him since it was a total accident. Seriously when I read the title, I thought somehow the arcade machine fell on him (like I said, somehow) but just from punching it too hard?
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
19,316
0
0
balladbird said:
nightmare_gorilla said:
Yeah if you noticed all the "punching bag" games have disappeared some time ago in America due to the liability, they used to be big in bars until they realized a bunch of guys drinking and trying to out punch one another leads to a lot of injuries and lawsuits. honestly I'm glad the arcade is not liable, it's not their fault he laid into the machine with everything he had and most likely crushed his hand against the back wall. that's how most of these happen, some sap drives his hand right through the bag and punches the hard case of the arcade itself or they hit the wall and bust their knuckles something awful. so most likely this guy was using way too much force, these machines aren't really intended for you to take a running start and throw your weight into it and most of them have instructions printed on them not that anyone would ever read them. hey Q-tips expressly forbid putting them into your ear on the box, so if you bust your eardrum with one that's on you.
wait, these kinds of injuries are that common? It beggars belief. O.O

I admit, it makes me worry a bit. I've been boxing as a hobby for almost a decade now, but outside of muscle strain it never occurred to me you could damage your spine by punching. these people must have been doing something wrong, or all suffered from the same pre-existing condition.
In this case, he had a narrow opening at the top of his spine which got thinner from the exertion. ;___;

Poor guy. I hope they get him walking again.
 

barbzilla

He who speaks words from mouth!
Dec 6, 2010
1,465
0
0
I feel bad for him, but there is every chance he will recover. It is easily possible to get quadriplegia from his condition and sports (in this case, I'm going to consider this game a contact sport due to the nature). As far as the Arcade being liable, I don't think they should be. However his birth doctor should have caught this when they did the work up (though I'm not sure how that is handled in China). This is a very unfortunate event, and I hope he recovers fully (and when he does recover, I also hope he takes it easy on his body in the future).
 

Callate

New member
Dec 5, 2008
5,118
0
0
I'm sorry for the guy, but this sounds like a one-in-a-million thing. I don't foresee a massive recall so arcade cabinets can add a "if you suffer from a pre-existing congenital stenosis of the cervical spinal canal" warning to the epilepsy warning.
 

Mortuorum

New member
Oct 20, 2010
381
0
0
RoonMian said:
After reading the link for the condition he had this sounds like a ticking timebomb. It could have been triggered by a short skirt in an elevator with a glass bottom just as well.

Sometimes life just sucks.
Sadly, you're right. The fact that it was a "pre-existing congenital" condition means that it was going to happen sooner or later. The unprecedented physical activity just cemented the "sooner" option.

So if anyone reading this hasn't had a physical exam lately (and has medical insurance or lives in a country with national health insurance), get one. Seriously... they can discover and treat those congenital conditions before they ruin your life.