PA and NJ Personal Injury Lawyers Hold Negligent Parties Responsible for Brain and Spinal Injuries
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain or spinal injury, you might be feeling overwhelmed by mounting medical bills. Although a lawsuit isn’t going to erase the trauma, take away your pain, and solve all of your problems, it could at least help to ease your financial burden. Compensation received can pay for lost wages, medical bills and future health care. Also, it can feel empowering to know that the person responsible for your injury is being held accountable.
If you’ve suffered a brain or spinal injury in Philadelphia or South Jersey, you should speak with a personal injury attorney at the Law Firm of Craig A. Altman. We have experience in neurolaw, a specialized field of law that focuses on neurological injuries.
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
- Hypoxia: When the brain lacks a sufficient supply of oxygen, brain cells can quickly die.
- Concussion: This type of brain injury is commonly associated with contact sports, but can occur any time you suffer a severe blow to the head.
- Cerebral contusion: Internal bleeding can cause swelling in the brain.
- Coup-Contrecoup injury: When a moving object impacts the head and causes bruising on the brain, a coup injury can occur under the site of impact and a countercoup injury can occur on the side opposite the impacted area.
- Subdural hematoma: A tear in the veins or arteries can lead to collection of blood on the surface of the brain, which can cause a blood clot.
- Intraventricular hemorrhage: Bleeding into the brain’s ventricular system typically afflicts prematurely born infants in the hours immediately following birth
- Diffuse axonal injury: Lesions in the brain can cause a person to fall into a coma
What Are the Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The most severe types of brain injuries can have a devastating impact on your quality of life. Even a mild brain injury can have long-lasting effects. A brain injury may impair a person’s cognitive abilities, emotional responses, and physical functioning. In some cases, a brain injury can cause death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 52,000 people die each year from traumatic brain injuries.
Although wrongful death is certainly the most severe consequence of a brain or spinal injury, it’s not the only one. There are other adverse impacts, including permanent disability and coma. Additionally, the expenses can begin to pile up for hospital bills, long-term medical care, physical therapy, and, in certain cases, home modification expenses.
What Are the Consequences of a Spinal Injury?
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) estimates that 12,000 Americans suffer from spinal cord injuries each year.
Spinal cord injuries are often caused by severe impact to the spine in a motor vehicle accident. However, sometimes the injury isn’t readily apparent. The extent of a serious spinal cord injury may not become obvious until later, when bleeding or swelling occurs in the spinal cord. The symptoms of a spinal cord injury include:
- Extreme back pain
- Pain in your neck or head
- Numbness in your hands, fingers, feet, or toes
- Sudden difficulty walking: It may be difficult for you to maintain your balance.
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of movement in parts of your body below the affected area
- Loss of sensation: You may no longer be able to feel heat or cold in parts of your body.
- Loss of bowel or bladder control
- Muscle spasms
Since the spinal cord delivers messages between the brain and the rest of the body, a serious spinal cord injury can have a profound impact on a person’s brain function by inhibiting the ability of the brain to communicate with the body.
Brain and Spinal Injuries Are Often Caused by Another Person’s Negligence
Many brain and spinal injuries can be traced to someone else’s negligent actions. Among the most prevalent causes of brain and spinal injuries are:
- Motor vehicle accidents: According to the Mayo Clinic, more than 40 percent of spinal cord injuries are caused by auto and motorcycle accidents.
- Slip & fall accidents: The Mayo Clinic reports that more than 25 percent of spinal cord injuries are caused by falls.
- Construction accidents: On worksites, falling objects and equipment failure cause countless injuries every year throughout the US.
- Sports injuries: Concussions are widespread among participants in contact sports.
- Medical malpractice: A common cause of brain and spinal injuries is a surgical error, especially when it comes to birth injuries.
- Improper medication: Over-medication or under-medication can lead to hypoxia if the brain is deprived of oxygen.
- Smoke inhalation: Inhaling smoke during a fire can lead to cerebral hypoxia and permanent brain damage if the brain is denied oxygen for a period of time.
- Acts of violence: According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as many as 15 percent of spinal cord injuries result from violent encounters, including domestic violence.
- Products liability: A defective product, such as an ineffective seatbelt, can lead to a brain or spinal cord injury
- Disease or illness: The Mayo Clinic lists cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, and inflammation of the spinal cord as illnesses that contribute to spinal cord injuries.
Don’t Let an Insurance Company Bully You into a Low Settlement
Insurance companies will contest your personal injury claim as a matter of policy. Since they often have greater resources to protect themselves against these kinds of claims, you could be vulnerable in any settlement you negotiate with an insurance company on your own. If you’ve suffered a brain or spinal injury, you want a lawyer who will fight to get you a fair settlement. You deserve to be compensated for your pain and suffering, lost wages and medical bills.