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Tag Archives: traumatic brain injury

July 26, 2018 News
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Concerns regarding possible delayed recall of defective car seat

Potentially dangerous defective child car seats were recalled by the manufacturer several months after the company performed its own collision safety tests. Federal investigators have now been examining whether the manufacturer of the seats possibly delayed reporting the defective product and instituting the recall. Guidelines require companies to report safety problems within five days to the appropriate government agency, in this case the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. However, evidence has shown that the business that produced the child restraint system had information several months earlier about the dangerous condition. This was based on safety problems that were evident on quality and safety testing that the company had conducted on the seats during a car accident. Product liability is a responsibility that manufacturers and distributors must take seriously. Concerned parents and safety advocates have voiced concerns regarding the situation, saying that this breech of public trust leaves the public in danger. Some have pointed out that negligent reporting of safety problems must be dealt with harshly. The potential dangers in this case could include head injuries leading to traumatic brain injury, internal organ bleeding, fractures and nerve injury. You can refer to this article for more about the car seat safety product recall.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Tetris L [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia Commons

June 28, 2018 News
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Bicycle accidents, broken bones and traumatic brain injuries

As warm weather moves in, increased bike accidents become more common and lead to serious accident injuries. Statistics show huge increases in the numbers and severity of these accidents despite safety efforts. Experts note that children and adults are wearing helmets and other safety equipment more than in the past. None-the-less, some have pointed to worsening speeding drivers, reckless driving and hazardous conditions that contribute to injuries and wrongful deaths during road accidents involving bicycles. They explain that a car crash involving a bicyclist is much more likely to cause serious or life threatening injury when the vehicle is speeding or if there is a distracted driver behind the wheel. Studies into bicycle collisions show wounds that range from lacerations that can cause nerve damage, to broken bones, to neck and back injuries and even head injury with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Doctors say that helmets have improved the outcomes for accident victims injured in a bicycle accident. However, high speed motor vehicle collisions can still lead to these injuries. This article explains more about the recent research into bike accidents.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Luc Coekaerts [License]

May 28, 2018 News
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One worker injured, another killed in Midtown Manhattan construction accident

New York – Two workers were crushed in a construction accident this week. One was a security guard who was killed and the other a construction worker who suffered on-the-job injuries when an unstable section of glass fell on them. The scene of the accident was on a loading dock of a construction site on West 57th Street in Manhattan. The piece of glass was standing up and was supposed to be installed into a tall skyscraper office building. For an unknown reason, the heavy glass panel tipped over and collapsed onto the two workers below. The crush injuries suffered by the security guard left him with multiple and severe wounds, including internal injuries and possibly a traumatic brain injury. He went into cardiac arrest and was declared dead by doctors in the hospital shortly after. The second injured worker was also rushed from the scene to the emergency room and treated for several injuries, including broken bones with a foot injury. The type of fracture may require surgery to repair the damage according to doctors. The New York City building’s department shut down the construction site and issued a safety violation to owner of the site. Additional investigation into the cause of the construction collapse will be needed to determine if negligence was involved. This includes determining if all equipment and construction debris was properly secured to prevent slipping and falling. See this article for more details.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Rob Young [License]

September 11, 2017 News
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Police arrest Queens man after pedestrian accident with injuries

New York – The driver in a hit-and-run accident has been arrested by police nine months after the crash. Investigators have spent months looking into the collision that had occurred in December in West Hempstead, Long Island. They now believe that they have the driver in custody after he allegedly fled the scene of the car accident. The injury victim during the car crash was a senior citizen pedestrian who was crossing the street. He suffered serious wounds, including a head injury with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a hip injury with possible broken bones. The forces involved in this type of accident can be quite severe on the human body according to experts. They note that there are several impacts, including the initial collision when the vehicle hits the pedestrian, again when the victim’s body falls and hits the ground and then the internal organs strike the inside of the body. Ultimately, this can lead to significant injuries, disability and even death. A trauma specialist explains that when the brain hits into the inside of the skull, it can cause a concussion with serious long-term effects. The victim in this case was hospitalized in the ICU for an extended period of time according to hospital officials.

Reports show that the driver that caused the collision was driving a white pick-up truck and was possibly speeding at the time. He kept driving and left the injured pedestrian on the road at the time. The alleged hit-and-run driver now faces criminal charges but may also face a civil personal injury lawsuit from the pedestrian accident victim. Check out this article for a video and more details about this truck accident.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Kevin.B (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

August 17, 2017 News
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School sports injury ends in student’s death

New York – A Long Island teenager died from a head injury while doing football training drills in his high school. The injury victim was doing heavy lifting exercises with his classmates when a heavy log that they were working with fell on his head. Witnesses explain that they were carrying the wooden beam over their heads when the fall occurred, striking the teen with extreme force. Ambulance personnel and paramedics rushed the boy in critical condition to Stony Brook University Hospital, the closest trauma center in Suffolk County. An emergency room team worked on the injured teen and noted a serious traumatic brain injury. He was pronounced dead after rescue and medical intervention efforts were unable to help him. Investigators are now looking into the specifics surrounding the case to determine if any negligence was involved. Public safety activists in New York say that schools must take an active role in maintaining students’ safety, especially when exercising or playing sports. They demand more safety equipment, better training and medical staff on-site. It is unclear if the football players were provided with safety helmets while they were doing these exercise drills. You can read further details about this sports injury death here.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: Ralph Arvesen [License]

February 15, 2017 Case Success Stories
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$2.75 Million Premises Liability — Woman Suffers Broken Neck, Brain Injury From Falling Object

New York – A woman was walking along when a piece of stone facade collapsed off the side of a Brooklyn building. The collapse debris hit her in the head and neck, leaving her with a spinal fracture in her neck and a traumatic brain injury with concussion. After being hospitalized for several weeks and undergoing fusion surgery of her neck, the woman sought the legal guidance of the experts at Morrison & Wagner to file a negligent repair negligence lawsuit. They settled the case with the defendants agreeing to pay the injury victim $2,750,000.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Credit: Bruce Monroe [License]

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Woman’s neck fractured by falling piece of building’s facade (VerdictSearch by Priya Idiculla)

Settlement: $2,750,000

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Court: Kings Supreme, Kings County, New York

Injury Type(s): brain damage; cognition, impairment; compression fracture; concussion; corpectomy; discectomy; effusion; finger; fracture, C4; fracture, neck; fracture, vertebra; fusion, cervical; hand; hardware implanted; head; memory impairment; physical therapy; pneumonia; shoulder; sutures; traumatic brain injury; trigger point injection; vertigo

Case Type: Premises Liability – Negligent Repair and/or Maintenance – Falling Object

Date: November 4, 2016

Plaintiff Attorney(s):
Eric H. Morrison; Morrison & Wagner; New York, NY

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Facts & Allegations:
On Sept. 22, 2014, the plaintiff, an unemployed woman, was struck by a limestone fragment that had fallen off of the fourth-story facade of a building located in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. The woman sustained injuries of her head and neck.

The woman sued the premises’ owner and the premises’ manager. She alleged that the defendants were negligent in their maintenance of the premises. She further alleged that the defendants’ negligence caused the accident.

The plaintiff’s counsel contended that the accident was a result of prolonged neglect of the building’s exterior. He contended that photographs depicted chips, cracks and other irregularities of the facade.

Defense counsel contended that the accident may have been a result of erosion caused by power-washing of the building, but he ultimately conceded liability.

Injuries/Damages
The injury victim’s head was struck and lacerated by the limestone fragment. She was placed in an ambulance, and she was transported to Lutheran Medical Center, in Brooklyn. Doctors determined that she sustained a concussion and a compression fracture of her C4 vertebra. Her scalp’s laceration was closed via application of sutures. After four days had passed, she underwent surgery that included a corpectomy, which involved excision of her C4 vertebra; a discectomy, which involved excision of the anterior portion of her C3-4 and C4-5 intervertebral discs; fusion of the anterior region of her spine’s C3-4 and C4-5 levels; and implantation of a stabilizing cage. During her convalescence, she developed pneumonia and pleural effusion. Her hospitalization lasted about two weeks. She subsequently underwent physical therapy and a pain-management regimen, which included administration of painkilling trigger-point injections.

The accident victim claimed that her head’s injury caused damage of her brain, with residual effects that included confusion, disorientation, vertigo, and impairment of her memory and other elements of her cognition. She also claimed that her neck remains painful, that the pain radiates to her shoulders, and that her fingers and hands experience occasional tingling sensations. She undergoes periodic physical therapy.

The plaintiff sought recovery of past medical expenses, future medical expenses, damages for past pain and suffering, and damages for future pain and suffering.

Defense counsel contended that the woman did not sustain an injury of the brain.

Result
After selection of a jury, but prior to the scheduled start of the trial, the parties negotiated a settlement. The defendant’s primary insurer tendered its policy, which provided $1 Million of coverage, and the defendant’s excess insurer agreed to pay $1.75 Million. Thus, the settlement totaled $2.75 Million. Defense counsel claimed that, had a trial occurred, a discovery issue may have prevented the plaintiff’s counsel’s presentation of a safety expert who had been retained.

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Judge: Judge Donald Kurtz

Editor’s Note: This report is based on information that was provided by plaintiff’s counsel and defense counsel. Additional information was gleaned from court documents.

November 30, 2016 News
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Baby strollers and carriers: Head injuries, traumatic brain injury and other hazards

Researchers looking at injuries caused by strollers and baby carriers have noted an increased number of children suffering a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI). They compared statistics of accident injuries from 1990 until 2010 and saw a marked increase in these diagnoses following head injury. However, it is still unclear whether the spike is related to more dangerous stroller design and manufacturing. An alternative theory is that it can be attributed to more parents bringing their children to a doctor or emergency room for evaluation of possible wounds or more astute diagnosis by doctors. Public safety advocates say that some parents may be more aware of more subtle injuries than they used to, driving them in larger numbers to seek evaluation and treatment for their baby. Some believe that increased public education on the seriousness of head injury and the long-term effects of cognitive function following a concussion (post-concussional disorder) may have led to these changing statistics. Whatever the cause, activists say that continued pressure on manufacturers and government regulatory agencies is necessary to continue to improve child safety, prevent dangerous or defective products from being sold and maintain product liability to prevent negligence. Dangerous product recalls are one way that industry and governmental bodies maintain responsibility and prevent injury or death. You can see more details about the recent baby stroller hazard study here.

Illustrative photo credit: Matthew Yglesias [License]

October 26, 2016 News
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Horrific pedestrian accident with two child victims in Queens

New York – The driver of green Chevrolet car hit two child pedestrians as they crossed the street just two days ago. The accident victims were walking to school that morning when the car collided with them and caused severe injuries. The girls, only 13 years old, were thrown to the ground, with one of them suffering a serious head injury with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sadly, that girl died of the crash injuries while doctors feverously tried working on her in the emergency room. The other victim of the crash is being treated for a leg injury with possible broken bone or nerve damage. Local activists from the Ozone Park community have expressed their outrage about this accident with injuries and wrongful death. They say that better street signs, traffic signals and crossing guards are needed to prevent more collisions, injuries and deaths. They demand that the city council take immediate action to ensure the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers alike. Some have asked why it has to come to this, with a serious accident and someone getting killed before the authorities take appropriate safety actions. Check out this article for up-to-date information about this fatal pedestrian accident.

Illustrative Photo Credit: COD Newsroom [License]

September 01, 2016 News
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Another boat crash with serious injuries, this time in Manhattan

New York – Tuesday evening’s boat accident on the Hudson River left multiple injury victims scrambling for their lives. A ferry boat from NY Waterway backed into a group of kayakers. At least five of the kayakers in the group suffered various injuries during the collision. Doctors in the emergency room reported that one of the most severely injured boaters had suffered a partial arm amputation. Other injury victims from the accident had wounds ranging from a head injury with a concussion, to rib fractures and a punctured lung. The head injury victim had reportedly lost consciousness, an indication of possible traumatic brain injury, according to neurologists.

The initial investigation revealed that the ferry boat captain followed protocol by sounding his horn before backing up. The kayak crews apparently did not move away in time but it is unclear as to why. Officials now believe that sun glare prevented the captain of the ferry from seeing the much smaller kayaks even though the kayakers tried raising their paddles to make themselves more visible. Further investigations are underway to determine if any negligence contributed to this serious accident with injuries. So far, police say that the captain was not drunk driving. However, several other ferry boat captains and companies have stepped forward to relate how dangerous the situation has become on New York’s busy waterways. This boat collision is reminiscent of the boat accident that occurred on Long Island less than a month ago. Read more on the recent Manhattan boat injuries and investigation here.

Illustrative Photo Credit: Walter Burns [License]

March 02, 2016 News
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Pedestrian accident leaves child with traumatic brain injury

New York – The driver of a car in Nassau County, Long Island apparently hit a pedestrian as she was crossing the street over the weekend. The victim, only 10 years old, was struck by a car and suffered a severe head injury. She was rushed to the emergency room of a hospital and listed in critical condition according to doctors. The accident victim was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury but it is unclear how much brain function was affected. The car accident in under investigation, with investigators looking into the mechanical functioning of the car as well as the actions of the driver.

Trauma specialists explain that a head injury can cause a concussion, loss of consciousness and intracranial hemorrhage. Each of these may be classified as a traumatic brain injury and further investigation and treatment is crucial. A simple concussion may lead to post-concussional syndrome that can leave the victim disabled and unable to function. In addition, intracranial bleeding can lead to a person needing emergency surgery and a coma. Recent research on the topic of traumatic brain injuries in children suggests that treatment can be improved using nutrition. However, the victims and their families can be left with lifelong medical bills, pain and suffering. If you or someone you know suffered a head injury, you have the right to discuss the details of your case with an injury attorney.

Illustrative Image by U.S. Navy photo by Tom Watanabe. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons