Perhaps no type of injury has been covered more in the last decade than brain injuries. Virtually every day, we see a television story or news article about an NFL player in the “concussion protocol,” or a person feeling the effects of head trauma years later. In order to recover the financial losses that go along with a brain injury, it is important to hire a Massachusetts brain injury lawyer right away.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention [“CDC”] offers a wealth of information, and some very disturbing statistics about traumatic brain injuries. According to the CDC, 153 people die in the United States every day from brain injuries. In 2013, 2.5 million people visited the emergency room with a Traumatic Brain Injury [“TBI”], and another 280,000 people were hospitalized with a TBI.
While the violent collisions on the football field get most of the attention, there are a variety of things that cause TBIs. The leading cause is falls, which account for about 40% of TBIs. TBIs from falls are most common in our youth and the elderly. Being struck by an object is the second-leading cause, accounting for about 15% of TBI-related visits to the emergency room. The third leading cause is motor vehicle collisions, which in 2013 accounted for about 14% of ER visits.
There are a number of classifications of TBIs, ranging from mild (also referred to simply as concussions) to moderate to severe. The severity of the injury will be determined by a person’s score on the Glasgow Coma Scale, with scores of 3 through 8 qualifying as severe, 9 through 12 as moderate, and 13 to 15 as mild.
The brain injury lawyers at Mirick O’Connell are keenly aware that a brain injury is not like any other injury. Our years of experience have given us great knowledge about these unique injuries and exactly what a victim goes through after suffering a brain injury. Often, the most troubling part of a brain injury is that a victim looks perfectly normal to friends and family, as well as to insurance investigators, defense lawyers, and jurors. All too often, that normal appearance hides internal pain which often includes memory loss, debilitating headaches, and inability to concentrate.
It is our job, as brain injury attorneys, to provide detail on exactly what a person with a brain injury is suffering from. We have a network of neuropsychologists and other brain injury experts that provide helpful testimony and put into medical terms the details of a brain injury.
We understand that when a person suffers a brain injury, they may look fine, but they are not fine.
Make no mistake, when a person suffers from a brain injury, insurance companies and defense lawyers will refer to it as a “mild concussion” or “mild TBI.” It is rare that a person who actually has a TBI thinks of it as mild. We understand that there is nothing mild about a brain injury. A person who suffers a TBI may experience any of the following symptoms, among others:
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Fatigue;
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Irritability;
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Sadness;
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Feeling slowed down;
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Difficulty concentrating;
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Difficulty remembering new information;
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Lack of energy;
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Sleep interruption;
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Nausea;
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Dizziness; or
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Vomiting.
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, it is important to talk with the brain injury attorneys at Mirick O’Connell. We have represented countless brain injury victims, and have the resources necessary to maximize your financial recovery. Hiring doctors who can testify about the seriousness of a brain injury is expensive, and not every firm is willing to spend the necessary money to hire expert physicians. At Mirick O’Connell, we have been around for over 100 years, and we have the resources that these cases require.
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