New York Injury Talk Blog

Brain injury is called "the silent epidemic" for a reason. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 5.3 million Americans are living with long-term disabilities because of traumatic brain injuries. Every year, according to the CDC, at least 1.4 million people in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury, more than the number of people who suffer heart attacks. Very often, the problem of traumatic brain injury is underestimated or dismissed.

More than 40 percent of traumatic brain injuries are caused by auto accidents, which is the most common cause of this type of injury. A traumatic brain injury in New York can result in changes to how a person processes information. Speech can become slurred. Thinking can be slowed down. Short-term memory can be completely lost in some cases. Judgment can become impaired. Almost always, brain-injured patients need extensive therapy, which dramatically increases the cost of treating this condition as well. And even so, the therapy only helps these injured victims cope with their brain injury. Brain damage is forever.

Continue reading "Traumatic Brain Injuries Have Long-Term Effects" »

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Posted In: Auto Product Liability , Automobile Accidents , Brain Injuries , Personal Injury

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Auto accidents constitute one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries in the United States. What is traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Basically, it is damage to the brain caused by a blow to the head. Coping with the life-changing consequences of a traumatic brain injury presents a great challenge not only for injury victims and their families, but also to doctors, therapists and society at large.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.4 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries each year in the United States and about 50,000 people die from the injury. The cost of traumatic brain injuries in the United States is estimated at $48.3 billion annually: $31.7 billion in hospitalization costs and another $16.6 billion in costs associated with fatalities.

The CDC also estimates the total cost of acute care and rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury victims in the United States is $9 billion to $10 billion per year, not including indirect costs to families and society in lost earnings, work time, productivity for family members and caregivers, employers or the costs associated with providing social services. Over a lifetime, brain injury care can cost between $600,000 and $1.8 million for a survivor of severe traumatic brain injury.

Continue reading "Traumatic Brain Injuries Can be Costly, Emotional" »

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Posted In: Automobile Accidents , Brain Injuries , Personal Injury

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Natasha Richardson, 45, died Wednesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. According to an article, Ms. Richardson’s death was announced Wendesday night by Alan Nierob, a spokesman for the actress’s husband, Liam Neeson.

“Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha,” a statement said. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”

According to the report, Ms. Richardson suffered head injuries from a small fall during a skiing lesson on Monday north of Montreal. Ms. Richardson’s instructor and a ski patrol member accompanied her off the slopes.

A spokeswoman for the Mont Tremblant ski resort, Lyne Lortie, said that Ms. Richardson was not wearing a helmet during her beginner skiing lesson.

“It was a normal fall; she didn’t hit anyone or anything,” Lortie said. “She didn’t show any signs of injury; she was talking and she seemed all right.”

Continue reading "Natasha Richardson’s Tragic Death Caused by a Traumatic Brain Injury " »

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Posted In: Brain Injuries

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The family of Charla Nash, a woman who was attacked and seriously injured by a chimpanzee, is seeking $50 million in damages against the chimp's owner, Sandra Herold, saying she was negligent and reckless. According to this CBS news report, the lawsuit states that Herold knew the 200-pound chimp was agitated when she asked Nash to come to her house on Feb. 16.

The 55-year-old Nash lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids during the horrific mauling, which lasted about 12 minutes. The attack crushed several bones in her body. Nash may have also suffered brain damage and permanent loss of vision, the suit states. Doctors are looking into the possibility of a face transplant. The chimp was shot and killed by police.

If you or someone you love has been serious injured as a result of someone else's negligence – be it in an auto accident in New York or as a result of a dog or animal attack – you deserve to be compensated for your injuries, damages and loss.

Authorities are still thinking about whether to file criminal charges against Herold. The chimp had apparently bitten two other people before – once in 1996 and another time in 1998. Herold was also warned by a former animal control officer in 2003 that her pet's behavior was cause for concern.

It is critical that you consult with an knowledgeable and experienced New York personal injury attorney, who will remain on your side and fight for your legal rights. Please call Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro LLP. to find out how we can help protect and uphold your rights.

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Posted In: Brain Injuries , Personal Injury

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A woman is filing for medical malpractice in New York against a surgeon who mistakenly left a surgical sponge inside her brain. According to this UPI news report, 84-year-old Mary Pober’s family alleges that she is constantly at risk for serious head injuries since she lost a portion of her skull in a procedure to retrieve the forgotten sponge. The New York woman must wear a helmet forever because of the damage caused by the surgical sponge left in her head.

According to court documents, there is skin, but no bone covering Pober’s brain. So if she fell, that could become a fatal injury, or even a blow to the head could turn out to be fatal. The surgery in question occurred in September 2008 and was performed by Dr. Ron Alterman of Elmhurst Hospital.

Continue reading "New York Medical Malpractice Of Woman Suing Doctor Who Left Surgical Sponge In Her Head" »

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Posted In: Brain Injuries , Medical Malpractice , Personal Injury

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Justin Strzelczyk, 6 feet 6 inches and 300 pounds, was a monstrous presence on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line from 1990-98. He was known for his friendly, banjo-playing spirit and gluttony for combat.

But, according to the New York Times, on a September morning in 2004, Justin Strzelczyk was apparently experiencing a breakdown, when, during a 40-mile high-speed police chase in central New York, his pickup truck collided with a tractor-trailer and exploded, killing him instantly. Was Strzelczyk’s bizarre behavior caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy [CTE], a condition which can cause memory loss, depression and eventually Alzheimer’s disease-like dementia, even in a 36 year-old man?

After Strzelczyk’s death, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, diagnosed Strzelczyk as having CTE. Unfortunately, tests for CTE cannot be performed on a living person other than through an intrusive tissue biopsy. Post mortem tests on Strzelczyk’s brain tissue confirmed Dr. Omalu’s diagnosis. “This is irreversible brain damage,” Omalu said. “It’s most likely caused by concussions sustained on the football field.”

Continue reading "BRAIN INJURIES STEAL LIVES IN SO MANY WAYS" »

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Posted In: Brain Injuries

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HBO ran an episode of “Real Sports” recently about the tragic frequency of traumatic brain injuries among NFL athletes. This comes on the heels of a study on brain injuries among amateur boxers, and an announcement from State Sen. Kemp Hannon of Long Island that Albany is authorizing additional funds for the prevention and study of concussions acquired in youth sports.

We applaud Sen. Hannon and the others for raising awareness of athletic brain injuries, which are a significant but silent minority of the 1.4 million traumatic brain injuries Americans acquire every year. According to the Brain Injury Resource Center, about 300,000 of those annual brain injuries are sports-related. Fortunately, most of those are concussions, the mildest type of brain injury. But even mild head injuries shouldn’t be dismissed, because neurological experts say sending an injured player back into the game too soon can expose him or her to serious risk of reinjuring the area, which can happen with even a minor blow, and leaving the field with much more serious brain damage. The problem is compounded by the secret irony of brain injury: even the victims don’t always notice anything wrong at first. For student athletes who are already under pressure to perform and often ordered not to "whine," this can add up to tragedy when they’re sent back onto the field too soon.

Thanks to our work with traumatic brain injury clients, we know head injuries cause a host of very serious symptoms, including mental impairment, problems with speech and memory, problems with movement, seizures, even personality changes. This is very expensive to treat -- and to live with -- which is why we’re proud of having won millions for clients with serious head injuries caused by someone else's negligence. But it's nice to see that our cultural leaders are taking the issue of sports-related brain trauma seriously.

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Posted In: Brain Injuries

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