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Good People; Bad Things – Traumatic Brain Injuries

traumatic-brain-injuriesI don’t know why bad things sometimes happen to good people. It’s one of the mysteries of life.  But dealing with the uncertainties and tragedies that sometimes come with life is something that all of us are confronted with at one time or another in our lives.

Over my career as a lawyer, I have represented a number of people who have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as a result of motor vehicle collisions/car accidents caused by careless drivers. The careless drivers may have been intoxicated, texting, in a hurry or a number of other reasons for their carelessness. Some of these Traumatic Brain Injuries have been mild, some have been moderate and some have been severe.  Whatever the extent of brain injury to a person involved in a high impact motor vehicle collision, it has a devastating effect on the injury victim as well as his or her family.

The victims and their families immediately have fears and anxieties about the victim’s survival and mental well-being, then massive hospital and medical bills, time missed from work or school, sometimes lost jobs, financial problems, transportation problems, telephone calls from insurance adjusters wanting recorded statements, information and documentation.  If the victim survives the crash and is eventually discharged home, the spouse and family suddenly become care-givers for the injured person at one level or another…sometimes around the clock which is emotionally and physically exhausting. Their financial and legal problems are overwhelming.

When I have been chosen by the TBI victim or his or her family to represent them in the matter, their financial and legal problems become my problems to help with and solve. That’s a big responsibility and one I take very seriously.  I end up talking with and knowing every member of the family by name. I deal with and assist with new crises as they come up…daily, weekly, monthly, etc.  I work with the main treating doctors and use all of the existing and available resources that I’ve learned about over the years to help the TBI victims and their families. Specialized brain injury rehabilitation centers,  home healthcare, speech, physical and other therapies, victim and family counseling, handicapped modified vehicles and homes, etc. And I have a very skillful, experienced and caring group of lawyers and paralegals that help me on traumatic brain injury cases as well as other severe injury and wrongful death cases.

When I first get on the case, I do or have done an exhaustive and complete investigation of the facts leading up to, at and after the time of the crash and I preserve this valuable evidence. Photographs of the scene and the vehicles involved, photographs of the victim, witness statements, electronic date recorder downloads, etc. And in the end, I have been able to help my TBI clients and their families recover the large seven-figure insurance recoveries to which they are entitled. Two in 2014 alone. Those recoveries do not undo the injuries sustained, but they pay past medical bills and reimburse past lost wages.  And with good financial planning that financial planners and I assist with, those recoveries are also used to take care of future medical bills and lost wages that are likely to be incurred over the balance of the TBI victims’ life expectancies as well as other special needs. By assisting with the legal and financial problems these victims and their families have, it alleviates or reduces their fears, anxieties and uncertainties and improves their quality of life to the extent possible. It is good work for good, deserving people.

I write this to remind all of us that each of us or a family member is only one careless driver away from catastrophic injury every day. To drivers of motor vehicles I say, “Be careful and attentive when you’re operating a motor vehicle…for your safety and the safety of others.” To everyone else, I say “Be thankful for the good health or relatively good health you have and be thankful that we have a Civil Justice System in America that rights wrongs and helps deserving injured people and their families.”

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