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Recent Blog Posts
How Should Brain Injury Victims Be Compensated For Their Lifestyle Changes?
With certain serious brain injuries, victims may be left unable to take care of themselves. In fact, they may require ongoing medical care and in-home assistance. Additionally, they may not be able to work or perform their job duties as they did prior to their brain injury. This is why brain injury victims are often impacted for life.
Because severe brain injury victims suffer changes to every aspect of their lives, they should be compensated for the following losses they have suffered:
- Lost income. Traumatic brain injuries may make it impossible for victims to return to their jobs or even do the same type of work they did before their injury. It isn't uncommon for severe brain injury victims to never be able to work or make a living again. As a result, these victims should be compensated for lost income and future lost wages.
- Medical costs. Brain injuries often require ongoing doctor's appointments, rehab, and therapy. Additionally, new treatments are developed from time to time that could help a brain injury victim recover. This is why it is critical that brain injury victims receive enough compensation so that they can get the medical care and help they need.
When Shunt Replacement Errors Cause Further Harm To The Brain
Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) is the liquid that flows throughout the brain. Due to certain brain or sinus injuries, a leak of CFS can occur in the brain. If there is too much CFS in the brain, a condition known as hydrocephalus develops. This condition affects hundreds of thousands of people from the very old to the very young. In fact, it is a somewhat common condition in children (also referred to as water on the brain). Sadly, hydrocephalus is the most common reason for brain surgery in children, according to the Hydrocephalus Association.
In order to decrease pressure in the brain and prevent brain damage and even death, shunt surgery is often needed. When a shunt is placed in the brain, it is placed inside the ventricles in order to remove fluid from the brain that should not be there. Although many people's lives are saved by the shunt surgery, some people need additional surgeries to stay well. This is because shunts sometimes fail due to the following reasons:
Decrease In Pedestrian Injuries And Fatalities Predicted For The Future, Thanks To Technology
Thousands of pedestrians lose their lives and tens of thousands are injured in pedestrian accidents every year. In 2015, 5,376 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes and about 70,000 suffered injuries on our nation's roads, according to the recent statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
While automakers have improved vehicles over the past two decades to help reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries, redesigning the bumper, hood, windshield, and pillars to be more flexible in the event of a pedestrian crash can only do so much when it comes to pedestrian safety. This is why Volvo and other automakers have developed pedestrian collision mitigation systems that help detect pedestrians in front of moving motor vehicles.
The Benefits of Pedestrian Detection Systems
The system warns the driver with an audible sound and red light, and if the driver doesn't apply the brakes or react, the system will brake automatically. Although the system might not be able to completely avoid all impacts with pedestrians due to a vehicle's speed, reducing the speed upon impact will in turn reduce the severity of a pedestrian's injuries. This is great news since pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the U.S. have been increasing dramatically, perhaps due to driver and pedestrian distractions and/or driver and pedestrian impairment (as we discuss elsewhere.)
What Should I Ask A Lawyer Before Hiring Him Or Her For My Son’s Brain Injury Case?
Finding the right legal representation to handle your family's brain injury claim is very important, which is why it is essential that the lawyer you hire has experience handling serious brain injury cases. Because the attorney you hire is important to the outcome of your case, you should ask as many questions as you need to before making the decision to hire him or her. Not all attorneys are alike, and getting your questions answered and feeling comfortable in the process are essential to finding the right firm for you and your family.
Some of the questions you should ask a lawyer to help you determine if he or she is the right attorney for your case include:
- How long have you been practicing personal injury law?
- Have you handled other serious brain injury cases?
- Have you settled or tried cases similar to mine in the past? If so, what were some of the outcomes?
- Does your law firm have the resources to take my case to court?
How Are Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Traumatic Brain Injury Different?
Your brain is an extremely complex and fragile organ. It not only controls how you move, function, and think, but also how you feel-making it the central hub of your entire body. Unfortunately, this means any type of brain damage, even minor trauma, could be catastrophic.
However, different types of trauma can have different effects. For example, physical trauma can cause a host of cognitive and physical impairments, while psychological trauma can affect your overall mental state and ability to function normally. Both types of injury can be debilitating, but in different ways.
TBI vs. PTSD: Effects of Trauma on the Brain
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects how the brain works by disrupting normal synapse and nerve function. Any major impact force can cause irreparable physical damage to the brain and therefore disrupt cognitive and physical function. The following are possible results of a TBI:
- Lacerations and swelling can limit vital oxygen flow and cause cell deterioration.
What Can I Do To Protect My Unborn Baby From Car Accident Risks?
From the moment you find out you're pregnant, you'll worry about keeping your baby safe. Although your body provides some protection, your baby is extremely vulnerable to outside forces-especially collision forces that result from car accidents.
So what can you do? You will have to drive during your pregnancy, but you want to make sure your baby is safe. What precautions can you take to accident-proof your baby while driving?
Baby Bump Safety Tips for Driving While Pregnant
Although the risk of getting into a serious car accident is relatively low for non-pregnant women, pregnancy can actually increase your chances. According to a study recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal and reported by NPR, pregnant women are almost 50% more likely to cause a car crash during their second trimester due to the fatigue, insomnia, nausea and stress caused by hormone fluctuations.
What You Should And Shouldn't Do After Being Harmed By Medical Malpractice
Hundreds of millions of people see their doctors or visit hospitals for medical help every year. While the majority of doctor and hospital visits go smoothly and patients' conditions improve, the reality is that sometimes doctors make diagnosing errors, anesthesia errorsor surgical errors, and patients' lives are harmed. In fact, some people actually suffer serious injuries-even fatal injuries-due to medical errors.
Consequently, there are thousands of claims brought against doctors and hospitals every year in this nation for various reasons. According to the National Institutes of Health, surgical errors are the most common type of malpractice claim for patients who are admitted into a hospital for medical care, whereas diagnostic errors are the most common claim from patients who receive treatment outside of a hospital. While some of these cases settle out of court and some go to trial-providing victims of malpractice with compensation for the wrongs they suffered-some medical malpractice victims fail to file claims in time or they do something wrong along the way that bars them from receiving any compensation. This is why we want our readers to know what they shouldn't do when medical malpractice is suspected.
What Can I Do To Minimize My Risk Of Acquiring An Infection Or Other Illness While I Am In The Hospital?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) affect nearly 720,000 people a year, killing more than 8% of those who are infected. Recent estimates suggest that 1 in 25 hospital patients will contract an infection or other condition as a result of being in that hospital. Keep in mind that 1 in 25 is an average of all hospitals, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have recently penalized 721 hospitals for drastically exceeding that average. One of the hospitals reprimanded: Inova Fairfax.
Although the hospital has paid a fine and is required to improve its conditions, the likelihood of the hospital becoming completely HAI-free is low. This is why it is important to know what you can do, and what you can insist your caregiver does, in order to protect yourself from infections while in the hospital.
HAI Prevention
The majority of hospital-acquired infections are transmitted through poorly-sterilized instruments and devices, cross contamination, and skin-to-skin contact. Therefore, in order to prevent bacteria and viruses from spreading, you must insist on good hygiene when you're being treated.
New Study Emphasizes The Need To Reduce Speed-Related Crashes
Speed limits are posted on every street and highway so that motorists know exactly how fast they can safely travel, but some drivers exceed these speed limits. When motorists speed, they are creating a dangerous situation for themselves, other drivers, and pedestrians. In fact, speed continues to be a big factor in motor vehicle collisions, particularly in fatal crashes.
According to a new study from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), authorities may have been underestimating how much speed is a factor in deadly crashes. Although there are other factors that contribute to crashes, from the design of the road to alcohol use and the age of the driver, this study finds that speed has a big impact when crashes do occur. This is because speeding not only increases the likelihood of having a collision but it increases the chance for serious and even fatal injuries to occur.
When Is Gross Negligence A Factor In A Medical Malpractice Claim?
A person commits gross negligence when he or she deliberately acts in a way that is known, or should be known, to likely cause harm. Gross negligence is a more serious failure than basic negligence. In the medical field, the behavior of medical professionals would need to be clearly below the standards of accepted medical practice with disregard for the well-being of the patient. An example might be a doctor who leaves a surgical instrument inside a patient or performs surgery on the wrong organ, limb, or body part.
Gross negligence is often defined in the following ways:
- a deliberate act that is known to likely cause harm
- conduct so reckless it would be obvious to the average person
- conscious and voluntary disregard for the reasonable care of a patient and actions that caused foreseeable grave injury or harm to the patient
In other words, a person guilty of gross negligence usually knows or should have known the reckless nature of his conduct.
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703-591-0067
From our office in Fairfax, Shevlin Smith, P.C. serves clients throughout Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., including Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Ashburn, Burke, Centreville, Dale City, Fair Oaks, Leesburg, Manassas, McLean, Oakton, Reston, Springfield, and Woodbridge, as well as Fairfax County, Arlington County, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
