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Why Does A Brain Injury Affect Communication?
One of the worst aspects of a head or brain injury is its unpredictability. Your brain is extremely complex. It controls almost your entire body, so even a small injury can have catastrophic consequences. This is particularly true when it comes to cognitive abilities such as comprehension and physical communication.
When you suffer from a brain injury, several areas of the brain that control different aspects of communication can be affected. Washington D.C. has dozens of brain injury rehabilitation centers that focus on helping each of these effects.
Possible Communication Weaknesses
The two worst types of trauma are physical (which affects how your body moves) and cognitive (which affects how you learn, process, and remember). Brain injuries can include both types of trauma. These types of trauma limit your communicative skills by causing:
- Mobility issues (physical)
- Inability to respond to stimulation or use gestures to respond (physical)
- Slurred or incomprehensible speech (physical)
Do I Have A Legal Claim If My Child Died From SIDS?
A child's death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the most traumatic experiences a family could possibly go through. The death of a child in general is harrowing, but not to know why your child passed away is even worse.
The term SIDS is a partial misnomer and is used as a blanket diagnosis for unknown or hidden causes of infant deaths. In some cases, SIDS deaths aren't so sudden and are a result of birthing malpractice or injuries sustained at birth.
Malpractice SIDS
Among the ways that medical malpractice can lead to the sudden, unexplained loss of an infant:
- Negligent spinal cord injuries. Blood found in SIDS victims' spinal cords suggest trauma caused by careless birthing techniques.
- Hypoxia. If an infant has limited or no oxygen in the womb for an extended period of time, the effects can include damaged lungs during birth, weak lungs during infancy, and an increased chance of asphyxia.
- Prolonged in utero stress. When the medical team stands by while a baby struggles to be born, the resulting stress can cause brain damage. One consequence: limited communication between the brain and respiratory muscles can cause apnea and sudden asphyxiation days or weeks later.
What Mothers Should Know About Poorly Managed Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a disorder that affects pregnant women. According to the National Institutes of Health, about three to five percent of pregnant women in the United States develop preeclampsia. Unfortunately, it is a serious condition that affects a woman's blood pressure and it can progress rapidly.
This pregnancy-related condition can negatively affect the fetus as well as the mother-to-be. Typically, if a pregnant woman has preeclampsia, it would appear around the twentieth week of pregnancy and would be marked by certain symptoms, such as:
- High blood pressure
- Swelling in the feet, ankles, and hands
- Excessive protein in the urine
- Shortness of breath
- Bad headaches
- Blurry vision
- Nausea and vomiting
Although a woman might not experience all of these symptoms, in most pregnancies where preeclampsia develops, a combination of some of these symptoms is apparent. And although a pregnant woman might not know what to look for and may assume some of these symptoms are part of being pregnant, an obstetrician should be monitoring a pregnant woman closely in order to catch and treat health conditions like preeclampsia. In fact, doctors should be looking for any of the above symptoms. Even a slight rise in blood pressure should be a reason for more testing.
Will My Lawsuit Cover All Therapeutic And Psychological Treatment After My Accident?
Imagine you've just been in a car crash. You've had x-rays, MRIs, CAT scans and everything else imaginable to assess the damage.
Finally, your doctor comes in and tells you how serious your injuries are and what the options are for your recovery. Although you're confused, frightened, and in pain, you listen to all of the options and the both of you decide on the best course of action for your physical and psychological treatment.
Throughout this ordeal, you didn't reject the expensive tests or worry about the cost of the viable treatments because you believed your insurance should cover it. But what happens if the insurance executives decide not to pay, claiming they don't believe you really need the treatment? What can you do to be sure the insurance that you pay for will cover the care you need?
When Your Insurance Company Won't Accept Your Claim
Depending on your injury and the treatment required, your insurance company may not accept your claim. If it determines that the care you're receiving is experimental or falls under their broad definition of alternative medicine, it will reject your claim. You'll then be forced either to pay for the treatment out of your own pocket or forego the care altogether.
Is My Injury Worth Filing A Catastrophic Injury Claim?
When you're forced to deal with the aftermath of an accident, you inevitably ask yourself the same questions over and over again. Who's to blame? How am I going to pay for this? Who should I talk to for help? Contacting an injury lawyer could be a good way to answer some of these questions. However, it can also present an additional worry: is it even worth it?
Not all injuries guarantee insurance settlements. Injury claims require proof of how your injury affected your life, in order to justify the degree of compensation. Depending on your injury, this may not only be difficult to prove, but if your injury is minor, it may not even be worth the cost or aggravation of filling.
The three categories of personal injuries that dictate the degree of compensation are: minor, major and catastrophic.
Minor injuries are small injuries that don't really affect your overall way of life. These injuries may not be worth filing as they have low compensation rates. However, they can generally be handled one-on-one with the insurance adjuster for minor compensation. They include:
What Can I Do To Help Manage The Cost Of My Spinal Cord Injury Recovery, So My Money Worries Will Stop Causing Me So Much Stress And Anxiety?
When you're living with a spinal cord injury (SCI), you not only have to cope with the injury's physical effects but also the strain of the financial effects. Instead of being able to plan a vacation, you have to make expensive physical therapy appointments and constantly worry that you won't be able to pay your medical bills. These constant financial pressures are unfortunately one of the main reasons that SCI victims have an increased chance of developing severe depression throughout their recovery.
Uncertainty and worry are the two worst fears that can fuel depression. They can then provoke horrible effects on your health, as well as cripple any progress toward your physical recovery. Worrying about how to pay your therapy bills can tempt you to either quit going altogether or make you so depressed that you can't even get out of bed. This is why it is extremely important not only to monitor your mental health but also to search for viable options on how to pay for your rehabilitation, so as not to become overwhelmed.
Medical Mistakes Can Cost Someone Feeling And Function In Their Legs
While the most common cause of paraplegia is trauma or an injury to the spinal cord as a result of a car crash or fall, it is also possible for someone to suffer paralysis as a result of a medical error. When any type of traumatic injury to the spinal cord or brain occurs due to medical negligence, paraplegia may be the result.
What Is Paraplegia?
Paraplegia is a condition that causes weakness or complete paralysis of the lower limbs. Paraplegics generally lose use of both of their legs and therefore the ability to stand and walk, and they often lose bladder and bowl control.
Paraplegia and Medical Malpractice
Although rare, it is possible for doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists to make critical mistakes and cause trauma to the spinal cord or brain when treating patients. This can occur as a result of the following errors:
- Surgical accidents. Although surgeons are highly trained to perform specialized operations such as brain surgery or spinal surgery, a slip of the scalpel can sever nerves and lead to paralysis.
Birth Injuries Caused By Untreated Maternal Infections
Most expectant mothers know how important it is to take care of their bodies during pregnancy. Most women take their prenatal vitamins and get the proper prenatal care in order to keep their babies safe. However, sometimes there are medical conditions that could be left undiagnosed and untreated. Maternal infection-whether pre-existing or something that developed during pregnancy-is a medical condition that poses a serious threat for a fetus.
Types of Maternal Infections That Cause Injuries
Some common maternal infections that can lead to birth injuries include:
- Group B Strep (GBS). Pregnant women will not know they have Group B Strep because there are no symptoms. This is why even healthy women need to be tested for GBS because it can affect anyone. It is a bacterial infection that is found in the vagina, rectal area, or gastrointestinal region and it can be passed to the baby during a vaginal delivery. Sadly, if a mother-to-be isn't treated for GBS, the infant is at high risk for suffering a birth brain injury, sepsis, and pneumonia.
On Average, How Much Does Brain Injury Treatment And Rehab Cost In Washington D.C.? What Are My Options To Pay For Them?
If you're in an accident that caused a head or brain injury, the last thing you want to worry about is money. Unfortunately, although hospitals all around D.C., including MedStar Rehabilitation Hospital, are creating and using new treatments everyday, they all come with a price tag.
The cost of these treatments-although necessary for your wellbeing and recovery-can be extremely expensive. If your insurance company won't cover them, you'll have to decide between much needed treatment or your life savings.
Depending on your injury, treatments can vary in cost as well as whether or not your insurance company will approve them. On average, the lifetime cost for care, treatment and rehabilitation for a traumatic brain injury can reach up to $4,000,000. Without help from your insurance company, you will have to pay that cost out of your own pocket. Some of the treatments included in this cost are:
- Initial hospitalization. Anywhere from $200 to $10,000
What Experience Should I Look For In A Medical Malpractice Attorney?
Medical malpractice cases are extremely complex and require comprehensive analysis of your claim. Your choice should fall on those attorneys who specialize in medical malpractice and will fight for you until the end. In searching for the right attorney to represent you, there are a number of qualities you should look for. First, your attorney must be experienced in the field of medical malpractice law. Ask your attorney for a list of case results that demonstrate that attorney's experience in the field. Second, your attorney should have trial experience. Trial experience means that your attorney is actually willing to take your case to trial rather than settle for the highest figure offered by the defense. Trial experience matters because insurance companies are increasingly refusing to make any settlement offers, or when they do the offers are low.
Actual trial experience by your attorney is necessary to maximize your chances for a full recovery. Third, ask your attorney how he/she finds the experts that will be necessary to support your case. The outcome of your case depends upon the quality of your experts. There are some qualities of an attorney that you might want to avoid. For example, you should be leery of any attorney who "guarantees" you the success of your case. While medical malpractice attorneys may have a proven track record of success, your case will depend upon a number of factors none of which can be known at the beginning of the case. You should also be aware of the attorney who attempts to optimistically value your case at the beginning.
703-591-0067
10513 Judicial Drive, Suite 200, Fairfax, VA 22030
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.
