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 Posted on January 31, 2017 in Birth Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are among the most serious types of survivable injuries that an individual can incur. Less than 1 percent of spinal-cord injury victims leave the hospital with a complete neurological recovery.* Spinal cord injuries are currently incurable.

As Virginia and Washington D.C. spinal-cord injury attorneys, we know how much you are suffering and how badly you want a cure. We know how much medical care and rehabilitation cost, and we want to help you recover damages to pay for those services, and for other damages related to your spinal cord injury.

How Spinal Cord Injuries Occur

Approximately 12,000 people suffer spinal cord injuries in the United States each year.* Just over 41 percent of spinal cord injuries are caused by motor vehicle accidents. Falls are the second leading cause of spinal cord injuries, accounting for approximately 27 percent of injuries each year. Other spinal cord injuries result from violence, sports injuries, and other causes.

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 Posted on January 31, 2017 in Brain Injuries

Following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), one of the hardest parts for survivors and their families to understand and accept is a personality change. Prior to the injury, someone may have been known to be kind, funny, sweet and thoughtful; however, after the brain injury, the person may no longer seem the same. Although many traumatic brain injury survivors display versions of their pre-injury personality from time to time, they often are left with a different personality.

Why Do Brain Injuries Impact Personality?

When the brain is damaged, memory isn't the only thing negatively affected. Personality is often impacted depending on the areas of the brain that are injured. For example, if the frontal and temporal lobes are damaged, a brain injury survivor may very well suffer a change in personality. Depending on the severity of the brain injury and the areas of the brain that are damaged, a victim may suffer a subtle personality change or experience a major change in personality.

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 Posted on January 26, 2017 in Library

 Posted on January 23, 2017 in Brain Injuries

When someone suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or even multiple concussions, the outcome can be a noticeable change in his or her behavior and emotions. The reason this happens is that there is a part of the brain-the frontal lobe-that can negatively affect a person's behavior when damaged.

There are many ways someone's behavior can change after a brain injury. Here are some common behavioral changes that brain injury survivors and their families deal with:

• Anger and irritability. Many people with TBIs have uncontrollable bouts of anger. They can get fired up at the littlest things and become irritable for no reason at all. They may act aggressively and combatively.
• Mood swings. Having emotional swings is part of the behavioral changes that occur following a brain injury. Even someone who wasn't moody or emotional before a brain injury can have obvious changes in mood and attitude.
• Anxiety and stress. It is only normal for brain injury survivors to experience stress and anxiety. For some people, anxiety and stress can occur when they are in a crowded place or when there is too much quiet. They may suffer from panic attacks, shortness of breath, and endless worry.

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 Posted on January 21, 2017 in Library

A spinal cord injury, or SCI, is usually caused by a violent blow to the head, back or spine. When vertebrae are fractured, the shattered bone fragments can tear the spinal cord. The spinal cord is usually not severed completely, but the damage disrupts the nerve cells that carry commands from the brain to the body. Virginia car accidents are a common cause of spinal cord injury, but disease, falls and other violence can also result in SCI. Depending on the extent of the damage, a victim of a spinal cord injury in DC can experience anywhere from complete recovery to total paralysis.

Measuring Functional Ability Following A Car Accident

To determine a patient's functional ability after SCI, doctors and therapists may use the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). This measures physical response in 6 different categories:

• Self-care: This includes bathing, dressing, and day-to-day tasks.
• Home mobility: SCI patients may have trouble getting out of bed, walking, or sitting.

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 Posted on January 14, 2017 in Brain Injuries

Relationships and family dynamics following brain injuries are often negatively affected. This is because many things change for brain injury survivors-even the way they relate to others. Some of the reasons relationships change after brain injuries include the following:

 Posted on January 12, 2017 in Library

You'll never forget the day when you and your family almost wound up under a semi-truck. It was rush hour on SR-236 and you were surrounded by two different truck convoys. You hate driving near trucks, so you decided to pass the three ahead of you.

You took your chance and quickly swerved to the left lane. You managed to pass the first truck without an issue, but as you approached the second truck, it put on its blinker-its driver also wished to pass the lead truck. Since you were already in the left lane and didn't want to get stuck behind another truck, you ignored his signal and continued your course.

Bad move. You were driving parallel to the second truck, matching his speed, so you lingered next to his back tires. At that point, you suddenly noticed his front tires veering into your lane, and his back tires closing in toward your wife and children.

You slammed on the brakes just in time. As the truck driver finished his merge-the back end scraping your front bumper-he apparently saw your car and attempted to readjust. However, surrounded by other trucks, he panicked and overcorrected, causing the truck's carriage to start to lean. The tilt grew steeper, and the truck tipped over on its side. Other vehicles maneuvered desperately to avoid the overturned truck; you could hear the cars behind you crunching into one another.

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 Posted on January 11, 2017 in Library

Stomach cancer is one of the top causes of cancer deaths in the world. An estimated 28,000 new cases of stomach cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and 10,960 people are expected to die from the disease in 2017, according recent data from the American Cancer Society. Sadly, many of these deaths are the result of a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis.

Understanding Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is one of the most common types of cancer. It occurs as a result of abnormal cells growing uncontrollably in the lining of the stomach. It can be life-threatening if it is not caught early on and treated in a timely manner. Unfortunately, stomach cancer is sometimes difficult to detect in its early stages because the signs of stomach cancer are also symptoms of other illnesses. These can include:

• Abdominal pain
• Decreased appetite or the feeling of fullness

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 Posted on January 06, 2017 in Library

Almost two million Americans had cosmetic procedures in 2016, and over $15 billion was spent on aesthetic cosmetic procedures according to new statistics from The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Although people are supposed to come out of a cosmetic surgery with an improved appearance, not all cosmetic procedures have the results patients want.

Sometimes things go wrong and an elective surgery can result in deformities, serious health complications, and even death. When a cosmetic surgeon makes a critical mistake that leaves a patient injured, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be pursued. This is especially the case when a cosmetic surgeon fails to warn a patient of the risks associated with the specific cosmetic procedure. If a surgeon fails to do so and a patient is harmed, the patient may be entitled to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. Other instances of cosmetic surgery malpractice may include:

• Excessive scarring

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 Posted on January 05, 2017 in Library

Any type of accident involving a large truck and smaller vehicle can be serious to say the least, but a sideswipe accident involving a truck such as a delivery truck, tractor-trailer, or tanker truck can be catastrophic-sending the smaller vehicle off the road. Sadly, these types of accidents are usually preventable but often occur due to reckless driving, drowsy driving, distracted driving, driver inexperience, or pure negligence.

Two Types of Sideswipe Accidents

Two types of sideswipe accidents commonly seen on the road include the following:

• Same-direction sideswipes. When two vehicles are traveling in the same direction and one vehicle moves over into the other vehicle's lane, it can result in a sideswipe. A same-direction sideswipe can also happen when the driver of one vehicle makes an illegal maneuver or turn from an outside lane, overreacts to a road hazard, or attempts to swerve around a collision.

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