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Catastrophic Injury/Motor Vehicle Accidents Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to about 30% of all injury deaths.1 Every day, 138 people in the United States die from injuries that include TBI. Those who survive a TBI can face effects lasting a few days to disabilities which may last the rest of their lives. Effects of TBI can include impaired thinking or memory, movement, sensation (e.g., vision or hearing), or emotional functioning (e.g., personality changes, depression). These issues not only affect individuals but can have lasting effects on families and communities. A TBI is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild” (i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness) to “severe” (i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or memory loss after the injury). Most TBIs that occur each year are mild, commonly called concussions. In 2010, about 2.5 million emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, or deaths were associated with TBI—either alone or in combination with other injuries—in the United States. TBI contributed to the deaths of more than 50,000 people. TBI was a diagnosis in more than 280,000 hospitalizations and 2.2 million ED visits. These consisted of TBI alone or TBI in combination with other injuries. Over the past decade (2001–2010), while rates of TBI-related ED visits increased by 70%. Among all age groups, motor vehicle crashes were the third overall leading cause of TBI (14%). When looking at just TBI-related deaths, motor vehicle crashes were the second leading cause of TBI-related deaths (26%) for 2006–2010. Among TBI-related deaths and injuries in 2006–2010, men were nearly three times as likely to die as women and had higher rates of TBI hospitalizations and ED visits than women. Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death and hospitalizations for adolescents and young adults ages 18-44 years. Personal Injury Personal injury lawsuits are filed by people (or their representatives) injured due to the negligence of someone else. The injury may be either physical or emotional, and it can arise from a variety of sources or types of conduct. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases include slip and fall, automobile accidents, assaults and battery, medical malpractice, and product liability. The dangerous condition of property, both public and private is also a common cause of injury and disability. Property owners have an absolute duty to keep their property safe, with requirements codified by law and industry standards. Falls cause most spinal cord injuries in those aged 65 and older. Product injuries, either machine related injuries occurring at the workplace, or household injuries due to defective products, account for thousands of injuries per year, and many people suffer ongoing disability. Hundreds of products are recalled by the Government each year due to safety concerns. In general, the goal of a personal injury action is to determine who was responsible and to compel the responsible party to compensate the injured person for the losses sustained. If you or someone you know has been injured by the careless actions of another, contact a personal injury attorney at our firm to find out how we can help you preserve your rights. Personal injury lawyers can help ensure that their clients receive the damages to which they are entitled by law. Some of the items for which injured parties are legally entitled to compensation include lost wages, past and future medical expenses, damages for both physical and emotional pain and suffering, and damages for disfigurement. Sometimes, a close family member of the injured person, such as his or her spouse, may also be entitled to damages. This award is often referred to as loss of consortium damages, which is intended to compensate the loved one for the loss of the injured or deceased person's services and companionship. Motor Vehicle Accidents Motor vehicle accidents account for more deaths than all natural disasters combined. In the United States, there were 6,159,000 vehicle collisions in 2005 resulting in 43,443 deaths and 2.7 million injuries, at a cost of $203.6 billion. Roughly, 40 percent of the fatal crashes are alcohol-related. In addition to fatal accidents, about 2.9 million people are injured each year. Your chances of being injured in a motor vehicle accident are better than one in a thousand in any one year. Males are twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle collision than females; yet females are more likely than males to be injured. The age range of 16 to 24 remains the most dangerous for both sexes. Alcohol contributes to 20% of fatal accidents involving drivers between the ages of 16 and 64; and 50% of fatalities involving drivers between the ages of 21 to 44. Approximately 50% of single vehicle accidents result in injury or death. The older one is the more likely to die as a pedestrian, but the younger one is the more likely to be injured as a pedestrian. Approximately 15% of those who die in motor vehicle collisions are pedestrians or bike riders. Over 66% of those who die in vehicles are not wearing seatbelts. One is 10 times more likely to die in a motorcycle than in a motor vehicle. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of spinal cord injury in people under the age of 65. Legal recourse is often the only means by which accident victims or the heirs of those killed in vehicle accidents can receive compensation for medical bills, lost wages, permanent disability or disfigurement. Catastrophic injury results in death and untold suffering to thousands of Americans each year. We are available to evaluate these claims on your behalf. Back to Top |
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