Head or Brain Injury

Traumatic injury to the head can damage the delicate tissues of the brain. Even if the full damage is not visible, brain injuries are often serious and life altering. The symptoms of brain damage vary widely, depending upon the type and extent of the injury. The most common causes of traumatic head injuries are motor vehicle accidents, falls, and firearms.

Two Categories of Brain Injury
Often, traumatic brain injuries are classified into two categories: penetrating head injury and closed head injury.

1. A penetrating head injury, or open wound, is visible and involves an actual penetration of the skull and brain tissue.
2. A closed head injury is the more common type of traumatic brain injury. These vary widely in severity. For example, a minor concussion is a form of closed head injury. On the other end of the spectrum, a closed head injury can result in complete disability, loss of physical function and cognitive ability, or even death.
   

Symptoms of Brain Injury
Sometimes the symptoms of a profound head injury are not immediately apparent. However, there are recognized symptoms of brain damage. Signs of closed head injury include unconsciousness at the accident site, a coma, or seizure(s). If an individual sustains any injury to the head, it is important to seek immediate medical attention.

When a person’s head is struck or jarred in an accident, be on the lookout for headaches, nausea, confusion, or other problems with concentration or memory. Personality changes also may signal a traumatic brain injury. The injured person might become unusually irritable, angry, or depressed. Family, friends, and co-workers may notice these changes, while the injured person does not. Once again, prompt medical attention is very important for a suspected injury.

The Glasgow Coma Scale
The outcome of a traumatic brain injury varies greatly, depending on its severity. A treating physician often uses the Glasgow Coma Scale to assess the extent of the damage.

The Glasgow Coma Scale measures a closed head injury victim's ability to open his or her eyes, provide verbal responses, and provide motor responses. The scale ranges between a score of three to fifteen. The higher the score, the better the overall prognosis.

Brain Injury Statistics
Traumatic head injuries are all too common. According to the Brain Injury Association, over 1.9 million Americans suffer a brain injury each year, and approximately 80,000 of those injuries result in long-term disability. The estimated cost of caring for traumatic brain injury victims is enormous -- over $48 billion dollars per year.

Head or Brain Injury & Michigan Auto Law
Michigan auto no-fault law requires auto accident victims in Michigan to prove that their injury represents a "serious impairment of a body function." The Michigan auto no-fault law defines a "serious impairment of a body function" as an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects a persons general ability to live his or her normal life.

Michigan courts have interpreted the Michigan auto no-fault threshold to restrict access to the courts for many seriously injured auto accident victims. However, Michigan auto no-fault law provides for an exception to this threshold if the auto accident victim is able to claim a closed head injury.

Michgan law, MCL 500.3135(2)(a)(ii), states:

For a closed head injury, a question of fact for the jury is created if a licensed allopathic or osteopathic physician who regularly diagnosis or treats close-head injuries testifies under oath that there may be a serious neurological injury.

If you or a loved one suffered a serious accident involving a closed head injury, brain injury or head injury, talk with an experienced Michigan personal injury lawyer.

Spinal Cord Injury

Between 400,000 and 500,000 Americans have a suffered spinal cord injury.

Some spinal cord injuries, like spina bifida and Friedreich's ataxia, come from inherited conditions. Polio was another significant cause, prior to the discovery of the Salk vaccine.

However, the most likely cause of spinal cord injury is physical trauma. In many cases, severe damage to the spinal cord results from another person’s negligent conduct. If this happened to you or a member of your family, protect your legal rights by consulting an attorney immediately.

Anatomy of a Spinal Cord Injury
The spinal cord, along with the brain, makes up the central nervous system. The spinal cord is the bundle of nerves that runs from the brain down to about the waist. A column of protective bones, known as vertebrae, surrounds this bundle of nerves.

A spinal cord injury is defined as damage to the spinal cord, which causes a loss of function to the body. Frequently, this loss of function is total or partial paralysis and/or a lack of physical sensation.

It is possible to suffer a serious injury, such as a ruptured disc, and not damage the spinal cord. Thus, broken vertebrae in the neck or back (i.e. a broken back) may be less serious than injury to the spinal cord itself.

When a spinal cord injury does occur, the extent of injury often relates directly to the level on the spinal cord where the trauma occurred. Injury to the cervical portion of the cord, the area associated with the neck, often results in quadriplegia, the total paralysis of the arms and legs. If the injury occurs to the mid-section of the spinal column or thoracic region, the result is paraplegia, the paralysis of the lower body. Lower spinal column or lumbar region injury can cause paralysis of the legs or loss of sensation and/or some loss of lower mobility.

Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries
There still is no cure for spinal cord injuries, although modern research continues to provide hope for future treatments. The most encouraging recent breakthroughs are medications administered shortly after injury, which reduce the spinal cord swelling and lessen the severity of injury. Most of these medications are steroid-based. One of the most common is called methylprednisolone.

Spinal Cord Injury Statistics

• Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord injuries are reported in the United States every year. Many of these injuries result from the unintentional, but improper, actions of others. In legal terms, this is "negligent conduct."
• Young males have a statistically greater chance of sustaining a spinal cord injury. Over 80% of the new traumatic spinal cord injuries in this country happen to males between the ages of 16 and 30.
• Approximately 36% of traumatic spinal cord injuries resulted from automobile accidents.
• 21% of traumatic spinal cord injuries are linked to falls.
• About 29% result from violence, including gunshot wounds.
• About 85% of spinal cord injury victims who survive the first day after injury are still alive ten years later.

The Financial Impact of Injuries
The cost of a serious injury can be catastrophic. This is an extreme hardship when the injuries make work impossible and rent, gas, and medical bills start to accumulate. Our law firm will help you recover these costs from the insurance company or the at-fault party. If you or a loved one suffered a serious accident involving a spinal cord injury, talk with an experienced Michigan personal injury lawyer.