Philadelphia Injury Attorney Blog

For over three decades as a brain injury lawyer in PA, I have been investigating and litigating traumatic brain injury cases and am intimately familiar with the devastating consequences of this often misdiagnosed and non-diagnosed condition and how it can impact the victim and their family.

According to medical statistics and research, a brain injury is the biggest cause of death and disability for children and teens. Yet, it is so difficult to have third parties or insurance companies accept responsibility and fund treatment for the same. Often a traumatic brain injury goes undiagnosed and there appears to be a non-uniform or arbitrary methodology in the health industry recognizing and dealing with these problems. Unfortunately, many victims who sustain a brain injury do not even know they have sustained it, and many insurance companies and defense advocates in a litigation case tend to brush the injury under the carpet claiming on another front that they are well aware that there is a silent and often subjective standard with arbitrary guidelines and measurements. The effects of a brain injury are often predictable and can range from minimal impact on cognitive functioning to a massive concussion, subdural hematoma, and aneurysm, which can lead to death.

Recently, traumatic brain injuries have been receiving a lot of attention in the sports arena, particularly with high impact sports such as football and hockey. While a victim of traumatic brain injury or concussion may look normal, many times under the surface, there is a cauldron bubbling with behavioral issues, cognitive functioning, memory issues, sight issues, hearing issues, and a diminishment of brain functioning. Many of our traumatic brain injury clients have developed abnormal behavioral patterns or depression and have gone undiagnosed until a proper evaluation was performed by skilled professionals.

The most common cause of a traumatic brain injury is from a blow to the head. Motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, as well as amusement and water park accidents are the predominant causes of a traumatic brain injury followed by sporting accidents and violent crime. When a person sustains a traumatic brain injury, the extent of the injury will be determined by the portion of the brain that was damaged. Symptoms of a traumatic brain injury to be on the alert for include, but are not limited to, memory loss, paralysis, sensory loss, cognitive function, and communication problems. A traumatic brain injury often seriously alters the lives of victims. In addition, medical recovery and the cost of living with a traumatic brain injury can be very high.

If you or a loved one has sustained impact or injury to the head as a result of the negligence of another or from the use of a defective product, it pays to consider contacting an experienced traumatic brain injury and closed head trauma lawyer for a free, no obligation consultation. For more information, contact Reiff and Bily toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

Recently traumatic brain injury has been in the news as it applies to athletes, most notably football players, as well as more concentrated focus on efforts by the United States government as indicated in a press release from the White House on January 11, 2012. In the White House press release, First Lady Michele Obama announced a major coordinated effort by America’s academic institutions to address and combat PTSD and traumatic brain injury. The White House announced a commitment to an initiative of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine to leverage missions in education, research, and clinical care to meet unique health care needs in military and veterans communities which involves PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and TBI (traumatic brain injury).

Diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and traumatic brain injury has long been swept under the carpet and the understandings that arrive from research were not widely distributed. Researchers are now working and developing new major imaging that allows visualization of brain wiring in high definition which could lead to new breakthroughs in the diagnosis of TBI. Many unknowing victims have been diagnosed with TBI, and in the case of professional athletes, many players stated that they would try to hide brain injuries rather than leave the game. Many sports fans and team owners claim if brain injuries are part of the game then at some point there would be no game. Tragic circumstances surrounding the incident in which U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head have also significantly increased awareness of traumatic brain injury.

Millions of Americans live with a traumatic brain injury and it is estimated that millions of cases of TBI occur and go unreported each year. Although most of the TBI’s are considered mild, they do have a tremendous cumulative effect on the lives of the victims.

If you have been involved in a serious accident and sustained a blow to your head by virtue of a bus crash, auto accident, motorcycle accident, sporting accident, slip and fall accident, amusement park accident, and notice dizziness, loss of focus, ringing in the ears, imbalance, or sensory deprivation, you should present to an emergency room immediately and contact an experienced TBI professional.

The Philadelphia traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder lawyers of Reiff and Bily salute increased government attention focused on TBI and PTSD and understand how the complexities of the issues faced by victims of accidents that suffer from TBI and PTSD. We have over 30 years of experience representing victims who have suffered traumatic brain injury and understand the assistance that is necessary to put TBI victims on the same footing they were prior to the incident that caused this unfortunate diagnosis. We always offer a free, no obligation consultation toll free at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

For over thirty years, I have worked closely with the medical community in my capacity as a lawyer investigating and litigating cases involving closed head traumas and mild to severe brain injuries, as well as intracranial hemorrhages. Many times individuals who do not possess proper medical insurance do not receive adequate or proper screening after an accident or violent impact to their head. Left untreated, a mild TBI or intracranial hemorrhage can have a considerable impact in the reduction of one’s quality of life and can many times lead to death if improperly diagnosed.

Studies and statistics have indicated that African-American and Hispanic children are less likely than Caucasian children to receive cranial CT scans in emergency departments following minor head trauma according to a study presented at the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics national conference. Many physicians that I have discussed this situation with claim that those who sustain a minor head trauma “are probably at low risk anyway" for a clinically important brain injury. However, one’s socioeconomic status or lack of insurance or ignorance of the insurance and billing systems should not stand in the way of a proper diagnosis and the safe practice of medicine. Many times an impact to the head is the result of a car accident, product defect, or other type of negligence, and third party’s and third party insurance companies may be responsible for medical bills and resulting financial, emotional, and payment of medical bills. Simply stated, I have noted that many individuals contact our office with symptoms of traumatic brain injury and closed head trauma and have not received proper medical treatment because they were afraid that they would be responsible for paying the bills and did not have adequate personal medical insurance. In fact, many hospitals and physicians will not treat these people unless there is a letter of protection from a lawyer representing them or the lawyer’s office has done the ground work to secure funding for the diagnostic testing. What we do know is that individuals with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury have a much lower health-related quality of life at times compared to others. It is important to immediately diagnose and effectively treat a brain injury.

Continue reading "Why Is It That Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Intracranial Hemorrhages Are Not So Readily Diagnosed. Is It A Patient Or Medical Issue?" »