Brain and Spine Injuries

Injuries to the brain and spinal column are some of the most deadly and devastating. Head injuries can be fatal, and both brain and spine injuries can leave individuals with permanent mental and physical disabilities — and families struggling to survive not only the emotional pain, but the financial burden of lost wages and medical care.

How do brain and spine injuries occur? Unfortunately, there are many ways that this serious trauma can occur. Common causes are as follows:

• A person can suffer a brain or spine injury as the result of a car accident, commercial truck accident, or a traffic related pedestrian accident.
• Brain and spine injury may also occur due to work-related accidents in factories and other industrial settings; in Baltimore, Maryland ports and shipyards; or at construction sites.
• And as the case of actress Natasha Richardson — who died after falling on a beginner ski slope and hitting her head — showed, even what appears to be a relatively minor slip and fall accident involving head injury can have permanent or even fatal consequences.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden, violent impact damages the brain. The impact can occur due to falling and hitting one’s head, as the result of a motor vehicle accident, or when an object (such as a bullet) penetrates the brain. Little can be done to reverse brain damage after it initially occurs in moderate to severe TBIs.

The CDC estimates that 1.4 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury in the U.S. every year, with more than 50,000 deaths and 235,000 hospitalizations. About 1.1 million people visit our nation’s emergency rooms for head injuries and are released.

About half of the people who experience severe head injury will require surgery to attempt to repair or minimize further damage to the brain. The road back from a brain injury can be a long and difficult one, where victims often require years of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychiatric care, and other medical and rehabilitative treatments. In some cases, the person survives the head injury accident but is left with disabilities so severe, they require a lifetime of medical care.

As with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries occur as the result of a sudden, violent impact. The NINDS reports that most spinal cord injuries do not sever the spine, but rather damage the vertebrae and surrounding tissues. Some people recover from spine injuries, others are completely paralyzed. Still others may suffer loss of certain motor skills depending on where the spinal injury occurred.

The Travis Roy Foundation, which raises funds for spinal cord injury research, estimates that between 250,000 and 400,000 Americans are living with a spinal cord injury, and more than 13,000 more are injured every year. (Travis was a Boston University hockey player who suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in 1995.)

Spine injuries are classified as “complete” or “incomplete,” depending on the degree to which the victim suffers from paralysis, loss of sensation, and/or other loss of bodily function. Victims are often paralyzed below the level of injury.

And as with head injuries, spinal cord injuries can result in weeks, months, or even years of surgery, medication, rehab, therapy, and other treatments.

Butschky & Butschky, LLC is a compassionate group of lawyers with decades of experience working with families whose loved ones have suffered head or spine injury. As legal professionals, we know how to best navigate the confusing and frustrating confines of the insurance system, and the judicial system to produce the best possible outcome for our clients. We will work hard on your behalf to secure the compensation you are entitled to by law.

If You Have Been Injured or Lost a Loved One due to a Brain or Spine Injury That Resulted From an Accident, Please Remember These Important Steps:

1. Seek IMMEDIATE medical attention.
2. Document your injuries.
3. Get copies of all your medical records.
4. DO NOT speak to an insurance company representative or the other party’s lawyer if they contact you! This is very important, as injured people or bereaved families can be misled into giving statements that may be used to deny a claim.
5. DO contact Butschky & Butschky, LLC for a free consultation to see if you may have a brain or spine injury claim in Maryland.

To schedule a complimentary consultation with our Maryland brain and spine injury lawyers, please call us at (410) 472-3651 or toll-free at (800) 722-6616, or send us an email.

909 Ridgebrook Road, Suite 200, Sparks, MD 21152 Local: (410) 472-3651 Toll Free: (800) 722-6616