Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

While traumatic brain injury experts have known for some time that a TBI can cause personality changes, a new study has revealed that brain injury patients exhibit a higher incidence of emotional processing problems than previously thought. This can make recovery even challenging while causing conflicts in the TBI victim’s relationships.

According to head injury specialist Professor Roger Woo and colleague Claire Williams, traumatic brain injury patients can exhibit a loss of emotional attachment with family and friends, which suggests a connection between empathy problems and traumatic brain injuries.

Per neurology literature, there are three broad categories for empathy:

Cognitive empathy: Allows the person to know what someone else is feeling
Emotional empathy: Let’s someone feel what another is feeling
Compassionate empathy: Enables the person to response to another person’s upset feelings with compassion

In the Wood and Williams study, TBI patients scored low on empathy tests—two times lower, as a matter of fact, than control subjects. TBI patients displayed an impaired ability to identify what people on video and in photographs were feeling. Williams and Wood also tested for alexithymia, a personality trait that makes it hard for a person to know/describe what he/she is feeling. 60% of TBI patients they tested compared to 11% of the control group exhibited this personality trait. One reason that emotional processing can become impaired when a person has a TBI is that the areas of the brain that control this type of activity are susceptible to damage.

Massachusetts Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuits
In addition to wreaking havoc on the victim, a traumatic brain injury can also take a toll on family members and friends. You may be able to obtain Massachusetts injury recovery by filing a Boston traumatic brain injury lawsuit.

Traumatic Brain Injury leads to problems with emotional processing, Psychology Today, January 3, 2010

Impairment in the recognition of emotion across different media following traumatic brain injury, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Informaworld

Related Web Resources:
NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page

TBI, The Mayo Clinic

The family of 17-year-old John Causland says he is stlll in critical condition following emergency brain surgery for injuries he sustained in a Massachusetts pedestrian accident on Sunday in Waltham. The high school senior was in a crosswalk when a driver who was allegedly drunk hit him.

The driver of the uninsured and unregistered vehicle that struck him was Bonnie Lee Hicks. The 43-year-old Billerica resident was charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, driving under the influence, and driving with an expired inspection sticker. She refused a Breathalyzer test at the crash site and failed three field sobriety tests. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on personal recognizance. She is not allowed to drive and must appear in court again in January.

Court documents say that Hicks told police that she thinks that the teenager jumped in front of her vehicle. She did not sustain injuries in the Waltham pedestrian accident.

As of yesterday, Causland’s family reported that the teenager was sedated and stabilizing but that he was still living “hour by hour.”

2008 Pedestrian Traffic Safety Facts (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration):

• 4,378 US pedestrian deaths
• 69,000 US pedestrian injuries
• 1 US pedestrian death every 2 hours
• 1 US pedestrian injury every 8 minutes
• 75 Massachusetts pedestrian fatalities

Pedestrians are at risk of sustaining injuries any time they are hit by a motor vehicle. These injuries can be especially catastrophic when the driver who strikes the pedestrian was operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, text messaging while driving, or speeding. In Massachusetts pedestrian accidents involving a negligent driver, the motorist may not even attempt to stop or be able to avoid hitting the victim, which can increase the chances that the injuries will be permanently life altering or fatal.

‘No good news’ for teen in crash, Boston Herald, December 2, 2009

Teenager fights for life after accident, The Daily News Tribune, December 1, 2009
Teen hit by drunk driver, say police, Boston.com, December 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Traumatic Brain Injury

Continue reading "Massachusetts Teenager Injured in Waltham Pedestrian Accident In Critical Condition Even After Emergency Brain Surgery" »

A Massachusetts wrongful death settlement agreement has been reached between Boston Medical Center and the family of Catherine O’Donnell. The 86-year-old woman died on October 13, 2007 a week after she fell while being readied for transfer from an operating room table to her hospital bed.

O’Donnell sustained a massive head injury during the Boston fall accident. Last year, her family filed a Boston wrongful death lawsuit against the teaching hospital. In their Boston medical malpractice complaint, O’Donnell’s family accused operating room staffers of failing to provide the expected standard of care to O’Donnell and that this resulted in her fatal fall accident. The plaintiffs contend that the medical team was too busy and preoccupied when moving the elderly patient. They also take issue with how they were first told that the hip surgery was a success and were then notified about O’Donnell’s head injury.

Anesthesiologist resident Dr. Carlos Guzman, orthopedic resident Dr. John Pryor, and nurses Ingrid Rush and Harvinder Miller are among the defendants named in the Boston wrongful death lawsuit.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health cited procedural deficiencies as factors leading to O’Donnell’s fall accident. The hospital also determined that the operating staff was not paying full attention when attempting to move the elderly woman and that the removal of the safety belt from her person was not properly communicated between staffers.

Operating room staffers, just like nursing home workers, must exercise the right amount of caution to prevent fall accidents when assisting patients between beds, to their wheelchair, down the hallway, to the bathroom, into the shower, etcetera. Patients who are under anesthesia, unconscious, or not fully lucid for any other reason are usually unable to assist or support themselves during this move and are even more reliant on those around them to ensure a safe transfer or move. Yet the Bureau of Heath Care Safety and Quality says that every year, at least 50% of the 800 medical errors resulting in serious injuries that happen in Massachusetts hospitals involve fall accidents.

Fall accidents can result in serious injuries and may be especially catastrophic for elderly people, whose health may deteriorate as a result.

Family, hospital settle after mother’s fatal fall in operating room, Boston.com, October 14, 2009

Boston Wrongful Death Lawsuit Is Filed After 86-Year-Old Dorchester Woman Sustains Fatal Head Injury In Operating Room Table Fall, Boston Injury Lawyer, January 30, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Boston Medical Center

Hospital Falls Study Suggests Ways to Reduce Risk, Washington University in St. Louis

At the US Department of Transportation’s Distracted Driving Summit this week, family members who lost loved ones in car accidents involving drivers who were distracted spoke to attendees about their tragedies. One woman lost her mother of a driver who was talking on his cell phone. Another woman, a motorcyclist, was killed when she was struck at a red light by a driver who was painting her nails. And of course, there are the accounts of loved ones lost because drivers were texting while driving, reaching for a cell phone, or glancing at a PDA to "quickly" read a text message.

According to the NHTSA, almost 6,000 people died in distracted driving accidents last year. Over 500,000 others survived these auto accidents with injuries. As one man who lost his mother told the summit, “distracted drivers destroy lives.” Yet many drivers continue to engage in some form of distracted driving.

Talking on a cell phone and texting while driving have proven especially dangerous, and calls for a nationwide ban on texting has become more urgent. The CTIA-The Wireless Association reports that 110 billion texts were sent out in December 2008. Compare this figure to the 10 billion texts that were transmitted in December 2005.

On Wednesday, the Obama Administration announced that federal workers will no longer be allowed to text message while operating a motor vehicle while on the job or in a government-owned auto. According to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the government is also considering restricting truck drivers, train operators, and bus drivers from using cell phones.

In Massachusetts, there is still no ban on text messaging. Localities are allowed to decide whether to restrict cell phone use. Earlier this year, the Boston area’s transit authority announced a new policy change banning bus, trolley, and train operators from carrying cell phones and personal electronic devices while they are on the clock. The crackdown came after a trolley operator who was text messaging caused aBoston train accident that injured 49 people.

Boston car drivers are allowed to talk on handheld devices and text message while driving an auto. This can result in serious Massachusetts traffic accidents and personal injuries and wrongful deaths may ensue.

Cell Phone Ban After Boston Trolley Crash, Huffington Post, May 9, 2009

New regulation bans federal employees from texting while driving, Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving Summit, US Department of Transportation

State Cell Phone Driving Laws, Governors Highway Safety Association

An Examination of Driver Distraction as Recorded in NHTSA Database (PDF)

Continue reading "At Distracted Driving Summit, Families of Car Accident Victims Bring to Life the Deadly Consequences of Multitasking While Behind the Wheel " »

Movie Star Natasha Richardson’s death from a traumatic brain injury she sustained when she fell during a beginner’s ski lesson is a tragic reminder of not just how important it is to use a helmet when skiing or snowboarding, but of how what might appear to be a simple head injury can quickly turn into one that is catastrophic.

The actress was injured on Monday while skiing at a Quebec resort. Though Richardson appeared to be fine after the fall, laughing and talking and walking, she began to complain of feeling pain after arriving back at her hotel room.

She was rushed to the local hospital before being flown back to the US. Richardson died today. She was 45.

A CNN.com article quotes Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino, of Duke University Medical Center’s Neurosciences Critical Care Unit, as explaining how patient might look “deceivingly normal” after hitting his or her head when in fact the person is experiencing bleeding in the brain.

The delay in exhibiting traumatic brain injury symptoms can range from five minutes to three hours after an accident. This type of injury is called an epidural hemorrhage, and doctors have been known to refer to this experience as the “talk and die” syndrome.” It is important that a patient receive medical attention right away to decrease the chances that the brain injury might become permanent or fatal.

If you have hit your head during a car accident, a slip and fall accident, during an assault, or any kind of accident where you suffered a blow to the head—even if you feel fine—it is important that you seek medical attention so that in the event that you are suffering from a more serious brain injury, steps can be taken to treat you immediately . You also may be entitled to personal injury compensation from a negligent party.

Natasha Richardson dies after ski fall, CNN, March 18, 2009

'Minor' head injuries can turn serious rapidly, experts say, CNN Health, March 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Natasha Richardson, IMDB

Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes

Continue reading "Natasha Richardson’s Death a Reminder of How a Seemingly Minor Head Injury Can Prove Fatal " »

Some 2,000 Massachusetts nursing home residents suffering from traumatic brain injuries may soon leave the homes. The move could be the result of an all-but-final court settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed last year by advocates estimating that at least 25% of the 8,200 TBI patients residing in nursing home want to live somewhere else.

The plaintiff’s contended that federal law grants TBI residents the right to live as normal a life as they can. However, until recently, brain injury patients that needed Medicare to cover their long-term intensive support could only receive that care at nursing homes. That is, except for the Medicaid “wavier” granted to 100 people to receive community care.

The settlement is expected to increase how many people can receive this community care exception and redirect Medicaid funds from nursing homes to community care. New living arrangements for TBI patients could range from group homes to residing with families, as well as in special apartments.

The settlement is expected to be approved soon. The settlement would give the state of Massachusetts six months to get permission from the federal government to grant 300 TBI nursing home residents the option of moving into new living situations. Some 200 other residents would receive help from a broader Medicaid program each year.

Some specialists say that nursing homes don’t necessarily provide TBI patients with the resources they need for their condition to improve. Thrust into nursing homes because there are no other options, the condition of some TBI patients may even suffer.

Approximately 5 million Americans are suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Many of these injuries are a result of personal injury accidents that are caused by other parties’ negligence, including motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, construction accidents, and medical malpractice accidents.

Many brain injury patients poised to quit nursing homes for freer lives, Boston.com, August 14, 2008

Settlement would move some brain-injured from nursing homes, BostonHerald.com, June 2, 2008

Related Web Resources:

NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC

Continue reading "Massachusetts Traumatic Brain Injury Patients Seek to Leave Nursing Homes" »

A jury in Massachusetts has awarded Louise Scialdone, a 58-year-old Somerville resident, $10 million in her personal injury lawsuit against the Massachusetts Transportation Bay Authority (MBTA). The total sum, interest included, is nearly $12.8 million.

Scialdone sustained a traumatic brain injury when an MBTA bus hit her on February 4, 2004. Scialdone used work with the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance as a clerk.

Scialdone had a walker because she suffers from arthritis. She was struck while waiting for the bus at the stop on McGrath Highway.

The driver apparently lost control of the bus, which then struck Scialdone. She flew five feet before her head struck a parked car. One witness said the driver was operating the bus at about 30mph and was moving too fast for the icy road conditions.

The driver was suspended for one day and continues to be employed with the MBTA.

Scialdone can no longer work and has memory and balance problems. Once a voracious reader, she can only absorb reading material up to the level of a third grader, and she is sensitive to noise and light.

Because of her condition, she only appeared in court for part of the trial. Her daughter, Stephanie Mackesy, says Scialdone can no longer take part in the same activities she used to enjoy with her 14-year-old granddaughter.

Scialdone will use the recovery awarded by the Middlesex County jury to pay get better 24-hour care, which she requires because of her TBI. This care costs about $200,000 annually. She will relocate to a brain injury rehabilitation center. Scialdone currently lives in a nursing home.

MBTA’s insurance will only cover the damage amount over the first $7.5 million. It is not yet known whether the MBTA, which has been having financial problems, will appeal or find a way to pay Scialdone.

T policy falls short on injury award, Boston Globe, February 12, 2008

Woman struck by MBTA bus awarded $10 million in damages, Boston Herald, February 12, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Every year, around 44,000 Massachusetts residents suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) caused by accidents. Car accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, fall accidents, sporting accidents, shaken baby syndrome, and physical assaults are some of the common accidents that can lead to TBIs.

A traumatic brain injury from an accident is usually caused by a jolt or blow to the head area. A brain injury can be located in just one area of the brain or diffused over more than one area. Traumatic brain injury symptoms can range from mild to severe and will vary depending on the degree of damage sustained by the brain.

TBI symptoms can include:

• Numbness
• Problems communicating
• Difficulty swallowing
• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Difficulty paying attention
• Poor judgment
• Problems sleeping
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Balance problems
• Ringing in the ears
• Amnesia
• Mood swings
• Sexual dysfunction
• Seizures

Traumatic brain injuries can be temporary or permanent—again, depending on the seriousness of the TBI. Paralysis, coma, behavioral and emotional problems, the impairment of regulatory functions in the body, psychological trauma and difficulties, and death can also result.

TBI’s can be life altering and traumatic for TBI victims, their family, and friends. The recovery services and/or long-term care required to treat a TBI can be very expensive. This is why it is so important that you speak to an experienced Massachusetts traumatic brain injury lawyer right away. Your TBI attorney can prove that your brain injury was sustained in an accident that was caused by another party’s negligence or carelessness. You may be entitled to receive personal injury compensation for your TBI.

You cannot afford to handle this type of case without a personal injury lawyer. TBI injuries are complicated to prove, and your TBI attorney can work with experts who know how to determine the extent of your injuries and how much medical care and recovery you will need.

Brain Injury Survivors Come to Grips with New Lives, Boston.com, November 18, 2007

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury, Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts

Related Web Resources:

Brain Injury Types, Head Injury.com

Traumatic Brain Injury, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes

Continue reading "Some 44,000 Massachusetts Residents Suffer From Traumatic Brain Injuries Caused by Accidents " »

Beata Swierczynski, the wife of a North Easton man who was struck by an iron grate while driving on Route 128 in Massachusetts last July, is suing five companies for her husband’s personal injuries.

Pawel “Paul” Swierczynski, an engineer, sustained serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, after the 250-pound grate crashed into the windshield of his car and hit him on the head.

Paul sustained broken bones, a gash on his head, bleeding inside his skull, and a brain injury. For awhile, he needed a ventilator to breathe properly. Doctors feared he would be paralyzed when he couldn’t move the left side of his body.

Paul, who finally returned home last week, is not the same man. He wears a back brace that encases his chest down to his pelvis. He is afraid of nearly everything and is emotionally traumatized by the accident. He gets headaches when he tries to read and talking can be overwhelming to him.

Neurologists have advised Paul not to work for at least a year. They don’t know whether his condition will improve.

Beata says she expects to be the family’s only breadwinner and a single parent to their 5-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son for many months to come.

Massachusetts’s transportation officials issued a report last week that blamed engineering mistakes as the cause for the bizarre accident, which occurred at an area of the highway in Westwood where roadwork had forced traffic into the lane that was directly over the grate. A truck that drove by had caused the grate to fly into the air. Beata is suing the five companies that were involved in the roadwork project.

Beata and Paul have known each other since they were children living in Poland.

If you or someone you love is seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident or any other kind of injury accident because other parties were negligent, you should speak with a personal injury attorney right away. A personal injury attorney can file a claim or lawsuit against the negligent parties and obtain recovery for medical costs, pain and suffering, lost wages, rehabilitation expenses, ongoing medical care, and other related damages.

Traumatic brain injuries can be very devastating for the injured person and his or her family. TBIs can also be very expensive to treat. Ongoing costs for rehabilitation and special care can be hard to cover on your own—especially if the injured person was the breadwinner of the family. Not only is the life of the victim drastically changed, but so are the lives of family members and friends.

You and your family deserve compensation for the pain and suffering and loss caused by the accident.

TBIs can also be difficult to prove, which is why you need an experienced personal injury lawyer that knows how to handle brain injuries cases and has access to medical experts that understand TBIs.

Paralysis, permanent memory loss, emotional and psychological trauma, personality changes, sensory loss, and the inability to perform certain functions are just some of the serious outcomes that can result from having a TBI.

After grate accident, a dream shatters, Boston.com, September 27, 2007

Related Web Resources:

NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?, CDC.gov