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- Malfunctioning Lift Gate Blamed for Severe Injury to Leg
Posted on 6/27/2009 - Chesapeake Virginia (VA) Parents Sue Day Camp, Chesapeake Golf Club Over Son’s Brain Damage
Posted on 6/11/2008 - Infant Settlement of $8.35 Million in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA)
Posted on 7/10/2007 - Brain damage from lead poisoning in Portsmouth, Virginia (VA)
Posted on 6/1/2007 - New Study Shows That Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Cause Mental Health Problems Down The Road
Posted on 5/7/2007
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Brain Damage/Head Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are traumatic and potentially life-altering
Permanent loss of your lower extremities or both lower and upper extremities are scary to even consider. However, as a personal injury attorney I know that spinal cord injuries can result from even typical motor vehicle crashes, especially those involving motorcycles or big rig trucks.The lawyers at our firm have handled a number of claims and lawsuits over the years involving this kind of tragic spinal cord injury. One paraplegia case we worked on was an injury to a railroad worker out of Richmond, Virginia (VA). When a train wreck results in major spinal cord injury, the best lawyers use a variety of experts to prove the economic losses to the plaintiff in the future. For example, our firm hires a top life care planner in Virginia (VA) to establish what the future medical expenses and future cost of care will be for someone who is stuck in a wheelchair and will be for the rest of their lives.
The life care plan for someone who has a spinal cord injury will often prove the millions of dollars required for all of the future needs which have been necessitated by the negligence of the person who caused the accident. Because we at Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, and Appleton are used to dealing with huge injury cases in the Federal Employer Liability Act (FELA) railroad work injury context and in medical malpractice and tractor trailer wreck cases we are knowledgeable about how to hire the experts to show the amount of future medical bills expected for a client with a spinal cord injury. We are also prepared to pay the thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars up-front as a client cost advance to put on this critical testimony on the client’s behalf.
What adds insult to injury in these horrible spinal cord cases is where there is not enough insurance or sources of recovery to take care of the financial needs of the client to compensate them for their past medical bills let alone their future medical bills. My law partner Jim Lewis recently had a situation in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) where he was asked to represent a young woman who had been in a car collision causing her to be a paraplegic for life, unable to use her legs. The fault of the negligent motorist was clear and the doctors were ready to confirm the serious nature of her injury that was caused by the accident. The problem was that neither the injured person nor the at fault driver had enough insurance coverage to begin to take care of the huge damages and expenses that she had suffered in the past. In fact although we searched around to try to identify all possible sources of insurance coverage, the amount of money available to her fell short of taking care of her economic losses, well enough the pain and suffering, humiliation, inconvenience, and other emotional losses from this car wreck. If she had been a railroad worker injured on the job and had a claim against one of the major rail carriers who are self insured and will pay millions in Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) case when they have to, things would have been different for this woman. If she had been struck by an interstate trucking company who carries lots of insurance because they are required to under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), again there would have been a better economic result for her. We did everything we could to make the injured woman’s situation as fair as we could as far as compensation.
Unfortunately, spinal cord injuries are so bad and so completely alter a person’s life that lots of money is required just to take care of the economic harm. Having worked as a person injury lawyer for decades, I can tell you that no amount of money ever makes right the life altering spinal injuries that some people suffer as a result of the fault of another person or corporation. However, having an attorney who knows what they are doing and are ready, willing, and able to properly maximize the compensation is critical to dealing with this kind of a tragedy.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and we have handled hundreds of FELA (railroad worker injuries) and general railroad injury cases. Please take a moment to review our railroad injury case results and visit our Railroad Accident/FELA Lawyers Blog. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia if you've been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. We are ready to talk to you by right now and offer free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042.
Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included among the "Best Lawyers in America" 2010 Edition, named Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (2009, less than 5% of lawyers are chosen), and selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (2009). In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical, respected law firms. Our firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.
We would like to send you one of our FREE reports about railroad injury and FELA cases, including the Do's and Don'ts When Injured at a Railroad - The Railroad Workers FELA Rights and What Railroad Claim Agents Agents Won't Tell You (But You Must Know).
Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a public information service.
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DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.
Brain Damage/Head Injuries
- Gas Station Worker Pinned In building-train derailment, brain injury
- Brain Injury To Railroad Engineer Caused By Exploding Valve on Engine (verdict)
Awarded: $46,000,000, with Interest 60 Million
Awarded: $365,000.00
FAQs
Brain Damage/Head Injuries
- I was never knocked unconscious, or at least can't be sure I was ever knocked out. I don't even know if my head struck anything. Could I suffer from a brain injury/closed head injury?
- I was never diagnosed with a closed head injury or a brain injury at first-what does that do to my potential case?