Brain Injuries
Attorney Daniel Newlin is proud to have successfully represented individuals who have been seriously injured or lost loved ones in brain injury related accidents in Florida. Attorney Daniel J. Newlin is eminently qualified to provide you with prompt, aggressive and experienced legal representation.
No amount of brain damage is acceptable to head injury survivors and their families. Even so-called "mild" brain damage can turn lives upside down. Minor impairments to memory and brain function can result in loss of employment and severe financial hardship.
Attorney Daniel Newlin and his law partners understand the unique needs of head injury survivors and their families - and have the resources necessary to pursue large corporations and insurance companies to ensure that an injured party and their family receive proper medical attention and care. Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers must have detailed experience in dealing with injuries of the utmost severity and be able to call upon the services of nationally recognized medical consultants who are experts in the disciplines of spinal surgery, neurosurgery, neurology and psychology to ensure that liability is proved . It's a process that some attorneys may feel is unwarranted, but we feel is vital to receiving a fair and equitable settlement for our clients.
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Below please find some basic information that I hope will help you better understand the human brain and a brain injury.
A healthy brain
To understand what happens when the brain is injured, it is important to realize what a healthy brain is made of and what it does. The brain is enclosed inside the skull. The skull acts as a protective covering for the soft brain. The brain is made of neurons (nerve cells). The neurons form tracts that route throughout the brain. These nerve tracts carry messages to various parts of the brain. The brain uses these messages to perform functions. The functions include our coordinating our body's systems, such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and metabolism; thought processing; body movements; personality; behavior; and the senses, such as vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Each part of the brain serves a specific function and links with other parts of the brain to form more complex functions.
An injured brain
When a brain injury occurs, the functions of the neurons, nerve tracts, or sections of the brain can be effected. If the neurons and nerve tracts are effected, they can be unable or have difficulty carrying the messages that tell the brain what to do. This can change the way a person thinks, acts, feels, and moves the body. Brain injury can also change the complex internal functions of the body, such as regulating body temperature; blood pressure; bowel and bladder control. These changes can be temporary or permanent. They may cause impairment or a complete inability to perform a function.
Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury
* A traumatic brain injury occurs when an outside force impacts the head hard enough to cause the brain to move within the skull or if the force causes the skull to break and directly hurts the brain.
* A direct blow to the head can be great enough to injure the brain inside the skull. A direct force to the head can also break the skull and directly hurt the brain. This type of injury can occur from motor vehicle crashes, firearms, falls, sports, and physical violence, such as hitting or striking with an object.
* A rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head can force the brain to move back and forth across the inside of the skull. The stress from the rapid movements pulls apart nerve fibers and causes damage to brain tissue. This type of injury often occurs as a result of motor vehicle crashes and physical violence, such as Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Definition: Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury is an insult to the brain, not of a degenerative or congenital nature but caused by an external physical force, that may produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness, which results in an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning. It can also result in the disturbance of behavioral or emotional functioning. These impairments may be either temporary or permanent and cause partial or total functional disability or psychosocial maladjustment.
Causes of Acquired Brain Injury
Acquired brain injury takes place at the cellular level within the brain. Therefore, injury from acquired brain injury can effect cells throughout the entire brain, instead of just in specific areas as with traumatic brain injury.
An acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain, which is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. An acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain that has occurred after birth.
Causes of acquired brain injury can include, but are not limited to:
* Airway obstruction
* Near-drowning, throat swelling, choking, strangulation, crush injuries to the chest
* Electrical shock or lightening strike
* Trauma to the head and/or neck
* Traumatic brain injury with or without skull fracture, blood loss from open wounds, artery impingement from forceful impact, shock
* Vascular Disruption
* Heart attack, stroke, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), aneurysm, intracranial surgery
* Infectious disease, intracranial tumors, metabolic disorders
* Meningitis, certain venereal diseases, AIDS, insect-carried diseases, brain tumors, hypo/hyperglycemia, hepatic encephalopathy, uremic encephalopathy, seizure disorders
* Toxic exposure- poisonous chemicals and gases, such as carbon monoxide poisoning
Definition: Acquired Brain Injury
An acquired brain injury commonly results in a change in neuronal activity, which effects the physical integrity, the metabolic activity, or the functional ability of the cell. An acquired brain injury may result in mild, moderate, or severe impairments in one or more areas, including cognition, speech-language communication; memory; attention and concentration; reasoning; abstract thinking; physical functions; psychosocial behavior; and information processing. Adopted by the Brain Injury Association Board of Directors, March 14, 1997.
Symptoms of Acquired Brain Injury
Most symptoms of acquired brain injuries are very similar to that of traumatic brain injuries; however, there are some difficulties that are experienced more frequently or to a greater degree by persons with acquired brain injuries. This information is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or examination. A person with a suspected brain injury should contact a physician immediately, go to the emergency room, or call 911 in the case of an emergency.
Spinal Injuries
Attorney Daniel Newlin has represented hundreds of individuals who have been seriously injured or lost loved ones in a paralysis related accidents in Florida. Attorney Daniel J. Newlin is eminently qualified to provide you with prompt, aggressive and experienced legal representation.
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The spinal cord is the largest nerve in the body and consists of bundles of nerve fibers which are responsible for communication within the body including sensory, motor and autonomic functions. The spinal cord extends from the brain to the waist and its function is to carry the messages from the brain to the various body parts to initiate actions such as muscle movement. The term spinal injury refers to any injury of the nerves within the spinal column and can occur from either trauma or disease however it is most often caused as a result of trauma to the vertebral column which affects the ability to send and receive messages from the brain to the body systems. Sometimes injury results in bruising or swelling which may be temporary and the nerves may begin to work again as the injury subsides.
Attorney Daniel Newlin and his partners have worked with over 100 families who have suffered spinal injuries. Our firm has a client centered approach and will provide committed and vigorous representation on your behalf. Attorney Daniel Newlin will ensure that you receive justice by zealously representing your legal position above all else and will take care of your compensation claim in a comprehensive, helpful, sympathetic and professional manner. Our lawyers will respect your confidentiality at all times and will explain legal issues clearly and without jargon. Your calls will be answered promptly and faxes, e-mails and letters will, where possible be dealt with on the same day as they are received. You will receive a complete professional service from lawyers who specialize in claiming compensation for personal injury caused as a result of an accident.
Over 10,000 people in the US suffer a spinal cord injury, also called SCI, each year. SCI is defined as any damage to the spinal cord that results in loss of function or mobility. Such injuries can be caused by trauma or disease and can result in temporary or permanent loss of sensation, loss of movement (paralysis), or loss of bowel or bladder control. Auto accidents are the primary cause but violence-related accidents have been increasing steadily as a cause of SCI's. Falls and sports accidents also cause many SCI's each year.
There are two types of injury - compete and incomplete. A compete injury is one in which the victim has no sensation or voluntary motor movement on either side of the body below the level of the injury. If the victim has some feeling or partial movement, it is called an incomplete injury.
Injuries are usually defined with reference to the area of the spine affected. Nerves in the spine are defined by the area of the vertebrae - an injury to the spine in the neck area will affect the cervical vertebrae - injury to the nerves at the fifth cervical vertebra is called a C-5 injury, for instance. Below the neck are the thoracic vertebrae, so injuries there are defined as T-1, etc. Then there are lumbar and sacral vertebrae.
Generally speaking, neck injuries will lead to paralysis of all limbs (quadriplegia) while thoracic injuries cause paralysis to the lower limbs only (paraplegia). Both areas have variations in the amount of dysfunction, depending on the severity of the injury. An incomplete cervical injury can leave the patient with some hand use, while a complete injury at C-4 can require the patient to be on a ventilator. Thoracic injuries can leave the arms functional but interfere with walking, bowel and bladder control, and sexual function. Other functions that can be affected are blood pressure, body temperature, and pain levels.
A spinal cord injury usually involves swelling of the spinal cord which affects the whole body. When the swelling goes down, the patient may regain function months or years after the injury but it is rare for all functioning to be recovered. Treatment presently consists of stabilizing any broken vertebrae, maintaining the patient, preventing movement to the injured area, and reducing swelling. There is no cure for SCI but stem cell research has shown some signs of being useful in the future.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, call Attorney Daniel Newlin today for a FREE consultation. If you do have a case, you should be aware that we have BOARD CERTIFIED ATTORNEYS ON STAFF who will be working on your case.
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