Traumatic brain injuries and
spinal injuries are often permanent, always life-changing, and affect
the lives of both victims and their families. These injuries, whether
involving permanent paralysis or not, are often caused by the fault of
others, whether by surgical error, birth injury, subway or train
accident, automobile, truck or motorcycle collisions, construction site
mishaps, playground accidents, slip and fall accidents, chemical
exposure, defective products or machinery failures.
BRAIN TRAUMA
More than a million Americans
experience a brain injury each year, whether a Traumatic Brain Injury
(TBI), closed head injury, skull fracture, depressed skull injury, or
brain bleed, and 80,000 people have long-term disabilities as a result
of their injury. In fact, according to the National Center for Injury
Prevention, 1.5 million Americans each year sustain a brain injury. Of
those, 50,000 die and over 1 million are treated in hospitals. Many of
these victims are children, who are most at risk. Almost 500,000
children suffer serious brain injuries as a result of accidents each
year. Additionally, many construction workers suffer brain injuries due
to the nature of their work.
Brain trauma is usually the
result of a direct blow to the head, which can bruise the brain and
damage its internal tissues and blood vessels. The severity of a head or
brain injury can range from a mild concussion to a severe injury that
results in coma or even death. In a closed head or brain injury, there
is no break in the skull and the brain is jarred against the sides of
the skull, shearing (or tearing) the internal lining, nerves, tissues,
and blood vessels, causing bleeding, bruising, or swelling. These types
of injuries are often classified as subdural hematomas, sub-arachnoid
bleeds and epidural bleeds. In a penetrating or open head injury, the
skull is broken.
The sudden and profound injury
the brain sustains at the time of the accident is called the primary
brain injury. It can be followed by secondary brain injury, a cascade of
cellular, chemical, tissue, or blood vessel changes that evolve in the
hours to days after the accident. These changes can further destroy
brain tissue.
SPINE TRAUMA
Spinal
cord injuries affect between four and five million Americans yearly,
and 400,000 live with the continuing effects of these injuries. Injuries
to the neck(the cervical spine) or to the back (the lumbar spine) can
result in serious damage to the spinal cord causing permanent, and often
catastrophic injuries.
An injury to the spinal cord, the
central carrier of signals throughout the body, may be simply a bruise
(or contusion), or a partial or complete tear. A mild contusion may
cause the temporary loss of some function below the site of the injury. A
complete transection, or severing of the spinal cord, causes a total
and permanent loss of sensation and movement below the site of the
injury.
THE SPINAL COLUMN
The spinal column is a flexible,
mobile assemblage of individual segments of bone which are called
vertebrae. There are seven cervical vertebrae (the neck), twelve
thoracic vertebrae (chest) and five lumbar vertebrae (the back) all of
which move with the structures above and below. The sacrum (located at
the base of the lumbar vertebrae) consists of five vertebrae, all of
which are fused forming a solid body. The coccyx (tailbone) is made up
of four to five bony segments which are fused together to form one bone,
although mobile on the sacrum.
1. THE VERTEBRAE
The vertebrae are made up of the
vertebral body, lying in front of or anterior to the spinal cord, and
the posterior portion, which consists of the neural bony arch which is
located on each side of and behind the spinal cord. The bodies of the
vertebrae are connected together by the intervertebral disc structures
(the tough ring of annulus fibrosis and the sem-gelatinous nucleus
pulposus). On its upper or superior, and lower or inferior surfaces each
vertebral body is covered with a thin plate of cartilage.
2. THE NEURAL ARCH
The posterior neural arch is
divided into anatomical parts. The arch is connected to the vertebra
body on both sides by what is known as the pedicel. The vertebra moves
with that above and below not solely through the vertebral bodies but
also through bilateral joints called the facets. The facets are located
on the posterior neural arches. The facet articulating with the vertebra
above is called the superior facet; that with the vertebra below is the
inferior facet continuing from the facets posteriorly are the laminate,
which meet with each other at the midline. Completing the boney neural
arch from the midpoint of the neural arch, posteriorly and projecting
backward is the spinous process, to which ligaments and muscles are
attached.
3. THE INTRA VERTEBRAL DISC
The Intra Vertebral discs
are interposed between the adjacent structures of the vertebral bodies
from the second cervical vertebrae to the sacrum forming strong bonds
between the adjacent vertebrae. Each intervertebral disc has two parts,
the annulus fibrosis and the nucleus pulposus. The annulus fibrosis is
made up of laminae (layers) of fibrous tissue. They are arranged
concentrically; the outermost of fibrous tissues, the other of
fibrocartilage. The annulus fibrosis surrounds the nucleus pulposus and
can be compared to a retaining sheath of fibrous tissue. The tension of
the elastic annulus fibrosis keeps the nucleus under pressure. The
nucleus pulposus has a pulpy or mucoid consistency. Basically, a disc
herniation occurs when the nucleus herniates (protrudes) the annulus
fibrosis. Depending on the extent and direction of the herniation
(anterior or posterior) the nucleus pulposus can encroach upon the
spinal nerve roots and subject them to pressure and/or resulting pain in
the areas of the body enervated by the effected nerve roots. Herniated
discs may be caused by trauma, such as car, truck and bus accidents,
construction accidents and other types of accidents which cause severe
trauma to the spinal column. A posterior herniation may cause the
nucleus pulposus to encroach on the spinal nerve roots causing severe
pain and resulting disability for which surgery may be required.
Where brain injury or spinal
injury is the result of someone else's wrongful conduct, experienced
attorneys are required. Your lawyer must be prepared to investigate,
file suit, and prosecute your claim with intensity and passion. The New
York brain and spinal cord injury attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason,
Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz have the experience, medical
knowledge and courtroom track record necessary to make certain that you,
or the loved one for whom you are responsible, obtain full compensation
covering medical expense, rehabilitation cost, lost wages, supplies and
equipment, loss of enjoyment of life and pain and suffering. Our
lawyers have achieved outstanding results for our clients who suffer
from quadriplegia, paralysis, or loss of brain function as a result of
traumatic accidents.
The New York personal injury
law firm of Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom &
Rubinowitz is dedicated to the recovery of full and fair compensation
for accident victims whose injuries include brain trauma or spinal cord
damage. Our attorneys and staff have the skill and experience to obtain
full and fair compensation for those who have sustained such injuries.
Brain and spinal injured victims, as well as their families, need
lawyers who understand the medical, physical, economic and psychological
impacts of Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI) and Spinal Cord Injuries(SCI).
Quadriplegia, paraplegia and
brain damage are catastrophic injuries involving damage to the Central
Nervous System. Victims sustaining these types of injuries need
attorneys who possess the extensive knowledge and experience necessary
to secure proper and adequate compensation for those whose lives have
been irreparably damaged. At Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf,
Bloom & Rubinowitz, our attorneys have extensive background and
training in prosecuting cases in New York involving these and other
types of injuries to the Central Nervous System. The brain and spinal
cord, the two main components of the Central Nervous System, control
neural function throughout the body. Knowledge of motor and sensory
function is a key element in securing appropriate compensation for the
victim of such an injury whether it be paralysis, paresis or brain
injury. Not only do our attorneys have more experience in handling these
types of injuries than other law firms, but we have obtained among the
highest awards in the country for our clients. Indeed, our attorneys
have such familiarity with these injuries that we are often called upon
to teach and lecture to other attorneys at Continuing Legal Education
(CLE) sponsored by educational associations throughout the United
States.
At Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman,
Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz, every case of this type is thoroughly
prepared so that the present and future needs of the victim are
accounted for both medically and financially. At the outset, we
assemble a team of legal and medical experts chosen for their ability to
analyze, document, and persuasively describe their findings with
respect to every technical issue of liability and damages that will
arise in your case. We consult nationally recognized experts in
healthcare, medicine, and life care planning in order to ensure our
clients receive full compensation. In cases involving paraplegia or
quadriplegia, we work with established healthcare cost data that details
known costs associated with current and future nursing care, medical
equipment, and other needed medical care including the cost of
wheelchairs and required changes to your home and your vehicle. A
physical rehabilitative expert (a physiatrist) works with a life care
planner to identify and address the physical, medical and day-to-day
needs of the victim and individualized plans are prepared to insure that
the victim can achieve some level of future independence and a
meaningful quality of life. An economist is retained to analyze and
quantify the medical costs associated with the life care plan and
prepare a report that accounts for rising medical costs, interest and
inflation. An experienced Trial Attorney is, in this way, equipped to
present all of the damage issues to the jury in clear and understandable
terms.
At Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman,
Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz, we have obtained many of the largest
awards in New York and the United States for clients who have sustained
injuries to the Central Nervous System. This is due to our extensive
knowledge and background in these types of cases, coupled with our
meticulous preparation and attention to detail, which is well-known
throughout New York. We pride ourselves in the work we have done for our
clients who have suffered such life-altering injuries.
Our goal in all cases is to help
you recover the money you will need to make the most of your life in the
aftermath of a traumatic accident. For more information regarding our
practice and how we can help you, contact a
New York brain and spinal cord injury lawyer at Gair, Gair, Conason,
Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz to schedule a free
consultation.