Brain Injuries

Injuries can be stressful no matter the situation, and medical bills and lost wages often can be intimidating. However, a brain injury can have a serious impact on your life. It can alter your day-to-day functions and change the rest of your life. Additionally, a serious injury of this nature can create substantial medical expenses.

If you or a loved one were injured as the result of another person or a company's negligence, you should not have to suffer financially as well. The responsible party should be held liable. A Philadelphia brain injury attorney can help you seek damages and fight to get you the compensation you need.

Philadelphia Brain Injury Defense Lawyer

Suffering a brain injury at the fault of another person should not mean having to pay thousands of dollars in medical expenses. The responsible party could be held liable, and you can seek damages. If you have been injured, contact a Philadelphia brain injury attorney at Alva Foster & Moscow, LLC.

Our attorneys have years of experience fighting for clients who have been injured as a result of another person's negligence. We understand what needs to be done to get you the best possible settlement. Call (215) 665-1695 to get started on your case today.

Alva Foster & Moscow, LLC represents clients in and around Philadelphia, including in Chester County, Bucks County, Montgomery County and Delaware County. We also represent the injured across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Information About Brain Injuries

What is Considered a Brain Injury?

Brain injury refers to the death of brain cells and disruption of neural pathways, which results in changes in the way a person thinks, feels and acts, according to the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania. There are different types of brain injury, including traumatic brain injury and acquired brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury is an insult to the brain caused by a direct blow to the head or the head hitting an object or being shaken violently. Mild traumatic brain injury often is under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed because symptoms may not immediately appear, according to the BIAPA.

For example, after a person suffers a mild traumatic brain injury, he or she does not necessarily lose consciousness. In some cases, a person may simply appear dazed or confused. Concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury, and it is defined as a trauma-induced alteration in mental status.

Acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain secondary to either trauma, stroke (including aneurysms), post surgical complications or certain acquired disease processes. The most common causes of non-traumatic ABI are tumor, stroke, aneurysm, near drowning in a swimming pool accident, infections of the brain and ingestion of toxic substances.

Symptoms of Brain Injuries

When a person experiences a brain injury, he or she may not notice symptoms. This catastrophic injury also may not be apparent to his or her friends or family. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, symptoms may not occur for days or weeks following the injury. They can be missed as people may appear normal even though they may act or feel differently.

It is important to know various symptoms that could appear for a brain injury. According to the PDH, some of the most common brain injury symptoms in adults could include:

Headaches or neck pain that is not relieved after taking medication
Trouble concentrating, remembering or making decisions
Feeling tired and having difficulty waking up
Vomiting after one to two hours after the injury
Size of his or her pupils are different
Difficulty walking or moving
Blurred or double vision
Having seizures or convulsions
Loss of smell or taste and sound of ringing in the ears
Blood or clear fluid from ears or nose

Children who experience brain injuries could have the same symptoms as adults. However, it often is difficult for the child to express the change in mood or physical change. Some of the symptoms of a brain injury in a child include:

Constant tiredness or listless
Changed sleep patterns
Vomiting or having seizures
Will not eat
Difficulty balancing or walking
Irritable, sad or cranky
Lack of interest in toys or activities
Seems confused or not speaking clearly

Brain injuries can cause a plethora of long-term changes, especially if the trauma is untreated. According to the BIAPA, traumatic brain injury can cause a wide range of functional changes that affect thinking, language, learning, emotions, behavior and sensation.

Additionally, traumatic brain injury can cause epilepsy and increase the risk for medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age. This could mean a lifetime of medical expenses because of once act of negligence.

Possible Causes of Brain Injuries

There are several different scenarios that could lead to a traumatic brain injury. Generally, the brain injury is caused when a person's hits his or her head on something or the head is struck by something. It also could be caused if a person is unnaturally shaken.

One of the most common ways a person can suffer a brain injury is in a car accident. For instance, if a driver is stopped at red light and his or her vehicle is hit from behind, the rear-end accident could cause the driver to strike his or her head. Additionally, the brunt force of the car hitting the stopped vehicle could cause the driver to be shaken.

In these situations it could be difficult to judge if there was a brain injury. Most often drivers think they are not injured after these minor accidents. However, even if there is minimal property damage, these types of crashes still could pose a risk for a brain injury.

Other possible causes of brain injuries include:

Falls, such as slip and fall accidents
Other motor vehicle accidents, such as head-on collisions
Pedestrian accidents
Bicycle accidents
Sports injuries, such as concussions
Violence, such as assault
Child abuse, such as Shaken Baby Syndrome
Recreational accidents

Seeking Damages after a Brain Injury

If the negligence of another person or a company leads to a brain injury for you or a loved one, you may be able to seek damages. There are several different ways this could apply, such as if a person is injured in a premises liability accident.

Brain injuries always should be taken seriously. Depending on the severity of the injury, it could affect a person for the rest of his or her life. There are several long-term effects that could create steep medical bills. This could mean emergency care, medication, physical therapy, hospital bills and whatever else is necessary for proper recovery.

A Philadelphia brain injury defense attorney can help you fight to recover damages to help ease the cost of medical bills. In some instances, the damages could be used to cover the costs of:

Medical bills
Medication
Rehabilitation care
Lost wages
Disability
Mental anguish
Pain and suffering

Finding the Best Pennsylvania Brain Injury Defense Attorney

A brain injury can change the course of your life. If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury as a result of another person's negligence, contact a personal injury attorney at Alva Foster & Moscow, LLC. We can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call (215) 665-1695 to discuss your case today.