When an individual is first injured or paralyzed, the main priority is to stabilize his or her breathing, blood pressure and spinal column with a backboard and cervical neck collar.  He or she is then brought to the nearest Trauma Center.  During hospitalization, a variety of medications are generally used to control the extent of damage to the spinal cord.  Neuro-protective therapies are often used to stop or reduce the immediate responses to the injury that can further cause spinal cord damage.

Physicians will next determine the level and extent of the injury or paralysis by using CT scans, MRIs or X-Rays.  Once the patient is stable, final decisions on surgical interventions will be made explains Illinois spinal cord injury lawyers.  If the vertebrae in the spinal column appears unstable, the doctor may perform a spinal fusion surgery.  Ongoing research is being conducted that will give individuals suffering from spinal cord injuries more options in the future for treatment and rehabilitation.

Many victims suffer respiratory ailments. The lungs themselves are not usually affected by paralysis but the muscles of the chest, abdomen and diaphragm will not function.  Even people with lower level spinal cord injuries may need ventilator assistance for short periods of time before they can breathe on their own.  Age, level of injury and time spent on the ventilator can affect successful weaning off from a ventilator.  Taking deep breaths and exhaling forcefully can be troublesome, especially for individuals who have been paralyzed.  Chicago personal injury attorneys have represented many victims of spinal cord injuries that have difficulty breathing for years after the initial incident.

If you or someone you love has been paralyzed or the victim of any spinal cord injury, contact an Illinois personal injury lawyer today for a free consultation.

Share This

As discussed previously, paralysis is the loss of function of one or more muscle groups.  Usually, an individual is paralyzed as the result of a spinal cord injury, brain injury or a neurological disorder.  When an individual experiences paralysis, he or she will lose feeling in the affected area either temporarily or permanently.  The paralysis may stay within a certain
muscle group or migrate to other regions according to Chicago personal injury attorneys.

A variety of medical conditions can result in paralysis including:

• Spinal cord injuries
• Head trauma
• Brain injuries
• Stroke
• Neurological disorders
• Nervous system disorders
• Multiple sclerosis
• Spinal bifida

If the injury was a result of another person’s negligence, Illinois spinal cord injury lawyers can pursue legal justice to help collect compensation for the catastrophic injury.  Paralysis can be devastating and life-altering and an experienced, competent attorney is crucial to receive proper justice.

Share This

Spinal cord injuries occur when a traumatic event results in damage to cells within the spinal cord or severs the nerve tracts that relay signals up and down the spinal cord.  If the injury occurs as the result of another party’s negligence, Chicago spinal cord injury attorneys can help.

Severe spinal cord injuries often cause a person to become paralyzed.  He or she loses control over voluntary movement and muscles of the body.  Lack of reflex function and a loss of sensation occurs below the point of injury.  Autonomic activity such as breathing, bowel and bladder control can be affected.  Secondary medical problems can result, sensitivity to stimuli, muscle spasms and sexual dysfunction.  At this time, no cure exists for spinal cord injuries.  New research is developing proving that repair and regeneration of the spinal cord is possible.

Paraplegia is when an individual suffers from the loss of sensation and movement in the legs and part or all of the trunk.  Quadriplegia is when an individual is paralyzed from the neck down. Complete injuries result in a complete loss of function and sensation whereas incomplete injuries result in a partial loss.   Chicago personal injury attorneys explain that complete injuries don’t always mean the cord has been severed.  Complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries can occur in paraplegia and quadriplegia.

Paralysis is life-alterting and can be devastating to an individual.  If you have been paralyzed and have questions about pursuing legal justice, contact an Illinois spinal cord injury attorney today.

Share This

A Class Action lawsuit finds strength in numbers.  Often thousands of people will be involved in a single case.  Employee groups often form a single party when filing a suit against a company they work for.  An Illinois personal injury lawyer states, “Vital to any Class Action is the strength and experience of the firm that represents the Plaintiffs.”

Several factors are generally present in class action lawsuits.  Even though one person may file a Class Action lawsuit, the individuals potentially affected by the harmful product or illegal practice must exceed one.  In addition, all individuals within the class must share common injuries or complaints according to a Chicago Class Action attorney.

A Consumer Protection Class Action is the most common type of case involving a “class” or group.  These cases involve those who violate State and Federal laws that protect consumer rights.  Examples include faulty services, misleading advertising, contract violations and scams.  These lawsuits generally involve:

• Telephone providers
• Internet providers
• Insurance companies
• Credit card companies
• Manufacturers of defective products

If you would like more information on Class Action lawsuits or how to proceed with a claim, contact an experienced Chicago personal injury attorney today.

Share This

• If a construction site does not provide 100% fall protection, the general contractor may be found negligent
• If an individual drives through a stop sign and hits your car he or she can be found negligent
• If a landlord fails to fix a safety hazard and you are injured, he or she may be found negligent

Illinois personal injury lawyers further describe negligence as the “doing of something or the failure to do something that an ordinary person would do under similar circumstances.”  Negligence cannot exist without “duty.”  To be found negligent, the party must owe you a duty.  Generally, the duty owed is a duty of reasonable care or ordinary care and the law determines who owes a duty to another.

In Illinois, personal negligence lawyers list the following people that owe the general public a duty of reasonable care:

• Business owners
• Landlords
• Physicians
• Manufacturers
• Automobile operators
• General contractors
• Airlines
• Railroad employers
• Riverboat employers
• Lawyers

In the state of Illinois, if the jury finds the Plaintiff more than 50% at fault, the Plaintiff will lose the case unless an individual is injured at work explains a Chicago negligence attorney.  At work, negligence does not need to be proved.  The employer is automatically liable for any injury.

If you have been injured and believe it is due to negligence from another party, contact an Illinois personal injury lawyer promptly.  Insurance companies will have investigators working on the case immediately; therefore, having a dedicated Chicago personal injury attorney on your side from the beginning will help ensure you have a successful case.

Share This

Anyone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury is usually brought to an emergency room for initial diagnosis and treatment.  Vital signs are assessed and stabilized, life threatening injuries identified and treated, and the diagnosing of the brain injury begins explains Illinois brain injury lawyers. 

X-rays, CT scans or MRI scans are generally conducted to determine if any skull bones are fractured or if bone fragments have penetrated the brain tissues.  A neurological evaluation is performed to look for hematomas or elevated intracranial pressure.  A detailed medical history is necessary to identify any prior psychological treatment, previous injuries, any existing seizure disorders or substance abuse.  The individual is asked a number of simple questions and given simple commands.

Physicians generally use the Glasgow Coma Scale to determine the patient’s degree of consciousness, determine the severity and predict his or her chance for recovery.  The Glasgow Coma Scale measures the patient’s ability to move, speak and open his or her eyes.  The lower the total score, the less chance a person has for complete recovery.  The Glasgow Coma Scales is posted below:

Eye Opening

4 = Responds spontaneously
3 = Responds to voice
2 = Responds to pain
1 = No response

Best Motor Response

6 = Follows commands
5 = Localizes to pain
4 = Withdraws to pain
3 = Decorticate (produces an exaggerated posture of upper extremity flexion and lower extremity extension in response to pain)
2 = Decerebrate (produces an exaggerated posture of extension in response to pain)
1 = No Response

Best Verbal Response

5 = Oriented and converses
4 = Disoriented and converses
3 = Inappropriate words
2 = Incomprehensible sounds
1 = No response

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a brain injury in Chicago, personal injury attorneys will help fight for justice and proper compensation.  Traumatic brain injuries can be devastating and life-changing.  You need the support of a qualified and experienced Illinois brain injury lawyer on your side if another party was at fault for your injury.

Share This

• Coma
• Post-traumatic amnesia
• Recovery

Severe traumatic brain injuries generally result in a loss of consciousness, known as a coma.  When in a coma, the individual shows no reaction when spoken to or touched and his or her eyes are closed.  A coma can be brief or last for an extended period of time.  The longer an individual remains in a coma, the greater the chance for permanent neurological damage.  Illinois brain injury lawyers have represented many individuals who have recovered from a coma yet still suffer side effects from the injury.

The post-traumatic amnesia stage occurs when in individual attempts to communicate and responds with purposeful movement.  Responding to commands such as closing the eyes or lifting a limb, speaking and gesturing are characteristics of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA).  During this stage, concentrating long enough to remember things is difficult.  Chicago personal injury attorneys list the following common symptoms of PTA following a brain injury:

• Difficulty performing tasks such as reciting days of the week, months of the year or counting
• Answering the same question with different responses
• Inability to remember what happened in recent minutes, hours or days
• Staring blankly
• Losing train of thought quickly
• Attention shifts from one subject to another

This state of confusion is mainly cognitive impairment; thinking, perception, remembering and concentration.  Disinhibition, behavior changes and impulsivity are common among individuals during this stage.
The recovery phase begins when a person begins to retain information.  Depending on which areas of the brain were damaged, this stage can last weeks, months or years.  Improvement can occur rapidly at first and generally slows until a recovery plateau has been reached.

Not all individuals recover from a traumatic brain injury.  For those that do, the process may take years.  If you have been the victim of any type of head injury, contact a competent Illinois brain injury lawyer today.

Share This

Symptoms and signs of brain injuries depend on which structures in the brain are damaged.  Chicago brain injury attorneys list the following common symptoms and signs associated with traumatic brain injuries:

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Anxiety
• Blurry or double vision
• Nervousness
• Behavioral changes
• Impulsiveness
• Irritability
• Depression
• Slurred or slowed speech
• Sleep difficulties
• Sense of spinning or vertigo
• Seizures
• Lack of coordinated movements
• Feeling light headed
• Difficulty swallowing
• Difficulty concentrating
• Loss of memory
• Muscle spasms or stiffness
• Tingling, pain or numbness
• Weakness in facial muscles
• Weakness on one side of the body
• Weakness in one or more limbs

This list only includes potential signs and symptoms of a brain injury.  They can develop long after the initial injury occurred.  Illinois personal injury lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for individuals suffering from brain injuries as a result of negligence.  If you are experiencing any of these symptoms contact an experienced Chicago brain injury attorney immediately.

Share This

Illinois brain injury lawyers report that an estimated 26% of the population neglects or resists using safety features such as seatbelts, child safety seats and automobile air bags.  These features dramatically reduce the risk for serious injury and/or death after an accident.  Chicago personal injury attorneys offer the following tips to help reduce or prevent serious traumatic brain injuries:

• Avoid driving under the influence of medications, drugs or alcohol
• Wear shoulder harnesses and lap belts 100% of the time
• Use properly installed child and infant safety seats
• Children under the age of twelve should always ride in the backseat to avoid airbag injuries
• Use a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle
• Adhere to proper speed limits

Although preventing traumatic brain injuries is not always possible, steps can be taken to reduce the risk.  Illinois brain injury lawyers have witnessed on multiple occasions the devastating effects of brain injuries and the long-term complications involved.

Share This

Chicago brain injury attorneys have been discussing the devastating effects of head injuries in the previous few posts.  This post will highlight the different types of brain injuries:

• Early brain injury
• Diffuse axonal injury
• Hypoxic-ischemic injury
• Contusions

Early brain injuries and early complications can be either focal or diffuse.  Focal brain injuries are generally confined to a specific part of the brain.  Localized damage results that can normally be detected by an x-ray or ct scan.  Diffuse injuries on the other hand are characterized by damage throughout many areas of the brain.  Often times, the damage is microscopic and affects the axons (wires) that nerve cells use to communicate with each other.

Diffuse axonal injuries cause the stretching of blood vessels in multiple areas of the brain and a shearing of large nerve fibers.  This injury causes bleeding (hemorrhage) and can trigger additional toxic substances in the brain in days after the initial injury.  The result can be memory loss, inattentiveness, visual loss, weakness on one side of the body and disorganization, among other complications.

Hypoxic-ischemic injuries restrict the flow of oxygen from the blood, glucose and additional nutrients.  Most victims of hypoxic-ischemic injuries face a poor prognosis, reduced cognitive function and/or memory loss reports an Illinois brain injury lawyer.

Contusions are bruises that can cause the destruction of brain tissue, swelling or bleeding.  Symptoms of contusions include but are not limited to memory loss, loss of vision, coordination, abnormal sensations, behavior impairment and weakness.  Contusions can leave permanent scars in brain tissue and therefore neurological impairment.

Contact a Chicago brain injury attorney today if you have further questions on traumatic brain injuries or have been a victim of this life-altering injury.

Share This