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Over 500,000 children are seen in emergency rooms each year for brain injuries, making it the leading cause of death in American children and adolescents. If your child suffered a brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, you may have the right to compensation. Medical bills, rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, and ongoing treatment are extremely costly – there is no reason you and your family should foot the bill. Call the Regan Zambri Long child brain injury lawyers today for a free consultation. While you focus on your child’s health and well-being, we will focus on securing the justice and the compensation you deserve.
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Our Washington, DC child brain injury attorneys at Regan Zambri Long PLLC have extensive experience with injury claims. We have pursued premises liability, medical malpractice, product liability and bicycle accident cases successfully among others for decades and have achieved outstanding results for families and their injured children.
We have the resources necessary to successfully handle these complex legal cases. Recently, we obtained a verdict of $5 million for a child who sustained a permanent brain injury due to an unsafe diving board at a swimming pool. Contact our personal injury law firm in Washington, DC to speak with an experienced and knowledgeable attorney about your case.
Injuries to a baby can occur at any point during a woman’s pregnancy and, unfortunately, many cannot be prevented. However, medical negligence is a common occurrence in Washington DC and across the United States. Birth injuries that can directly result in damage to the child’s brain are:
These mistakes can lead to neonatal strokes, which is one of the most common causes of neurological impairment in children. If your child suffered a neonatal stroke or brain injury due to medical malpractice, the Regan Zambri Long child brain injury lawyers can help recover damages to cover current and future medical costs.
All parents know accidents can happen in many kinds of ways and we can’t avoid every single one. However, parents and guardians should know the more common ways children tend to suffer brain injuries so they can be on the lookout and help try to prevent an accident. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the most common causes of child brain injuries are:
Falls
Over half of all child brain injuries occur from slip and fall accidents (50.2%), mostly around the ages of 0-4. Children can suffer brain injuries from falling from unsafe playground equipment at a local park, a school, or a friend’s house. Washington DC is full of destination playgrounds for children, including Anacostia Park Playground, Palisades Playground, and Splash Park, and Chestnut Hills Park in Arlington, Virginia. While these are excellent choices for young children, they also pose a risk for slip and falls leading to brain injuries.
Being struck
Children being struck and suffering a brain injury accounts for 24.8% of reported child brain injuries. Sometimes, this can happen when kids are playing sports and are struck by a ball or another player.
Motor vehicle accidents
While this is the third-leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in children, it is also the third-leading cause of brain injuries among all age groups. The impact of a car accident can cause severe damage to a child and accounts for 6.8% of all childhood brain injuries.
Assault
Tragically, a child can suffer head injuries from abuse. Abusive head trauma, also known as shaken baby syndrome, can be caused by throwing something at the child, hitting the child, or jerking the child so hard it causes a whiplash effect. It can be deadly or leave the child severely injured or disabled for his or her entire lifetime.
Other causes of brain injuries may include:
Because their brains are developing, children may have a wide range of symptoms following a brain injury. As a parent or guardian, there are signs you want to look for immediately following an accident or injury, and signs you may need to keep an eye on months after the incident.
If your child experiences any of the following symptoms immediately or soon after suffering head trauma, make sure to get them to the nearest hospital for a full evaluation:
Not all injuries are visible right away. If your child suffered a brain injury, you must be vigilant and take note of any symptoms that develop over the next several months. If your child experiences any of the following in the weeks or months following the accident, make sure to seek medical attention:
If your baby or toddler suffered a head injury, look for the following symptoms:
A child can suffer different types of brain injuries with varying degrees of severity. It is extremely important to know the differences in these injuries – even the mildest of head injuries can cause long-term disabilities in children. To recognize the different types of brain injuries, we need to understand what a brain injury is.
Head injuries are injuries that occur to the scalp, skull, brain, and underlying tissue and blood vessels in a child’s head. They can range from very mild, to extremely dangerous, even deadly. A traumatic brain injury is an injury caused by a violent blow or jolt to the head. The different brain injuries a child can sustain are:
A concussion is the most common traumatic brain injury. Though many believe concussions are minor injuries, they can cause real damage to the child, including loss of awareness or consciousness for a few minutes up to a few hours after the incident. Concussions may take a few days to heal, but can also cause long-term harm.
This type of injury is a bruise to the brain. It causes bleeding and swelling inside of the brain in one of two places: around the area where the injury occurred or on the opposite side of the head from the brain hitting the skull.
Skull fractures are breaks in the actual skull bone. There are four types of skull fractures:
The severity of the head injury also depends on what part of the child’s brain is affected. For example, if a child suffers a head injury in his or her frontal lobe, it can affect their memory, emotions, impulse control, motor function, and social interactions. If the injury occurred in the child’s cerebellum, coordination may be affected, as well as the ability to judge distance and depth. Cerebellum injuries in children may also cause tremors. Finally, if a child brain injury occurs in the brainstem, the child may suffer coma, paralysis, or death.
Treatments for these injuries, especially the more severe brain injuries, are extremely expensive and can send a family into financial distress very quickly. If your family is going through this, reach out to the Regan Zambri Long child brain injury lawyers. We can walk you through the claims process and help you recover damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering.
A: If your child experienced a head trauma, the most important thing to do is seek medical attention as soon as possible. Your doctor will do a thorough examination, including a complete medical history, to determine the extent of your child’s injuries. The diagnostic tests your child may undergo following a head injury are:
A: The Children’s Safety Network highlights useful tips to help prevent child head trauma. The tips include:
A: Treatment will be individualized to your child, depending on the type and severity of the brain injury. If your child suffered a mild brain injury, the treatment may be as simple as putting ice on his or her head and resting for several days. However, if the injury is more severe, the child may need to be hospitalized for observation. They may need stitches, sedation, or surgery.
If your child suffered long-term and possibly debilitating effects from the traumatic brain injury, their treatment plan would be more intense. Your child may need rehabilitation to learn to walk, write, or talk again. Physical and occupational therapy may be necessary in order to relearn everyday tasks and coordination skills. They may undergo cognitive therapy, as well, which will help your child improve their memory, judgment, learning, and attention skills.
A: Child brain injury claims can get very complicated very quickly because there may be more than one party at fault. The first thing our child brain injury lawyers will do is determine which party or parties are liable for your child’s injury. The negligent parties can include:
A: We deeply understand what you and your family are going through. All DC parents have one thing in common – they want to keep their children safe. Watching your child suffer a traumatic brain injury is excruciating for any parent. We can help. While you focus on your child’s health and recovery, we can take over the claims process. Going up against insurance companies can be intimidating and when you’re taking care of a sick child, it becomes almost impossible. We will work with a team of medical professionals and legal experts to build a rock-solid case that will secure you and your family the highest amount of compensation possible. We know we cannot change what happened to your child, but we can work to secure the maximum amount of compensation so you have the time and financial resources to be with your child during the healing process. Call today for a free consultation with an expert DC child head injury lawyer. Let us walk alongside you and help you and your family recover and get back to normal as quickly as possible.
