Articles Posted in Traumatic Brain Injury

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Jennie Pagan, 40, was driving home from work. While she was stopped in traffic,  Alain Chil Gonzalez, rear-ended her Sedan in his pickup. Pagan suffered a herniated disk at C5-6, which required physical therapy, pain management and disk replacement surgery. Her past medical expenses totaled $186,300. She is no longer able to participate in physical activities with her young daughter.

Pagan sued Gonzalez, alleging negligent operation of the pickup truck. Pagan did not claim lost income.

The jury signed a verdict for more than $4.98 million.

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Doe, age 7, was riding in a van operated by his classmate’s mother. As the van entered an intersection that was controlled by a traffic light, Roe, an employee of a contracting company, collided with the van, which caused it to strike a telephone pole.

Both Doe and his classmates were ejected and landed on the roadway. Doe suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Doe’s family sued the contracting company and his classmate’s mother alleging liability for the crash.  The Doe family claimed that Roe’s choosing not to stop at a red light caused the crash.

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Tomasa Cuevas was traveling in her SUV with her two children, Alejandro, 16, and Maritza, 11. Amarjit Aulakh, an employee of Rai Transport Inc., drove his semi-tractor-trailer through a red light.  This caused a T-bone collision with Cuevas’s vehicle.

Tomasa Cuevas, 42, suffered fractures to her skull and face as well as a traumatic brain injury. Alejandro, who was in the passenger seat, also suffered skull and facial fractures and a traumatic brain injury.  Alejandro was a successful high school cross-country runner who may not be able to return to the sport.  Maritza was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after this horrific crash.

Cuevas and for her children sued Rai Transport, alleging liability for Aulakh’s choosing not to obey a red light. The Cuevas family alleged that Aulakh had been involved in fourteen prior collisions and was driving with a suspended license at the time of this incident. The lawsuit did not claim lost income.

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Gabriel Goncalves, a 12-year-old boy who was on the autism spectrum, was riding a school bus driven by Mark Hudovenko. During the bus ride, Hudovenko swerved at 45 mph, which was 15 miles over the speed limit. This caused the bus to leave the road and collide with a tree.

Gabriel suffered serious injuries in the crash, including brain hemorrhages, a skull fracture and various lacerations.

Gabriel has been diagnosed as having a traumatic brain injury, which has led to negative behavioral changes, sensory hypersensitivity and memory loss.

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Charles Jacobus, 55, was attempting to cross the street in order to catch a bus when the SUV driven by Shayla Randle struck him. Randle, a teenager, had obtained her driver’s license the previous day. Jacobus suffered multiple fractures and a frontal lobe injury.

Jacobus spent 58 days in the hospital. He now has partial vision loss and speech difficulties. He was a store cashier earning approximately $20,000 per year. He has not returned to work.

Jacobus sued Randle, alleging that she chose not to control her motor vehicle, did not drive in a safe manner, failed to keep a proper lookout and obey Florida traffic laws. The lawsuit also alleged the vehicle’s owner, her mother, was liable for negligent entrustment.

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A 3-year-old child, Doe, was on vacation with his family in a vacation rental home that included a fenced-in swimming pool. After dinner one night, family members found young Doe floating face down in the pool.

Doe was resuscitated and air-lifted to a children’s hospital where he remained for one month before being transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Doe is now 7. He suffers from hypoxic brain damage that has resulted in cognitive and physical impairments, including an abnormal gait and speech difficulties. Doe’s medical expenses were $294,000.

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These consolidated appeals arise from an important issue facing professional athletics and contemporary culture as a whole. Former professional football players are developing significant neurological disorders after sustaining repeated concussions while playing football. Evolving scientific and medical research has uncovered a link between repeated blows to the head and developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and other neurological impairments.

The plaintiffs in these cases are former professional football players who have sustained numerous concussions and are suffering the attendant neurological impairments. They have already sued the National Football League in a federal class action case and have entered into a settlement with the NFL to address their grievances. The same former players, however, now seek relief from the defendants — the manufacturers and designers of the helmets they wore while playing football.  These plaintiffs alleged that the helmet manufacturers have long known about the dangers and the harmful effects of repeated concussive and sub-concussive traumas, but they never warned the users of their helmets about the dangers; instead, they represented that their helmets were protecting these players.

The defendant-helmet manufacturers moved to dismiss these cases on the ground that the cases are barred by the two-year statute of limitations covering personal injury actions in Illinois. In response, the plaintiffs argued that the cases were not time barred because the lawsuits were filed within two years of the players learning about the injuries for which they seek relief. The trial court found that, because the players had already sued the NFL more than two years before filing these cases, the players knew about their injuries and, therefore, could have sued the helmet manufacturers at the same time – more than two years before filing these lawsuits. Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their claims. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the plaintiffs’ claims were indeed untimely and upheld the dismissal.

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Jaccolah Johnson was 66 and had limited mobility when she used the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) mobility bus to get to appointments and other local trips.

On one occasion, Johnson attempted to exit the bus while carrying two bags with one arm and a Bible tucked underneath the other arm. Johnson refused the driver’s offer of assistance, and the driver stayed buckled into his seat.

She walked down the bus’s angled steps, lost her balance, fell down the steps, and hit the back of her head on the curb.

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Nardo Ovando was a 44-year-old painter employed by Painters USA Inc. and was hired for a painting job at the defendant Vita Food Products Inc. The job was located at 2222 W. Lake St. in Chicago.  Ovando was standing on a ladder and reaching overhead while painting a ceiling at the Vita Food facility on June 30, 2011 when one of the legs of the ladder dropped into a floor drain opening that caused him to fall off the ladder.

On falling, Ovando’s head struck the floor resulting in a severe traumatic brain injury that required multiple brain surgeries.

Ovando reportedly has exhibited no measurable brain activity since the occurrence and will require care in a skilled nursing facility for the remainder of his life. His past medical expenses totaled $1,204,762 with his future medical expenses estimated at $7,590,000.

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On Aug. 2, 2005, Brandy Pirrello was a resident at Maryville Academy, a facility that houses and treats minors with behavioral problems. At the time, Brandy was 16 years old. She had been admitted to the facility in early 2005 and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was at risk of suicide or self-harm. On Aug. 2, 2005, Brandy leaped from her second-story window, landed on a cement patio and seriously injured herself.

On July 17, 2007, Brandy turned 18 years old. The day before, she filed a lawsuit against Maryville. Brandy claimed that Maryville had been negligent in choosing not to take precautions against the risk that she would try to hurt herself. Brandy was seeking compensation for the expenses that she incurred due to her hospitalization and related medical expenses.

However, the injury and the bulk of the expenses incurred between the ages of 16 and 18 and as such, fell under Illinois Family Expense Act. By the terms of the act, the responsibility for paying for Brandy’s medical care was her parents’ responsibility rather than Brandy herself. Therefore, her parents had the right to sue. Brandy’s parents did not join her as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Brandy’s parents divorced when she was 8, and Brandy was on her father’s health insurance at the time of her injuries. Brandy’s father indicated at a deposition that he did not intend to be involved in her lawsuit.

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