By Jim Lewis, Birth and Brain Injury Attorney in Virginia

A Michigan teenager whose cerebral palsy, quadriplegia and other permanent disabilities appear to have been caused by the negligence of the doctor who delivered her at William Beaumont Hospital in Oakland County, MI, in 1996 has won a medical malpractice lawsuit against the health care facility and the obstetrician. The girl, who is now 15, is set to receive $144 million, which will come down to $130 million after legal fees and costs are paid.

Attorney Geoffrey Fieger told WXYX Action News 7 that the amount awarded represents no more than the bare minimum of lifelong care for the girl “at $12 an hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for 77 years into future.”

Key to the successful resolution for the plaintiff in this medical negligence/birth injury case was showing that the doctor and administrators at the hospital were negligent in not recognizing and responding to risks to the newborn from a complicated pregnancy and delivery. The girl’s mother had developed gestational diabetes, and the girl’s birth weight was more than 10 pounds. Both problems indicated a caesarean section was safer than a vaginal delivery, but the c-section was never ordered nor performed.

Cerebral palsy often results from a mistake or negligence by the doctor or nurses attending a birth. As a medical malpractice lawyer based in Virginia (VA) who has represented several children and families whose lives have been made almost unimaginably difficult by preventable birth and brain injuries, I know that the pressures and costs of providing lifelong care for disabled kids and adults are unsupportable without compensation from the health care providers and facilities that caused the injuries.

I wish the Michigan teen and her family well and hope their burdens are now eased.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injury cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain-damaged client in 2000. The initial award of $46 million rose to $60 million with interest when an appeal was settled confidentially. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury lawyers also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against a possibly at-fault person or company that caused your injury, call our office at (800) 752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail. We will return your call.

By Rick Shapiro, Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney in Virginia

By John Cooper, Personal Injury Attorney in Virginia

My colleague Randy Appleton has written about a hit-and-run accident that occurred in North Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania (PA), and injured a teenager. The at-fault driver remains at large. Will the victim be able to pursue damages if the at-fault driver is never apprehended? Find out by reading this story: “Teenager Injured in Hit-and-Run Accident.”

PA

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injury cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) but we also have an office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC). Our attorneys achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain-damaged client in 2000. The initial award of $46 million rose to $60 million with interest when an appeal was settled confidentially. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury lawyers also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against a possibly at-fault person or company that caused your injury, call our office at (800) 752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail. We will return your call.

By Randy Appleton, Brain and Head Injury Attorney in Virginia

My VA personal injury law firm colleague John Cooper has written on our main website about a California defective products case in which a woman suffered permanently paralyzing injuries in a rear-end car crash. The maker of a driver’s side car seat that collapsed backwards, throwing her head into the rear seat, has been ordered to pay the woman $24.7 million. A jury concluded the company knew for more than a decade that this type of seat could fail to protect drivers. To read more, click over to “Defective Car Seat Ruled to Have Caused CA Woman’s Neck Injuries, Paralysis.”

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injury cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain-damaged client in 2000. The initial award of $46 million rose to $60 million with interest when an appeal was settled confidentially. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury lawyers also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against a possibly at-fault person or company that caused your injury, call our office at (800) 752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail. We will return your call.

By John Cooper, Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer in Virginia

How much will a  lifetime of extra doctor visits, nursing help, therapy and medical equipment  cost after a life-changing injury? Important question without an easy answer. These costs are often staggering  when someone suffers a debilitating injury like paralysis or traumatic brain injury? The answer typically requires a hired expert to study your needs after the accident and do the calculations.
 
Some insurance companies and the best personal injury lawyers in big cases use “life care plans.” These plans are a tool that can assist in estimating the scope and cost of future care needs, as well as outlining prevention steps that address the effects of aging on a disability.
 
The International Academy of Life Care Planners states the objective of their profession is to:
 
1. Assist the injured victim in achieving optimal outcomes by developing an appropriate plan of prevention of complications and restoration. This may include recommendations for evaluations or treatment that may contribute to the client’s level of wellness or provide information regarding treatment requirements.
 
2. Develop accurate and timely cost information, measurement tools to analyze outcomes, and specificity of service allocations that can be easily utilized by the client and interested parties.
 
For example, let’s say a loved one was driving down Interstate 264 (I-264) in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) and is involved in a serious car wreck with a drunk driver. As a result, they suffer extensive brain damage and will need round-the-clock care for the rest of their life. How do you quantify the damages? How much should your loved one receive from, let’s say, a personal injury claim?

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and we have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injuries. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys have handled numerous head injury and brain trauma cases, and achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain damaged client in 2000.  Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.  While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against the at-fault person or company who caused your injury, call our office at 1-800-752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail and we will promptly return your call.

PA