Sacramento Brain Injury Lawyer Blog

We all know how much fun trampolines can be. We even had one of our own at our house in Sacramento, California a couple years back. Recent studies have shown, however, that trampolines, although fun, may not be as safe as we would hope. One of the most dangerous effects of trampolines is the potential of spinal cord injury. At our Personal Injury Law Firm, we know that this is no small injury. A spinal cord injury, especially in children, can be a hard battle to face.

Reports have shown that actually falling off trampolines will often result in “crippling injury and/or death including paralysis from spinal cord injury”. Other factors that led to these types of injuries occurred from colliding with others on the trampoline and trampoline somersaults or stunts.

Statistics by the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons show that 246,875 injuries from trampoline accidents occur each year in the U.S. 186,405 of these injuries were sustained by children 14 years old or younger.

Like I said before, although trampolines can be fun, they can be quite dangerous as well. Be careful with your children and help to ensure their safety by letting them know of the dangers associated with trampolines and by monitoring them if you do allow them to jump.

If you or someone you know have suffered from an injury because of someone else’s negligence, please give us a call at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

Stay safe…

For more information on trampoline injuries and statistics, please click here.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Spinal Cord Injury

Bookmark:

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you are bound to know how dangerous I feel motorcycle can be and also how difficult spinal cord injuries can be on the victim. We have seen in our law practice in Sacramento, California, how lives change after a spinal cord injury, especially if this injury results in paraplegia.

I read a news report today about a motorcyclist that was rear-ended. A 21-year old woman was driving her Jeep Cherokee, when she was distracted for a moment by one of her four dogs riding with her. As she glanced off the road, a man driving a motorcycle in front of her slowed down to make a turn. The woman rear-ended the man, sending him flying up onto her car and slamming him against her windshield. At the hospital, he was diagnosed as suffering from broken bones and a spinal cord injury, which has left him paralyzed.

The 21-year old, who was ticketed for speeding and driving without insurance three hours prior, was written up for a felony. Her charge was gross negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Again, I can’t tell how careful to be if you ride a motorcycle… and drivers, keep special watch out for these motorcyclists! If you or someone you love are suffering from a spinal cord injury because of someone’s neglect, please give us a call at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

Keep and eye out…

For the full news article, please click here.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Spinal Cord Injury

Bookmark:

As a Personal Injury Law Firm in Sacramento, Ca, we know that when someone has been injured in an accident, they have a whole bunch of questions that need to be answered. This is especially true when dealing with complex injuries, such as a traumatic brain injury. To understand more clearly what happens when a brain is injured in an accident, take a look at how a healthy brain and an injured brain are described by the Brain Injury Association:

A healthy brain

To understand what happens when the brain is injured, it is important to realize what a healthy brain is made of and what it does. The brain is enclosed inside the skull. The skull acts as a protective covering for the soft brain. The brain is made of neurons (nerve cells). The neurons form tracts that route throughout the brain. These nerve tracts carry messages to various parts of the brain. The brain uses these messages to perform functions. The functions include our coordinating our body’s systems, such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and metabolism; thought processing; body movements; personality; behavior; and the senses, such as vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Each part of the brain serves a specific function and links with other parts of the brain to form more complex functions.

An injured brain

When a brain injury occurs, the functions of the neurons, nerve tracts, or sections of the brain can be affected. If the neurons and nerve tracts are affected, they can be unable or have difficulty carrying the messages that tell the brain what to do. This can change the way a person thinks, acts, feels, and moves the body. Brain injury can also change the complex internal functions of the body, such as regulating body temperature; blood pressure; bowel and bladder control. These changes can be temporary or permanent. They may cause impairment or a complete inability to perform a function.

If you or someone you love have been injured in an accident and are suffering from a brain injury, please do not hesitate to call us. Please call us at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins, (916) 444-4444, we are here to help.

For more information on causes of brain injuries, please visit the Brain Injury Association website.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Informational Resources

Bookmark:

I came across an interesting story today. A 64-year old ex-policeman has passed away. Cause of death was homicide...from a gunshot wound he received 41 years ago. At 23 years old, Walter Barclay was carrying out a burglary investigation when he was shot several times. The gunshots hit his spine, splintering it, and leaving him paralyzed.

41 years later, Barclay developed a urinary tract infection, directly related to his paraplegia, which was directly related to his shooting that fateful night. Prosecutors are now trying to decide whether or not to charge the shooter, William Barnes, with murder.

Working in our Personal Injury Law Firm in Sacramento, California, we know that there are many complications that will need to be addressed after a spinal cord injury, especially if the injury results in paralysis. It will be interesting to see what the prosecutors decide in this case. And if their answer is to charge Barnes for murder, what impact does that have on other cases of a similar manner?

If you or a loved one have been injured by another person’s misconduct, please call the Law Offices of Moseley Collins for advice.

Until next time…

To read the full article on the homicide of Walter Barclay, please click here.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Spinal Cord Injury

Bookmark:

Brain injuries can come from a array of accidents, including extreme sports like skateboarding. We all know how much kids, especially boys, enjoy being out with their friends, scraping elbows and bruising knees. Sometimes, these cuts and scrapes can lead to more serious injuries as well. As a Personal Injury Attorney, I know full well the dangers of these sports. No, I am not telling you to lock your children inside the house, forbidding them to participate in the games, but simply to be aware and give some helpful advice when needed.

One recent skateboarding accident that could have wound up more serious, occurred at the X-Games in Los Angeles, California this month. Skateboarder Jake Brown fell 45 feet off his skateboard at the Big Air event’s quarterpipe, landing feet-first on the flatter part of the ramp. Jake was unconscious for a moment after the fall and suffered from a minor concussion. Had he fallen head first, or had he not been wearing a helmet, well, that would be a whole other story.

So what is the advice here? First of all, if your children are going to be skateboarding, protect them with a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. Secondly, if a skateboarder is going to fall on a ramp, he/she should try to slide down the ramp, rather than going for a direct hit on the bottom as Jake did at the X games. If someone does fall while skateboarding and loses consciousness for a moment, take them immediately to received medical attention.

Have fun and play safe...

For more the full article on Jake Brown's accident, please click here.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury

Bookmark:

South of our Sacramento home, in Modesto, California, a boy was severely injured in a car accident several months ago, suffering from a traumatic brain injury. This week, he is coming home to his family and friends. The boy, Tyler Allen, is going through a long process of recuperation and it will be some time before he is able to regain abilities he had before, such as walking and talking.

The accident, a collision between a semi-truck and a BMW, happened on May 9th. Tyler was sitting in the passenger seat of the BMW. Following the accident, Tyler was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken hip, a broken knee, multiple head injuries, and placed in a coma. The driver of the BMW died at the scene.

Often times, the degree of severity for a coma will be described using the Glasgow Coma Score (GCS). The GCS assess several different aspects of a person’s skills, including verbal, eye, and motor responses. The final outcome is a number range from 3 to 15, 3 being the worst and 15 the best. Tyler has scored about a five which indicates a very severe injury.

Let’s keep Tyler in our prayers. If you or a loved one has suffered from a severe brain injury, please call our Law Offices for legal help and advice.

Take care…

Read the full news article on Tyler’s injury and rehabilitation.
Read more about comas.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury

Bookmark:

At our Personal Injury Law Firm in Sacramento, California, our clients that have suffered from brain injuries can testify to the “invisible disability” that affects their lives. A brain injury has been often termed as an “invisible disability” because it is usually not openly obvious that the victim is suffering. This invisible quality also makes it hard to immediately detect a less serious brain injury in an individual. As I have discussed before, brain injuries can often times go unnoticed at the time of the accident, causing more serious results to occur because of lack of treatment.

A new hand-held device has recently come out, however, that is supposed to be able to detect even minor brain injury after an accident. The device is called BrainScope and translates brain electrical activity (called EEG tracings) onto a graph into quantitative numbers (QEEGs). These QEEGs are then compared to a database of about 20,000 patients and can point out any deviations from the norm of this group.

BrainScope, which is roughly the size of an IPod, is supposed to be able to detect any deviations within minutes and, using a color display, indicates if the injured person’s brain functions are normal.

This is a great step in immediately discovering a brain injury and getting medical help as soon as possible. This device, being small and transportable, can be used at sporting events, on the battlefield, and at emergency clinics, just to name a few.

If you or someone you love have suffered from a brain injury because of an accident, please call us at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

Protect those brains…

For the full article on BrainScope, please click here.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Breakthroughs

Bookmark:

The date for the annual California State Fair in our home of Sacramento is rapidly approaching. August 17th the gates will open and remain a place filled with rides, games, and treats until September 3rd. My family and I have always loved going to the fair. You can’t help but feel like a kid again, running around from ride to ride and smelling all the delicious goodies. But along with the fun, amusement parks can at times be dangerous. I just saw a recent article on roller coasters and injuries, in particular brain injuries. At our Personal Injury Law Firm, we know how costly (emotionally, physically, monetarily) a brain injury can be.

The article states that a head or brain injury can occur from the jerking motions of a roller coaster ride. It states that people can be particularly susceptible to this when riding in the dark (for example a tunnel) or when turning their heads while on the ride (for example to see the view, or a parent checking on their child).

Reading other articles, such as one from the Brain Injury Association, roller coasters do not seem to be one of our biggest threats in causing brain and head injury, but nevertheless, we should be aware of the possibilities that exist in a given situation.

If you or someone you love have ever been injured and suffered from a head or brain injury, you should get legal help. Please call the Law Offices of Moseley Collins for advice and assistance.

Have fun and be safe…

To read more about brain injuries and roller coasters see the full news article and the Brain Injury Association website.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Brain Injury

Bookmark:

Sitting in my office in Sacramento, California, I have read time and again about the staggering amount of brain injuries that are suffered by our troops abroad. As a Personal Injury Lawyer, I know that a traumatic brain injury can be not only devastating, but unfortunately many brain injuries go without detection and medical help.

Promising news awaits however. As I read through the news today, I saw an article regarding the Army and a new campaign they are using to heighten awareness in soldiers about traumatic brain injuries. The campaign is designed to teach 1 million soldiers about the injury and how to recognize the symptoms of it in order to get immediate medical help.

I am encouraged by this news, as I know that many of these injuries are “invisible” and may not be taken care of until a later, and more detrimental, date. We all, soldiers and non-soldiers alike, need to be aware of how a brain injury is caused and what the symptoms are of it.

If you have been involved in an accident and believe that you may have a brain injury, seek medical help immediately. For legal advice, please call us at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins. We are here to help.

Be aware…

For more information please go to this article.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Inspiration

Bookmark:

As a Personal Injury Law Firm in the Sacramento area, it is always wonderful to read about stories of survivors of accidents and injuries. We know that a spinal cord injury is one of the hardest to deal with and learn to readjust. I read a story in the news today about a man who suffered from a spinal cord injury in a car crash five years ago. Today, he is learning to get around on his own and the injury has become the basis behind his work.

The man’s name is Brandon Ingram. He was in a car crash in which the driver of the other vehicle rear-ended him on the freeway. Crashing through his windshield, Brandon broke ribs, fracture a lung, and was paralyzed from the waist down. At the time of the accident he was 22 years old.

He began using a device called the Andara Oscillating Field Stimulator that helps regenerate damaged nerve fibers and restore some body functions. Brandon is one of 13 people to test the new machine.

The trials have proven to be quite extraordinary. The article states that “quadriplegics regained the use of their hands; paralyzed patients could feel their feet again”. An amazing accomplishment, however, the device does have some drawbacks and will have to continue undergoing testing. One drawback is that it is quite expensive, about $40,000 to $50,000 and it needs to be used within days of the injury.

Brandon is very optimistic about it. He has regained some functions and can walk using braces and his upper body. He currently works at a cable TV company and does motivational speaking.

If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident and have suffered a spinal cord injury, please give us a call at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

Until we meet again…

For further information on Brandon and to read this article, please click here.

Posted by Moseley Collins | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Spinal Cord Injury

Bookmark: