Dr. David Camarillo is a bioengineering professor at Stanford University & a brain injury expert. His lab has designed a new very large helmet to greatly reduce the risk of brain injury. It provides more space & therefore more time for the head to slow down so that the brain is not bruised by hitting the inside of the skull. Continue reading
Category Archives: Brain injury cases
Claimant changed her story between accident & medical assessments – judge rejects all her specialists’ opinions
Ms. Gill’s lawyer claimed that she will have long-term consequences from a head injury from her car accident. He relied on the opinions of 4 medical specialists he hired to prove her claim.
ICBC’s lawyer claimed that the opinions of those medical experts were wrong because they got the facts wrong from the claimant. Continue reading
Claimant’s mild head injury resolved 1.5 – 2 years after mva — judge awards $80,000 for pain & suffering
Ms. Gill suffered a minor head injury & minor soft tissue injuries as a result of her car accident & experienced headaches and dizziness. Continue reading
Huge new study shows the long-term consequences of concussions
The New York Times wrote: “the scientists concentrated on all Swedes born between 1973 and 1985 and looked for those who had experienced a head injury of some kind before the age of 25. More than 104,000 people qualified.
The researchers pulled data about these people for 40 years or until someone had either died or emigrated from Sweden.
24-Hour expert hotline now available for questions about a concussion
Dr. Jha, a Toronto neurosurgeon, has launched a 24-hour toll-free hotline (1-855-899-5665) for anyone who has or thinks he/she may have sustained a concussion, including after a car accident, and has questions about his/her injury.
Dr. Jha says that, contrary to popular belief, a concussion can be caused by trauma other than a blow to the outside of the head. For example, during a car accident, it is possible to sustain a concussion from one’s brain getting bruised by impact with the inside of one’s skull. Continue reading
New research – resting right after a concussion can cut recovery time in half
A new study published in the Pediatrics medical journal shows that those who experienced a concussion and did not rest immediately afterwards took nearly twice as long to recover as those who rested immediately.
Limited English speaker awarded $350,000 for loss of future earning capacity
Ms. Tan was 52 years old at the time of her mva. She had been working as a room attendant cleaning guest rooms for nearly 16 months at The Westin Wall Centre Hotel (“The Westin”). By her trial date she had not returned to work at her former physically demanding or any job since her mva due to her chronic pain & cognitive & psychological issues.
ICBC’s lawyer argued at trial that:
- Ms. T’s loss of future earning capacity award should be small and,
- she will be able to get a job again if it involves her being seated or performing only light-strength work.
Court values brain injured claimant’s lost future earning capacity at $4,533,000 U.S.
David Mackey was 17 years old when he was visiting BC from the US. He was swinging on a severely corroded lamp post. It broke & he fell ten meters below. & suffered a severe brain injury.
Mr. Justice Macintosh heard a 34 day trial to assess relative degrees of fault and Mr. Mackey’s damages including his loss of future earning capacity.
Mr. Mackey’s lawyers argued that absent his accident he would have become an orthopaedic surgeon in the USA even though he was still in high school when he was injured.
The defence argued that the claimant’s scholastic performance up to the accident date would have barred him from achieving the qualifications needed to eventually become an orthopedic surgeon.
Brain injury & caesarean delivery results in $115,000 pain & suffering award to stoic claimant
Ms. Gill was in a car accident when she was 8 months pregnant. She suffered:
- a brain injury requiring an immediate craniotomy &
- a cesarean delivery, as her baby was in distress and then was in a coma for 3 days.
Claimant’s parents compensated $14,000 for travel expenses & $6,000 for services they provided
Ms. Gabor was unable to avoid colliding with a pick-up truck that ran a red light. She incurred a brain injury with memory loss and chronic shoulder pain.
After the accident, her parents frequently flew from Lethbridge to Vancouver, rented an apartment or stayed at a hotel and provided her with assistance.
Two issues were whether her parents should be compensated for:
- their travel expenses and
- the services they provided their daughter.
Court awards $75,000 for pain & suffering for claimant with ongoing headaches and loss of lifestyle
Ms. Lemyre’s car accident left her in considerable pain and discomfort. Five years after the accident, she still suffers from frequent headaches. Previously, she enjoyed cooking and walking for exercise but since the accident she has done neither.
Judge reduces lost earning capacity award due to claimant’s pre-accident psychological challenges
Mrs. M. was a teacher. She suffered a mild traumatic brain injury in a car accident. Before her accident she had a few challenges:
- she had received numerous treatments for psychological counseling;
- had difficulty coping with the normal stressors of day-to-day life; and
- was at risk for anxiety and depression.
The judge awarded her $350,000 for her loss of future earning capacity. Continue reading
Is there an advantage in obtaining a private MRI versus an MRI at a hospital?
This is letter written by the president of Canadian Magnetic Imaging (CMI) , a private MRI clinic in Vancouver. While CMI benefits certainly benefits from injured people obtaining private MRI’s from them it is certainly worth considering what he has written:
“There has been much discussion about the use of MRI in litigation and, in particular, a focus on the role of the public system in recovering the cost of the scan. The reports attached to this newsletter demonstrate that, regardless of the recovery issues, the public system is not where you want your litigation clients scanned because it will likely not provide you with the information you require to obtain appropriate recovery for your clients.
Absence in medical records of dizziness complaints in the first month doesn’t mean the car accident was not the cause
ICBC hired an ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. Bell, to assess an injured claimant at an independent medical examination. He wrote that the first recorded complaint of her imbalance was about a month after the collision and that this was too long for trauma to have been its cause.
Judge throws out report of psychiatrist, Dr. Derryck Smith
On June 18, 2014 Mr. Justice Abrioux gave a written ruling on whether the report of a psychiatrist who never saw the claimant was admissible as evidence at the trial in the case of Maras v. Seemore Entertainment Ltd. Mr. Maras was claiming he suffered a brain injury. He ordered that the report of Dr. Derryck Smith was inadmissible at trial because: Continue reading