Kansas City Lawyer for Child Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause lifelong disabilities and impairments. TBI is the leading cause of disability and death in children. Suffering brain damage at an early age can have a significant impact on a child’s life. It can be difficult to predict the consequences of a brain injury for a child. Before you agree to accept a personal injury settlement on behalf of your child, it is in your child’s best interest to seek legal counsel.
Our Kansas City brain injury lawyer can help you protect your child’s legal right to fair and just compensation for a brain injury. Our legal team works with your child’s physicians and specialists to document the extent of the injuries and future treatment needs so your child can achieve a full and fair damages.
Our law firm is experienced in investigating all potential avenues of compensation to recover compensation to help ensure your child receives the medical treatment, services, and other resources for a better future. We handle brain injury cases for adults and children throughout Missouri and Kansas. Call us for a free consultation at 816-203-0143.
Did Your Child Suffer a Brain Injury in a Kansas City Accident?
A traumatic brain injury or TBI affects how the brain works. A TBI may result from a jolt, blow, or bump to the head. It can also result from a penetrating head injury when an object penetrates the skull and enters the brain. TBIs may be classified as mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the severity of damage caused by the injury.
A closed brain injury often results from blunt force trauma to the head. However, an impact to the head is not necessary to sustain a brain injury. Whiplash or severe head movements can cause the brain to collide with the skull. The result can be contusions, concussions, diffuse axonal injury, bruising, internal bleeding, and swelling. In addition to the immediate trauma to the brain, secondary brain injuries may evolve over hours or days. Secondary brain injuries result in further destruction of brain tissue because of changes to the brain tissue and blood vessels.
How Child Brain Injuries Occur in Missouri & Kansas Accidents
Brain injuries in children can occur in a variety of situations. However, some of the most common causes include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Sports injuries, including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc.
- Recreational activities, such as skateboarding, horseback riding, swimming, rock climbing, etc.
- Riding 4-wheelers and scooters
- Falls, including falls from heights and slip and fall accidents
- Abuse, including shaken baby syndrome
- Violence, such as blunt force trauma and gunshots
- Playground accidents
- Birth injuries
- Pedestrian accidents
Children are unaware of the dangers of brain injury. As a result, they often do not take precautions, such as wearing helmets and protective gear. Therefore, parents and caregivers need to ensure children use helmets and protective gear to reduce the risk of a brain injury.
What to Do If a Child Suffers a Brain Injury After an Accident in Kansas City
Immediate medical treatment is critical to recovery when a child sustains a brain injury. Knowing the subtle symptoms of a brain injury can mean the difference between life and death.
A headache, swollen scalp, or vomiting can be subtle symptoms of a brain injury in children. Other symptoms may include:
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Confusion
- Will not stop crying or is more fussy than usual
- Complains of neck or head pain
- Is not talking or walking normally
- Cannot awaken easily or is overly drowsy
- Changes in nursing or eating habits
- Does not have an interest in playing, toys, or favorite activities
- Changes in sleep habits
- Mood changes, depressed, or sad
- Changes in ability to focus or pay attention
- Inability to be consoled
Older children may complain of or display various cognitive, sensory, physical, or behavioral symptoms. Any changes in normal behavior could indicate a brain injury. Trust your instincts. It is always best to have a child checked by a local Missouri or Kansas physician after an accident.
If your child is involved in an accident or receives a jolt or blow to the head, seek immediate emergency medical help. If your child is having a seizure or is unconscious, call 911.
Doctors use a variety of diagnostic tests to diagnose brain injuries, including MRIs, and CT scans. The treatment for a child’s brain injury depends on the exact injury and the severity of the injury. Mild brain injuries may heal with time and rest. Severe brain injuries may require medication, surgery, and rehabilitation therapies.
How Can Children Recover After a Brain Injury in Missouri & Kansas?
Brain injuries can result in numerous complications and permanent disabilities. Even a minor brain injury can significantly impact a child’s brain development. When a child sustains a TBI, there is a risk that the child will have physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral developmental delays.
A child with brain damage may need lifelong care or assisted care. They may also need specialized education and therapy resources to cope with the consequences of the brain damage. All of these services can be expensive. Over a lifetime, the costs of medical care and personal care can total millions of dollars.
In addition to treatment and personal care, a child may have decreased earning potential because of permanent impairments caused by brain damage. A child may struggle with depression because they must deal with the problems and disabilities caused by the brain injury. The emotional and mental anguish may increase as he or shee grows up and experiences problems with communication and intellectual tasks, physical complications, sensory issues, and the increased risk of degenerative brain diseases.
Under Missouri and Kansas law, a child who sustains a brain injury may receive compensation for all past, current, and future damages caused by the brain injury. The person or party responsible for causing the injury may be held financially liable for the child’s:
- Physical, emotional, and mental pain and suffering
- Permanent disabilities and impairments
- Medical treatment and ongoing medical care
- Cost of personal care and assisted care services
- The cost of rehabilitation therapy, including occupational, physical, emotional, speech, and other therapies
- Loss of future income and diminished earning potential
- Decreased quality of life and the loss of enjoyment of life
It can be challenging to value the damages caused by a childhood brain injury. Our Kansas City brain injury lawyer can help you retain medical experts and financial experts who will analyze your child’s damages to provide values that include past and future damages. Experts may also testify in Missouri and Kansas courts to help jurors understand how your child has suffered and will continue to suffer because of the negligence and wrongdoing of the defendants.
Contact Our Kansas City Child Brain Injury Attorney
It may feel as if your world has ended when your child sustains a brain injury. It can be difficult to think clearly. The first priority is obtaining medical care for your child and caring for your child’s emotional wellbeing.
However, you want to protect your child’s legal rights too. At the Law Office of Kevin J. McManus, our legal team takes care of all aspects of your child’s personal injury case so that you can focus on your child’s medical recovery. We will aggressively pursue the parties who caused your child’s brain injury to hold them responsible for the harm they caused your child.
We invite you to reach out to our office for more information or to speak with our brain injury lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri. For your free consultation, call 816-203-0143 or complete our online contact form.
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