We are national leaders in complex brain injury litigation. Our lawyers work closely with leading medical professionals, including specialized neurologists, neuropsychologists, and radiologists from coast to coast. Doug Sheff often refers to brain injuries as the “invisible injury.” However, over the past five years brain scan technology has gone from the stone age to the space age. It is not uncommon for our clients to be treated using the latest technological advancements in PET Scans, Tesla MRI, as well as DTI/MRI in order to bring documentation, color, and understanding to their injuries. At Sheff Law, brain injury is not longer an “invisible injury.”

In May 2010, Doug Sheff, Managing Partner of Sheff Law, was recognized by the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys with his receipt of the President’s Award for Excellence in Advocacy for his skillful representation of children and adults with traumatic brain injury. Doug Sheff was also recognized for his commitment and dedication to serving brain injury victims within the underrepresented portions of our community.

Sheff Law has been successful in generating numerous positive results for our clients suffering from brain injuries. See our Proven Success page.

SHEFF LAW BRAIN INJURY OVERVIEW

Brain injury is classified as any external force that that traumatically injures the brain. Sheff Law has spent decades representing individuals in the Boston, Massachusetts area who have suffered brain injury ranging from very acute to severe traumatic brain injuries. Symptoms of brain injury vary from patient to patient, but they usually include the following:

• Unconsciousness or confusion, lasting less than 30 minutes
• Headache
• Blurry vision
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mild concussion
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abnormal speech
• Loss of coordination
• Memory loss
• Emotional irritability

SHEFF LAW BRAIN INJURY CAUSES

At Sheff Law, we know that brain injury is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in an injury to the brain. The severity of a brain injury may range from “mild,” i.e., a change in mental status or consciousness to “severe,” i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. At Sheff Law, we know that brain injuries which are considered "mild" are anything other than "mild" effects on the accident victim. "Mild" brain injury victims may suffer symptoms severe enough to disrupt memory, mood, basic cognitive functioning. The general feeling is that a traumatic brain injury victim is a "different person" than before the injury.

The leading causes of brain injury are:

• Falls (28%);
• Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%);
• Struck by/against events (19%); and
• Assaults (11%).

SHEFF LAW BRAIN INJURY STATISTICS:

At Sheff Law, we know that brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability annually. Of the 1.4 million who sustain a brain injury each year in the United States:

• 50,000 die;
• 235,000 are hospitalized; and
• 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department.

Among children ages 0 to 14 years, brain injury results in an estimated:

• 2,685 deaths;
• 37,000 hospitalizations; and
• 435,000 emergency department visits annually.

Our attorneys know the signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be subtle. Symptoms of a TBI may not appear until days or weeks following the injury or may even be missed as people may look fine even though they may act or feel differently. The CDC estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans, approximately 2% of the U.S. population, currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI. TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age. Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated $60 billion in the United States in 2000.

At Sheff Law, we recognize that the effects of brain injury can last a lifetime. Our team of lawyers strives to get each client suffering from a brain injury the maximum compensation they deserve.

Sheff Law is nationally renowned in the field of brain injury litigation. The firm's vast experience and sensitivity to these very serious, often hidden injuries has allowed Sheff Law to obtain substantial recoveries for victims of brain injury. Our attorneys work closely with neurologists, neuropsychologists, our clients and their families to provide the medical and background information necessary to produce an accurate diagnosis.

TO CONTACT a Sheff Law attorney regarding a Brain Injury case CLICK HERE