Traumatic brain injury can come about as the result of a tornado. If the trauma is dealt with in the correct manner, the victim may have a chance at recovery.
Recovery from traumatic brain injury is often a long and exceedingly slow process, if it can be accomplished at all. Time is of the essence in cases like this, but in special cases, like this reported case, the damage is done and the victim is left to wait for medical help later.
The 14-year old boy who needed skull surgery to piece his skull back together was a victim of the EF-5 tornado that ripped through Joplin in May 2011. He had to wait for his surgery and in doing so lived for a while with two sections of his skull. He also needed to have four inches of his brain removed due to severe damage. Doctors were not certain how well he would do, as they estimated his mental acuity as being that of an 8-year-old child.
This child is at a point where surgeons can attempt to reattach the shattered pieces to protect his brain, which swelled after the initial injury. It’s one more step closer to the boy’s dream of being able to ride horses once more and play his favorite sport of soccer. This boy isn’t the only one that sustained severe head trauma as a result of that horrific storm. There are many other children facing similar surgeries.
Surgeries like this one are high risk. That is a virtual given before anything is attempted. But what other options might there be for kids like this one? They need medical help and they need to get on with their lives. If the medical assistance and surgeries go well, the child may have a good prognosis for the duration. If something goes wrong during surgery, such as a wrong medication, too much or too little anesthesia, improper monitoring, a slip of the surgeon’s knife or an operation conducted on the wrong patient, the patient is then the victim of medical malpractice or a wrongful death.
Don’t take the chance that your child may have been harmed or killed by a negligent doctor, nurse or hospital. If you have questions, doubts, fears and need answers, make your first point of contact an Austin personal injury lawyer. Your first meeting is free of charge and you can find out what you need to know by asking the Austin personal injury lawyer what medical malpractice is and how it relates to a wrongful death lawsuit.
Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.
