Head & Brain Injuries

• Fatal Work Injuries

  Ken Margolin | December 19, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Every year, the United States Department of Labor publishes a census of occupational injuries. The census gives some insight into the types of jobs in which workers are most at risk. It is a starting point for analysis of work injuries, why they happen, and how to prevent them. In 2005, there were 5,702 fatal job-related injuries reported in the United States. This translated to a rate of 4.1...

• Real Tort Reform

  Ken Margolin | December 17, 2006 12:30 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  I grudgingly give credit where it is due. The insurance, big corporate cabal, has run one of the most brilliant public relations campaign in the history of duping the American public. Their first ploy was the one most essential in any media campaign - they captured the linguistic high ground. Everyone believes in reform in the abstract, and the forces who want to eliminate the rights of...

• Significant Personal Injury Settlements

  Ken Margolin | December 15, 2006 2:30 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Favorable results in Massachusetts cases of serious personal injury continue to make the news. Severable substantial settlements were reported this week in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly newspaper. A car accident resulting in a closed head injury and multiple fractures to a young mother, resulted in a mediated $750,000 settlement. In another car crash case involving a closed head injury, this...

• Bicycle-Car Crashes

  Ken Margolin | December 15, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  In a typical year, nearly 750 bicycle riders nationwide may die in car-bicycle crashes. Thousands more cyclists are injured, some with serious traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other life-threatening harm. Many drivers are hostile to cyclists, resentful if their ride is slowed down for a few moments by a bicycle in front of them, or if they have to move over a foot to give the...

• New Stroke Treatment to be Tested

  Ken Margolin | December 05, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  More than 700,000 people suffer strokes each year. Currently, there is only one drug on the market, TPA, approved in 1996 to treat and protect the brain from strokes. Subsequent efforts to introduce a better drug have failed--more than 100 times, in fact, since 1996. TPA's side-effects include brain hemorrhaging and it is only effective if administered within 3 hours of the onset of stroke....

• Construction Accidents Continue

  Ken Margolin | November 30, 2006 9:30 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  An ongoing theme on this blog site is the hazards of construction work and the justifiable liability for companies that negligently put workers at risk. Two more significant settlements were reported this week in Massachusetts, resulting from serious accidents at construction sites. In the first case, an ironworker fell to his death from a scaffolding 65 feet in the air. A piece of structural...

• Major Construction Accident and Nursing Home Negligence Settlements Reported

  Ken Margolin | November 17, 2006 1:00 PM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Three significant personal injury settlements were reported in this week's Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly newspaper. Two of the cases were construction accident cases. In one, a worker suffered a crushed foot when a jersey barrier tipped over on him while he was removing temporary wooden railings and installing jersey barriers alongside the highway. While the employer could not be sued because of...

• Detecting Brain Injury

  Ken Margolin | November 15, 2006 9:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability among Americans. TBI kills 50,000 people per year and it is estimated that over 5 million Americans are afflicted with TBI-related health problems. TBI most commonly occurs from traffic or sports accidents and falls. In any personal injury case involving definite or potential trauma to the head, the possibility of brain...

• Catastrophic Injury Cases and the Day in the Life Video

  Ken Margolin | November 08, 2006 11:30 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  When attorneys handle a case involving paralysis or other catastrophic injuries, one of the biggest challenges is effectively portraying their impact on the client's life. Words are powerful, but go only so far. One of the most effective tools available to the trial lawyer is the day in the life video. These videos show more dramatically than any verbal description, the difficulties posed by the...

• The Voir Dire Debate

  Ken Margolin | November 08, 2006 7:00 AM | 0 CommentsBoston, MA

  Voir dire is the process whereby potential jurors are questioned before they are selected, to probe for biases that might impair their ability to impartially judge the facts. Voir dire has been described in a "Law Day" outline of the American Bar Association, as "one of the most important aspects of any trial." Massachusetts is one of only a few states in the country in which voir dire is not...