Traumatic Brain Injury Victim’s Mother Awarded $975,000

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Traumatic Brain Injury Victim’s Mother Awarded $975,000

In July 2007, 24 year old Sean Heflin fell from a second-floor porch railing at an apartment building and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He died a little over six months later.

Subsequently, his mother filed a Chicago wrongful death lawsuit to “focus attention on porch safety to avoid similar tragedies in the future,” according to her Chicago wrongful death attorney. The lawsuit “alleged that the porch railings were about 10 inches lower than the 42 inches required by the Chicago building code. The suit was brought against the apartment building’s owner and manager, Stammich Management,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

Ms. Heflin has been awarded $975,000 as a result of the Chicago wrongful death suit.

Traumatic Brain Injury

According to a 2010 report by the CDC, traumatic brain injuries are the cause of 52,000 fatalities and 1.7 million hospital visits every year. The report notes that TBI deaths make up nearly a third of injury-related fatalities in the US.

Additionally,

• Men are more likely to sustain traumatic brain injuries than women.
• 75% of TBIs are mild traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions.
• 473,947 kids, ages 14 and under, visit US ER’s each year because of TBIs.
• The 75 and older age group has the highest incidence rates of TBI deaths and hospitalization.
• Adults (ages 65 and older), teenagers (ages 15 to 19), and kids (younger than age 5) are at highest risk of sustaining a TBI.
• 35.2% of traumatic brain injuries occur during fall accidents.
• 17.3% of TBIs occur during traffic crashes—the number one cause of TBI deaths.
• 16.5% of TBIs happen because someone was hit by or struck an object.
• Assaults cause 10% of TBIs.
• The cause of 21% of TBIs remains unknown.

The Chicago, Illinois traumatic brain injury lawyers at Malman Law are familiar with the havoc, pain, and suffering that a TBI can wreak on the victim, family, and friends. Vision loss, memory problems, communication difficulties, chronic pain, seizures, motor control difficulties, aphasia, dysphasia, and coma are just some of the challenging effects of living with a TBI. In addition to the life-altering changes that can result, the financial costs of living with a TBI can be astronomical.

Additionally, many TBI victims suffer the ultimate consequence – death – as Sean Heflin did. It is so important that you obtain financial recovery from the party or parties responsible for the TBI. While no amount of money can bring back a loved one, you should be compensated for the medical expenses incurred as a result of a traumatic brain injury as well as your family’s pain and suffering.