Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who has handled a multitude of closed head trauma and brain injury cases since 1979, I have worked with many neuro-psychiatrists, neurologists, and cognitive specialists to investigate and evaluate cognitive dysfunctions resulting from head trauma.

Concussions and resulting neuropsychological symptoms have been increasingly in the public eye due to injuries caused by IED’s in Iraqi and other military situations. In most cases, concussion symptoms will occur within the first 7 to 10 days after an accident and generally will gradually diminish over a 3 to 4 month period. However, approximately 20% maintain symptoms that last beyond a year or more. Most concussion symptoms include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, argumentativeness, stubbornness, paranoia, anxiety, insomnia, loss of concentration and memory, nausea, light sensitivity, and emotional outbursts.

Continue reading "A Head Injury in a Car Accident Can Cause Structural Damage to the Brain or Disruption of Neurotransmitter Systems" »

According to a recent study published by the American Journal of Psychiatry, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common occurrence with multiple possible psychiatric sequelae including problems with cognition, emotion and depression. I am currently representing a client who was in a car accident and she is extremely fearful of being in a car and experiences flashbacks several times a day concerning the accident, experiences daily panic attacks, nightmares, blurred vision, and finds herself in a depressed state mixed with episodes of severe anxiety and agitation. She describes herself as being irritable and short tempered yet displayed none of the symptomology prior to her accident. This kind woman was referred for neurological and neuropsychological assessment to assess the etiology of her cognitive impairment of concentration and memory, as well as additional visual disturbances. An MRI was performed on her brain which revealed abnormalities in the subcortical white matter, one on the right frontal lobe and the other in the left temporal lobe. Additionally, the client reported problems with word retrieval, organizing her thoughts into words and the loss of train of thought since the accident, as well as difficulty recognizing people’s faces and difficulty recalling information. Objective testing indicated that not only had our client sustained orthopedic and internal injuries but also a closed head injury resulting in cognitive and emotional sequelae stemming from the car accident.

Continue reading "Depression And Cognitive Difficulties Often Follow Car Accidents Where The Individual Has Suffered A Mild Traumatic Brain Injury" »

At the Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff and Bily, our experienced lawyers have been handling traumatic brain injury cases for almost 30 years. Many times when one is involved in a serious car accident, an impact to the head results in an injury to the brain where it is located opposite to the side of the impact. While many people who sustain a traumatic head or brain injury appear to be fine after their accident, just as the recent case of Natasha Richardson revealed, many of these individuals will rapidly develop a variety of symptoms including headaches, nausea, dizziness, ringing in ears, blurred vision and problems with memory and concentration.

A brain injury can have a life-altering impact and long term consequences if not treated or properly diagnosed. Many times an injured individual is not even aware that he or she has suffered a traumatic brain injury and is often mis-diagnosed at an emergency room or by
a family physician.

Statistics reveal that over 50% of those who sustain a traumatic brain injury are diagnosed improperly which is a most frightening factor. It is stated that in excess of 53% of patients in the emergency room for the first time with a brain injury will fail to be diagnosed properly and may suffer an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage according to a study published by The New England Journal of Medicine. Many times negligence of the health provider involves a failure to obtain or accurately interpret a diagnostic test which would have revealed a brain injury.

Continue reading "Rising Car Crash Statistics Across The Nation Also Results In Increasing Rate Of Traumatic Brain Injury" »

The closed head injury and brain injury lawyers at the Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff and Bily urge you to buckle up and be a careful and safe driver due to the fact that according to a study released by the National Institute of Health, half of all traumatic brain injuries are caused by collisions involving cars, motorcycles and bicycles.

Since 1979, the Philadelphia car accident lawyers of Reiff and Bily have been working with individuals who sustained traumatic brain injury and head trauma. The symptoms can be mild, severe or sometimes only barely noticeable and detected by virtue of scientific testing. Some people who have sustained a major traumatic brain injury may experience at least one seizure during the first week after the injury. However, most of the time, the symptoms are mild and may go unnoticed, exhibiting themselves by virtue of impaired memory such as forgetfulness, change of behavior patterns, increased irritability or anxiety, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, double vision, problems thinking and reasoning, diminution of fine motor skills, trouble with processing information and problem solving, slow down of mental processing, poor judgment, inability to pay attention and inability to multi-task.

Continue reading "Half of All Traumatic Brain and Closed Head Injuries Are Caused By Collisions Involving Cars, Motorcycles and Bicycles" »