Maryland Infant Brain Injury Attorney
Children, especially those under four years old, are frequently at greater risk of sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) than adults. To understand how a brain injury may result in a claim for the harms and losses suffered by your child and family, you should contact a Maryland infant brain injury lawyer who has experience with brain injury claims involving infants.
The traumatic brain injury attorneys at our firm understand how complex these types of claims they can be. We do everything in our power to help clients through the claim process quickly and effectively. Call today to learn more.
How Infants Get Brain Injuries
For a general understanding of brain injuries in infants, please refer to this page. There are, unfortunately, several ways in which an infant could suffer serious brain injury including, but not limited to:
- Auto accidents
- Falling
- Shaken baby syndrome (see below)*
- Objects falling on the child’s head
- Being struck by someone or something
- Running into something
Shaken baby syndrome has been covered extensively in the news. This occurs when a baby or child is shaken or its head strikes another object, to the point of causing traumatic brain injury. Shaken baby syndrome cases result in fatalities in about one quarter of the reported cases. Shaken baby syndrome is considered a form of child abuse and often causes serious health problems for the children who survive this form of abuse. While it is not the focus of this article, it is important to keep in mind (particularly if the person responsible for the injury to your child is a baby sitter, daycare provider, relative or caregiver other than yourself).
No matter how they are suffered, brain injuries are a serious matter and can have lasting consequences and require care and treatment for your child for the rest of his or her life. A Maryland infant brain injury lawyer will understand how to evaluate you potential claim to determine if another party’s negligence led to your child’s injury and, if so, to what extent you will require compensation to cover the cost of your child’s medical treatment and care.
What are the symptoms of a brain injury in an infant?
Children often suffer minor injuries while engaged in everyday activities, therefore it’s important to distinguish a minor head injury from one that may have caused an injury to the brain. There are many symptoms that can alert us to the fact that a child may have sustained a brain injury. These include:
- Vomiting
- Drowsiness
- Continual or intermittent crying
- Blood or clear fluids coming from either the mouth, nose, or ears
- Difficulty walking (when there wasn’t previously a problem)
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizure
- Difficulty breathing
- Weakness/paralysis
- Sensitivity to light or blurred vision
- Trouble speaking normally
These symptoms indicate that the injury sustained may have harmed a portion of the child’s brain, as opposed to a simple external bruise or cut. If you notice any of these symptoms in your child, you must seek medical help immediately. The sooner you seek medical help, the more effectively your Maryland infant brain injury lawyer may be able to help present your case.
It’s also important to remember that sometimes a bump to the head is just a bump to the head. This is why getting a medical diagnosis is key. You should be extremely careful, however, because brain injuries don’t always present themselves with obvious signs. Better to err on the side of caution and have your child checked by a doctor if you think they sustained a moderate to serious head injury. Particularly when dealing with infants, which cannot communicate their distress as easily as an older child.
How is the Severity of an Infant Brain Injury Diagnosed?
Pediatricians and emergency room staff have many tools at their disposal to determine how severe an infant’s brain injury might be. For example, they may use x-rays or CT scans (aka “CAT” scan or neuroimaging) to assess whether the brain has been injured. This is critically important for children who cannot yet verbalize what they’re feeling and what symptoms they’re experiencing. Depending on the results of the tests, you and your physician will be able to assess the next steps.
Call a Maryland Infant Brain Injury Attorney Today
If your child’s brain injury was caused by the negligence of someone else, such as with a car crash, then there are also steps you should to take determine whether you have a valid civil claim. While this type of compensation cannot make you or your child whole again, it can alleviate some of the burden of the costs you will face now and in the future. It also serves as notice to the individual who was at-fault for the crash that they must correct whatever negligent behavior or action that triggered the crash and ensuing injury. This, in turn, makes the community safer.
Call a Maryland infant brain injury lawyer with our firm to learn about your options for compensation. Our friendly legal team will conduct your initial compensation completely free of charge.
