Child Sustains Traumatic Brain Injury in Car Accident, Mother Charged

A woman who drove under the influence of strong prescription drugs and failed to fasten her children's seat belts has been charged in connection with a car accident she caused that injured both her children, according to ABC's WQOW 18 news website.  Investigators believe that the Wisconsin mother put both children in car seats but stuffed the buckles behind the seats rather than fastening them.  In the accident, which occurred last April, one of her children was ejected from the vehicle and sustained a traumatic brain injury.  A crime lab report reveals that the mother had three prescription drugs in her system when the crash occurred, one of which was used to sedate surgery patients.

As an advocate for injured children and father of two himself, Chris Keane expresses his deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the children in this accident, and he hopes for the full and fast recovery of the traumatic brain injury victim.  Narrowing his legal focus to child injuries, attorney Chris Keane has worked with the best experts in the field of pediatric traumatic brain injury.  If you have questions about child brain injuries, feel free to contact Chris Keane online or by phone at 1-888-592-KIDS for free answers concerning your unique situation.

Is Your Shopping Cart Safe? Child Brain Injuries & Shopping Cart Falls

Some of the leading causes of head injuries in young children are falls from shopping carts, according to a report from the WIBW news website.  The majority of injuries from shopping carts in the U.S. involve children from ages one to two, with those injuries ranging from head and brain injuries to broken bones.  According to the report, many shopping carts are not as safe as they seem for children, specifically when children are seated in the carts improperly or, at times, even when they are seated properly.  Although following safety precautions when putting your child in a cart is essential, it may not prevent injury at all times.  An estimated 20,000 children under the age of five sustain shopping cart-related injuries each year in the U.S., with falls as the number one cause of these injuries (83% of them).  Many of these falls result in child brain injuries.  Since shopping carts vary in weight, height, dimensions of wheel bases, and centers of gravity, it may be difficult to know which carts are safer than others and which carts have flaws in their design.  Until all carts are designed to be safe for young children to use their seats, parents should consider alternatives to placing children in carts.

If your child has been injured in a shopping cart-related incident, feel free to contact child injury attorney Chris Keane with your questions and concerns.  The Keane Law Firm can provide you with important information regarding standards for warning labels, child restraint systems, and seat buckles on shopping carts.  We will also freely provide you with other resources concerning head and brain injuries, other types of child injuries, and how to find the best medical treatment.

Contact Chris Keane online or call 1-888-592-KIDS.

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More Than 20,000 Children Annually Injured By Shopping Carts

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Gala to Help Families With Brain-Injured Children

The parents of an 8-year-old son who suffered pediatric traumatic brain injury after a 2006 accident, Dawn and Kurt Schessl have become advocates for other child brain injury victims, according to the Catholic Courier online.  The creators of a nonprofit organization aimed to help other families cope after a child brain injury, the Schessls focus their efforts on helping those families navigate the medical and educational systems involved after traumatic brain injury.  The foundation also contributes to transporting brain injury victims from home and school to medical facilities and educating families about helpful resources available to them.  In order to continue the good work, the Schessls have scheduled a Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury gala in their home state of New York to raise funds for the organization.  The event, which will be held at Casa Larga Vineyards from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. November 21, will include live and silent auctions, dancing, and interaction with master of ceremonies Glenn Johnson, Channel 13's meteorologist in Rochester.  Funds from the event will go toward providing schools and families with helpful manuals regarding children's abilities after brain injury.  The Schessls hope to give video resources to teachers explaining strategies for teaching students with brain injuries, as well.

As an advocate for injured and abused children who have suffered brain damage, Chris Keane narrows his legal focus to representing children and only children.  Such a narrow focus has given him the opportunity and experience of working with the best medical experts in the field of child brain injury.  If you have questions regarding pediatric traumatic brain injury or child head injuries in general, contact Chris Keane online or at 888-592-KIDS for free answers and advice unique to your specific situation.

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Family works to help others with brain injuries

Conference on Child Brain Injuries to Host Nine Experts in the Field

Charleston, West Virginia is holding a conference on child brain injuries early this November in hopes to address the "silent yet serious epidemic" of brain injury to children, according to The Journal online.  Titled "My Child Has a Brain Injury: Information for Families and Schools," the conference will host keynote speaker Ron Savage, president of the North American Brain Injury Society.  Among the topics to be discussed by Savage and other experts at the event are bicycle accidents, abuse, sports, and auto accidents, all leading causes of pediatric brain injury.  According to the article, approximately 130,000 bicycle accidents per year result in brain injuries to children and adolescents, and a total of about 1 million children in the U.S. sustain brain injuries each year, ranging in degree from mild to severe.  Additionally, approximately one-third of all cases of child injury involve injury to the brain.

Those interested in more child brain injury facts and statistics such as these may wish to attend the conference, which is scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6 at South Charleston's Ramada Inn.  Sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of West Virginia, the conference will feature talks from nine brain injury experts.

As highlighted in these statistics, brain injuries can be extremely serious, and children are not immune to such injuries.  If you believe that your child has suffered a head or brain injury for any reason, seek medical attention immediately.  For information on how to receive the best medical care from the experts in the field or how to receive compensation for medical bills and other expenses, feel free to contact child brain injury attorney Chris Keane.

Click here to contact Chris Keane online or call 1-888-592-KIDS (1-888-592-5437).

Click here for more information about child injury lawyer Chris Keane.

Bicycle Helmets & Brain Injury Prevention: Should Helmets Be Required for Bike-Riding Children?

According to the Union-Bulletin Editorial Board, more and more children (at least in the board's area of Walla Walla, Washington) are riding bikes without wearing helmets.  The board believes that the decreasing numbers of children wearing helmets while riding bicycles is due in part to a lack of emphasis on the importance of safety while bike riding.  According to the board's website, children under 12 seemed to wear their helmets more readily when on bicycles about a decade ago, during the time when bike safety was a hot topic.  Should children be required to wear bicycle helmets when riding bikes?  Statistics from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute indicate that they should:

• Bicyclists who do not wear helmets are 14 times more likely to be killed in an accident than those who wear helmets.

• Over 60 percent of bicycle-related fatalities result from head injuries, which are often brain injuries.

• The percentage of bike-related brain injuries that could be prevented by the use of a helmet is estimated to be between 45% and 88%.

Along with sports, abuse, and car accidents, bicycle accidents are a common cause of child or teenage brain injuries.  Any blow to the head can result in a brain injury with serious side effects, no matter how insignificant the injury may seem at first.  If your child or teenager has been injured in bike accident that you believe may have resulted in a head injury, concussion, or brain damage, seek medical attention as soon as possible.  As a child brain injury lawyer who works with the medical experts in the field, Chris Keane is an advocate for injured or abused children, and he will answer your most pressing brain injury questions for free with compassion and professionalism.

Contact Chris Keane online or by phone at 1-888-592-KIDS.

Drowning Accidents That Led to Fatal Brain Injuries | Child Brain Injury Lawyer

The recent loss of a toddler girl due to drowning in El Paso, Texas, added to the year of tragedy suffered by residents in El Paso County.  According to the KDBC 4 news website, this incident of the 4-year-old girl's drowning in her family's backyard pool is the seventh child drowning incident in 2009 for El Paso County.  Among the children lost this year was one-year-old Jacquelynn Holt, who drowned in a bathtub at her parents' house on August 7.  Her father reportedly left the room for 3 to 5 minutes to check Ebay on his computer and, when he returned, found her face down in the tub and not breathing.  Although she was put on life support at the hospital, she did not survive the tragic accident.  Doctors diagnosed her with anoxic brain injury, which results from a lack of oxygen to the brain, and they estimated that she went without breathing for 30 to 40 minutes from the time of the accident to her arrival at the hospital.

Drowning accidents can lead to serious or even fatal injuries, often due to the lack of oxygen to the brain.  Regardless of the cause of brain injury, child injury attorney Chris Keane works as an advocate for children who suffer brain injuries from abuse, accidents, sports, or other incidents that resulted from someone's negligence.  If your child has sustained a head or brain injury and you have questions for a child brain injury lawyer, contact Chris Keane for free answers concerning your unique situation.  The Keane Law Firm will provide you with the resources, help finding medical experts, and support your child needs following such a serious injury.  Keane can also discuss ways he can assist you if you are dealing with an incident of wrongful death.

Click here to contact Chris Keane via the web or call 888-592-KIDS.

Mother To Receive From $6.7 to $10.4 Million After Infant Suffered Fatal Brain Injuries in Car Accident

Following a tragic car accident that resulted in fatal brain injuries to her 4-month-old boy, mother Jessica Malcolm filed a lawsuit against Evenflo, the manufacturer of the child car seat her son was riding in at the time of the crash.  According to an article from Benchmarks/Lawyers USA, Malcolm received the child safety seat from a friend when she was pregnant, and she called Evenflo to ensure that it was safe to use (and was told that it was safe).  On July 16, 2000, however, an oncoming vehicle swerved into Malcom's lane and forced her SUV off the road, causing it to roll three times and land in a ditch.  As it was rolling over, a plastic hook on the seat belt of baby Tyler's car seat broke off, causing him to be ejected while still in the seat.  The infant suffered serious brain injuries that led to his death.  Now, years later, Jessica Malcolm will be compensated anywhere from $6.7 to $10.4 million in damages.

As an advocate for children who suffer brain injuries from accidents or abuse and families who have lost children due to brain injury, Chris Keane expresses his deepest sympathies to the family and friends of baby Tyler and others who have lost.  Although nothing can truly compensate for the tragic loss of a child, certain measures can be taken following wrongful death from brain injury to help the family as they recover.  If you have lost a child in a car accident or due to another incident that resulted in brain injury, feel free to contact child wrongful death and brain injury lawyer Chris Keane.  The Keane Law Firm will gladly provide you with the resources and assistance you need following this tragic loss.

Contact Chris Keane online or by phone at 1-888-592-KIDS.