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.

Symptoms & Signs of Head Injuries/Brain Injuries

The symptoms and signs of head injuries in children vary depending on the specific type, severity, and location of the injuries involved, but some of the neurological symptoms common among head- or brain-injured children are listed below (adapted from the Community Connect to Research site):

• headache


• dizziness


• seizures or convulsions


• unresponsiveness


• drowsiness


• loss of consciousness or "passing out"


• confusion


• memory loss


• slurred speech


• vomiting or nausea


• problems walking


• numbness, weakness, or even paralysis in part of the body


• problems with coordination


• aggressive or irrational behavior.

Some of the physical signs often associated with child head injuries are the following:

• bleeding from the ear


• discoloration (black and blue) behind the ear or around the eyes


• clear fluid coming out of the nose (often indicating a skull fracture)


• a dent where the impact occurred


• a cut, bump, or bruise on the head


• a bulge at the soft spot between the skull bones (in infants).

As illustrated in the above-listed symptoms, head injuries are often serious and require close medical attention and care.  If you believe that your child has suffered a head or brain injury and you have questions for child brain injury attorney Chris Keane, feel free to contact him online or by phone at 1-888-592-KIDS.  As a father of two himself and advocate for injured and abused children, he will answer your questions for free regarding 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.

Relevant Link:

More Than 20,000 Children Annually Injured By Shopping Carts

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.

CT Scans Only Necessary in Certain Circumstances? | Child Brain Injury Attorney

Many of the several thousand CT scans conducted per year on children who have suffered head injuries may be unnecessary, according to a new study described on the Brain and Spinal Cord website.  Although CT scans have been the traditional way to detect serious brain injuries in children and other head trauma victims, the new study asserts that several other methods for diagnosing brain injuries are more effective in many circumstances.  The research included a study of more than 42,000 children under the age of 19 who underwent different methods of detecting traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Of that group, about 15,000 children received CT scans, but less than 1,000 of those scans successfully detected signs of TBI, even though all the children in the study had been in accidents with serious impact to the head or sustained injuries bumping their heads.

What methods should be used to detect child brain injuries?  According to the article, performing DTI scans and monotoring NSE protein levels in the blood have proven successful in former studies in revealing the subtle brain damage that CT scans cannot detect.  These recommendations should not be misunderstood, however:  in some instances, a CT scan is absolutely necessary.  The new study defined six signs that indicate a CT scan should be conducted:  altered states of mind, unusual behavior, unconsciousness, headaches, vomiting, and signs of skull fracture.  Doctors were encouraged to find one of more of these indicators before sending a patient to a CT scan.

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.

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.

Infant Suffers Brain Injuries From Abuse, Parents Charged With Child Endangerment | Child Brain Injury Lawyer

Although custody rights are still to be determined for the child, an infant boy who suffered serious brain injuries due to abuse from his parents has been released from the hospital in Des Moines and placed in long-term care, according to the Des Moines Register online.  The article reports that baby Ethan Neiderbach, now four months old, was admitted to the hospital for severe rib and head injuries this past June and suffered a broken arm before he was even one month old.  According to court records, baby Ethan was born with marijuana in his system, and his parents, 20-year-olds Jonas Neiderbach and Jherica Richardson, have been charged with child abuse and child endangerment and are scheduled for trial on November 2, 2009.

Brain injuries are not to be taken lightly, and when they result from abuse, the legal concerns surrounding them become even more complex.  If your child or a child you know has suffered a head or brain injury and you have questions for an experienced child brain injury attorney, feel free to contact child injury lawyer Chris Keane for free answers and advice concerning your unique situation.  As an advocate for injured and abused children, Chris Keane has devoted his practice to representing children and only children in brain injury, shaken baby syndrome, and other injury and abuse cases, and he will consult with you regarding your child with compassion and professionalism.

Contact Chris Keane online or by phone at 1-888-592-KIDS (1-888-592-5437).

Relevant Link:

Boy in abuse case released from hospital