Hypoxic Brain Damage
As with all of the tissues in the human body, the brain requires oxygen to properly function and to stay alive. If the brain is deprived of oxygen, its cells can suffer damage that can ultimately result in permanent cognitive and functional deficits (i.e., brain damage) if the oxygen supply is cut off for too long. Brain cells are very sensitive to a lack of oxygen, and can begin to die off quickly if their oxygen supply is not restored quickly. Generally, the medical community has determined that brain cells begin to permanently die off if their supply of oxygen is cut off for approximately five minutes; the longer the deprivation of oxygen persists, the more severe the death of brain cells and brain tissue will be. This lack of oxygen is known as “hypoxia” or “anoxia”, and can be caused in many different ways, including by medical malpractice such as surgical errors or mismanagement of the birth process, and also due to serious accidents caused by negligence.
If you or a loved one have suffered a brain injury due to a lack of oxygen supply to the brain, the expert brain injury lawyers at Jesse Minc Personal Injury Law will help you get the answers you deserve, and will help you and your family hold the responsible parties accountable and obtain fair compensation if negligence was the cause. We are standing by to discuss your brain injury lawsuit with you today if you call us at (718) 354-8000, or contact us online, to learn more about whether you may be entitled to compensation if you or a loved one suffer a serious brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen.
If we accept your case, our Bronx brain injury attorneys will help you determine the exact cause and extent of the brain injury, and will hire the proper experts – including physicians to explain the cause of the brain injuries themselves, life care planners and rehabilitation specialists to explain the lifetime medical needs (including with respect to past and future costs) of the brain injury victim, and economists and financial experts to explain the economic effects of the brain injury, including with respect to lost wages and medical expenses – to make sure that your case is properly proven if you suffer a hypoxic brain injury due to the negligence of another person.
How Can Hypoxic Brain Damage Occur in Serious Accidents?
Hypoxic brain damage can result from any serious accident that causes the blood supply – and thus the supply of oxygen – to the brain to become restricted or cut off entirely. Serious premises liability accidents involving fires (which may be caused by a failure to comply with building or fire codes, or by a failure to repair a known gas leak which results in a fire) are common causes of hypoxic brain damage, as victims may inhale smoke and other noxious fumes which cause the supply of oxygen to the brain to become restricted. Serious car accidents or truck accidents can also result in hypoxic brain damage where a victim suffers serious internal injuries that cause internal bleeding, and result in a dangerous drop in blood pressure which ultimately leads to a severe drop in blood supply to the brain.
Our Bronx accident lawyers have the medical knowledge, trial skills, and access to a network of brain injury medical specialists which is necessary to proving each and every item of damages that results when a serious accident causes brain damage due to a lack of oxygen supply to the brain. Except in the most serious of cases, the symptoms and effects of hypoxic brain damage may not be obvious to an observer who does not have medical training. Our personal injury lawyers will make sure that the medical evidence is presented in a manner designed to impress upon the jury the full impact of the brain injury – with respect to both the obvious symptoms, as well as those which are much more subtle – upon the life of the victim and his or her family. We employ high-tech courtroom technology and persuasive and impactful demonstrative evidence (e.g., day-in-the life videos, electronic versions and timelines of medical records and illustrations of key medical tests such as brain MRIs) to make sure that the jury – as well as defense lawyers and insurance adjusters – understand the full impact of a hypoxic brain injury upon the life of the victim, thus maximizing the chances of obtaining full compensation for our clients.
Can Medical Malpractice Result in Serious Hypoxic Brain Damage?
Hypoxic brain damage can result from serious incidents of medical malpractice. Often, hypoxic brain damage occurs in newborn infants due to mismanagement of the birth process involving failures to monitor the condition of the infant and mother during delivery. If OBGYNs fail to properly monitor the heart rate of the fetus, fail to properly administer medications such as Pitocin during a delivery, or fail to monitor cord blood gas levels and other key test results during delivery, hypoxic brain damage to the newborn infant can occur, resulting in a lifetime of pain and suffering and the need for lifetime round-the-clock medical care for the child, not to mention a lifetime of hardship, both financial and emotional, for the newborn infant’s parents.
Failures to diagnose certain serious medical conditions and surgical errors are also common causes of hypoxic brain damage. For example, if a surgeon performing a laparoscopy to treat a case of appendicitis ruptures an artery during surgery and fails to timely recognize his or her error, the blood loss and resultant drop in blood pressure can cause cardiac arrest, leading to hypoxic brain damage. Where a doctor or staff at a hospital fails to diagnose internal bleeding, the same drop in blood pressure can also result in the same devastating outcome. If you believe that you or a loved one have been the victim of medical malpractice which caused you to suffer a hypoxic brain injury, our team of Bronx medical malpractice lawyers are standing by to listen to your story, answer your question, and evaluate your case free of charge.
Contact Our Brain Injury Attorneys Today for a Free Consultation
Our team of Bronx brain injury attorneys has obtained millions in compensation for victims of hypoxic brain injuries caused by serious accidents and medical malpractice. Whatever the circumstances, our brain injury lawyers offer every potential client our no-fee guarantee: we will investigate your brain injury case carefully and totally free of charge, and, if we accept your case, we will not charge you one penny of fees or expenses unless we win your case. We offer peace of mind to our clients by letting them know that our money is on the line along with theirs, demonstrating our commitment to their cases by absorbing the financial risk of their case. We do not accept every case that comes to our firm, and only accept cases in which we truly believe in the clients’ entitlement to compensation. Contact our team of Bronx personal injury attorneys today at (718) 354-8000 to discuss your case.
