An Ignored Stop Sign Changes a Family’s Life Forever
On a spring evening, Victoria’s husband Martin drove the couple’s two children, ages 6 and 7, through a quiet residential area in San Antonio. Suddenly, a car blew through a stop sign and smashed into the passenger side of the family’s SUV.
Even though the speed limit was only 30 miles per hour, the immense force of the crash caused the SUV to roll over, and the vehicle sustained significant damage. Police and EMS rushed to the scene to help.
Unfortunately, more than the vehicle had been damaged in the wreck. Victoria’s husband and young children all sustained serious injuries.
Martin Experiences Severe TBI Symptoms After the Crash
After the collision, EMS personnel rushed Martin to a nearby emergency department. He was experiencing dizziness, confusion, fatigue, and other cognitive symptoms.
Doctors ordered x-rays of Martin’s neck as well as a CT scan of his head. These tests revealed that Martin had experienced a concussion, which is a type of traumatic brain injury. The images also showed that he was suffering from a type of neck muscle injury called a cervical strain. Doctors gave Martin painkillers and told him to follow up with his primary care doctor, which he did just a few days later.
Martin continued to experience fatigue, headaches, irritability, eye strains, and blurred vision. His daily headaches became so severe that he began to have anxiety attacks.
Before the crash, Martin rarely even had the types of minor headaches that most people occasionally experience. Now, Martin’s headaches and other symptoms were so pervasive that less than a month after the wreck, he and his wife Victoria sought help from a specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.
Martin’s Injuries Force Him to Stop Working
Before his accident, Martin ran a software company that employed 50 people. After the crash, his brain injury symptoms got so bad that he stopped using his computer, which was essential to his job. As a result, he was completely unable to work for three months.
Even when he returned to work, Martin could only work two hours a day. Eventually, he built up to three or four hours a day depending on how much rehabilitation work he was doing. But he still continued to suffer from severe headaches and other symptoms.
For a full year after the crash, Martin could only work a few hours per day before his headaches and vision disturbance would force him to rest. He underwent rehabilitation and other treatments to help him manage his ongoing symptoms, and eventually achieved a full recovery.
Sophia Experiences Headaches, Pain, and Other Symptoms After the Wreck
Their 7-year-old daughter, Sophia, had her own set of injuries to deal with after the crash. Immediately after the collision, she managed to get out of her car seat. She had sustained wounds on her right arm, shoulder, and knee as well as a significant blow to the head. Her pediatrician examined her less than 24 hours after the wreck, by which time she was already suffering from a worsening headache. The pediatrician diagnosed Sophia with a concussion.
Soon, Sophia started experiencing pain in her eyes. At a follow-up appointment, another doctor discovered that both her eyes had suffered trauma. The doctor gave her eye drops to help with the pain and reduce swelling.
However, neither the eye drops nor any other treatments helped with Sophia’s pain. About a month after the crash, Sophia went to see the same John Hopkins specialist her father visited. The specialist diagnosed her with several issues, including:
- Post-concussion syndrome: A complex disorder that can last for weeks or years after a concussion and include a wide range of symptoms
- Fusion with defective stereopsis: A problem with depth perception
- Pursuit movement deficiency: Trouble following objects that are moving
To address her persistent headaches, irritability, tearfulness, impaired vision, and trouble sleeping, Sophia received treatment at the Neurorehabilitation Concussion Clinic of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.
Because of her severe symptoms, Sophia missed the remainder of her school year. She continues to struggle with headaches, post-traumatic stress, and other concussion-related issues.
Doctors Diagnose Lucas With Post-Concussion Syndrome and Other Issues
Lucas, their 5-year-old son, also received serious injuries during the rollover. Even though he was restrained in a child seat during the crash, he suffered severe left shoulder and chest wall bruises as well as a concussion. Due to his ongoing headaches, motor function problems, fatigue, and other symptoms, doctors diagnosed Lucas with a head injury and post-concussion syndrome.
Lucas soon joined his father and sister at Johns Hopkins. There, specialists diagnosed him with trauma in both eyes and the same depth perception problems his sister was experiencing (fusion with defective stereopsis).
Working With Crosley Law Gives Victoria the Freedom to Focus on Her Family’s Health
For Victoria, handling the insurance claims and managing her family’s medical treatment proved to be overwhelming. Thankfully, she contacted Crosley Law for help. The team at Crosley Law responded quickly, ordering the family’s medical records and investigating the crash as well as the complex injuries that resulted. After a thorough investigation, Crosley Law negotiated with the insurance company and got Victoria’s family a fair settlement for their injuries.
While the financial relief made a big difference, Victoria’s focus has always been on her family’s physical, mental, and emotional recovery. Hiring Crosley Law let her focus all of her attention on her family and their medical care.
“[The team at Crosley Law] took the problems of the lawsuit and dealing with insurance off my plate and allowed me to concentrate on what to do for my family,” Victoria said.
Crosley Law Firm:Aggressive Legal Representation for San Antonio Brain Injury and Auto Accident Victims
Crosley Law can guide you and your family through the complicated process of dealing with the insurance companies, gathering medical records, investigating a crash, and, if necessary, filing a lawsuit. If you choose Crosley Law to handle your personal injury case, we’ll handle the day-to-day issues of your claim so you can focus on the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of your recovery.
To schedule a free, no-risk initial consultation with one of our attorneys, fill out our easy online contact form or call 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000.
The content provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
