Here in Buffalo, most lawsuits involving brain injuries arise from blows to the head or sudden acceleration/deceleration leading to brain damage.  Occasionally, however, an individual may suffer an anoxic brain injury. 

An anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen for a significant time. This occurs in incidences of, for example, drowning, choking, or strangulation. This lack of oxygen over an extended period of time results in brain cells dying.

Anoxic brain injury may occur even if an individual has not lost consciousness, and its effects may be permanent.  While this type of injury may not initially seem as serious as a blow to the head leading to a fracture, concussion or even a coma, it still may have lifelong consequences for the individual who suffered the injury. 

Although this type of injury may be more difficult to prove than other types of head injuries, an individual who has suffered an anoxic brain injury as a result of another’s negligence is entitled to seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.  If you or someone you know has suffered such an injury, you should consider consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney.

Unfortunately for those who suffer a traumatic brain injury in Buffalo or elsewhere, this type of injury can be difficult to prove.  Absent a fractured skull or the need for surgery, individuals who suffer this type of injury and sue often find themselves portrayed as having faked their symptoms.

Recently, a New York State appellate court found that an individual who had suffered a traumatic brain injury should be awarded $2,100,000 for past and future pain and suffering.  This amount was lower the $4,600,000 amount awarded by the jury but higher than the $1,600,000 that the verdict had been reduced to by the trial judge.

This substantial award is significant because the injured party, Vincenzo Popolizio, age 56, did not exhibit extreme symptoms of traumatic brain injury such as requiring surgery, suffering a fractured skull or suffering such serious brain damage that he required constant care.  Instead, his symptoms included cognitive function bordering on mental retardation as demonstrated by an IQ test and symptoms of depression.  In other words, he demonstrated the type of brain functioning that individuals who sue are often accused of faking. 

At trial, experts had testified that his cognitive losses and depression would never improve, and coworkers provided testimony that while Mr. Popoloizio had previously been an energetic and personable individual, he now moped around and could not even handle cash transactions.  The jury apparently found this testimony very compelling, and returned a favorable verdict for Mr. Popolizio.