Traumatic Brain Injuries Common After Physical Altercations
Our Chicago brain injury lawyers have frequently noted on this blog that car accidents and slip and falls are the most common causes of traumatic brain injury. However, another way in which many victims experience these injuries is during physical fights. Significant physical contact of the head with the body of another (or the ground) often occurs in physical scuffles and permanent brain damage can result. Many people get into these disagreements without truly thinking about the long-term consequences that can arise. When the fight was provoked by one side or the actual physical harm was caused most significantly by one party, then a brain injury lawsuit may be filed to hold that party accountable for the consequences of the fight. In other cases, third parties who were not involved in the attack but contributed to it could also be implicated in a suit.
Many examples of these events can be found. One of the more high-profile recent examples involves a physical attack after a professional baseball game against fans of opposing teams. As discussed recently by ESPN, the family of a San Francisco Giants fan filed suit against the Los Angeles Dodgers organization after the fan was brutally beaten by a Dodgers supporter in the parking lot of the team’s stadium. The Giants fan was apparently ambushed by supporters of the other team, who threw him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the head. He suffered a significant brain injury. Even though the attack occurred months ago, it is only now that the man has regained the ability to speak and perform basic tasks like writing his name.
Following the incident the man and his family filed a brain injury lawsuit against the Dodgers organization for the environment that was created which led to the unprovoked attack. In the complaint, the victims argue that the team created an environment at the club that was generally hostile to fans of the opposing team. Since the filing of the lawsuit many others have come out to explain how certain aspects of the fan experience at this stadium seem to encourage taunting and rousing of certain fans against those supporters of other teams.
Unfortunately, these types of attacks are not uncommon. Besides at sporting events, bars and nightclubs are also the site of frequent brawls which cause serious injury. Yesterday the National Sun published a story on another attack that led to a serious traumatic brain injury. According to the victim’s wife, her husband was outside of a pub when an argument broke out between him and two other patrons (both of whom were wearing Santa suits). Apparently the men in the Santa outfits punched the victim in the head, causing him to fall onto the cement ground. He was knocked unconscious.
The man was taken to the hospital but released soon after. It wasn’t until the next day when the man’s family realized he was acting rather unusual that they took him back to the hospital. There the medical team discovered that the man had suffered bleeding and swelling on the brain. He was immediately transferred to the intensive care unit. The medical team has been able to get the bleeding to stop, but they are unsure what the long-term damage might be.
See Our Related Blog Posts:
Bike Struck By Car Recovers $675,000 in Brain Injury Lawsuit
Levin & Perconti Recover $975,000 in Wrongful Death Case Resulting from Fall from Balcony
