It’s 5:15, your shift was over 15 minutes ago and you have a train to catch. You run out of your office, catch the elevator going down, take your first step off the elevator onto the ground level when suddenly—slip!—you’ve fallen backward and bumped your head on the granite floor. Still determined to catch your train, you make a quick recovery and continue running to the train station.

5:34—you made it!! You take your seat on the train and finally relax when you start to feel a headache coming on. You pop 2 ibuprofen, thinking it will pass. 15 minutes later you start feeling a bit dizzy and your vision starts to blur—you still have a headache. You start rubbing your head when you realize you can’t remember much about the end of your day. Did I lock my office? Is my computer off? When did I leave?

Headache, confusion, sensory problems, and amnesia of events immediately before an accident are all common symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury or TBI. Unfortunately, most people who experience a mild brain injury disregard it and continue with their routine like the person described. While 75% of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) a year are a mild form, any head injury can sustain future affects and require immediate medical attention, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.

Traumatic brain injuries are the direct result of a sudden blow to the head, causing the brain to collide with the inside of the skull. The trauma of this accident can bruise the brain, tear nerve fibers and cause bleeding. The most common causes of TBI are falls, assault, motor vehicle accidents and direct strikes to the head.

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury each year.

Because so many TBI are mild, medical care is often disregarded. However, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune, recent studies show that victims of TBI are eight times more likely than the general population to suffer from clinical depression a year after the accident.

Also, “young people who suffer concussions are at greater risk of long-term physical and mental consequences, lawmakers were told Thursday at a hearing on head injuries to high school athletes” according to the Chicago Sun Times. This information is daunting because males ages 15-24 are the most likely to suffer a TBI.

The long term effects of any TBI can greatly affect your future state of mind and health, medical attention is imperative after any collision involving your head.

If you believe yourself to be a victim of a brain injury, consider your symptoms, which range from physical to psychological effects. Signs and symptoms of a mild brain injury, or concussion, can include the following: brief unconsciousness, headache, confusion, mood changes, dizziness, amnesia of events immediately before the accident, and sensory problems such as blurry vision or bad taste in the mouth. Moderate to severe brain injury signs and symptoms include: seizures, slurred speech, persistent headaches, profound confusion, numbness of extremities and an inability to awaken from sleep.

Because children may be unable to communicate their symptoms, look for the following behaviors: refusal to eat, loss of interest in a favorite toy, altered sleep patterns and school behavior, crankiness.

TBI can also cause epilepsy and can increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’ disease and other brain disorders that come with age, victims of any brain trauma should consult a medical expert immediately and take careful precautions to make a full recovery.

Be kind to your body after a brain injury and give yourself the recovery time you need with lots of rest and time before returning to usual activities and routines. Avoid activities that could result in another blow to the head because repeated TBI injuries within a short period of time can result in fatality.

Consult a health care physician before operating a vehicle, bicycle, or machinery and avoid drugs and alcohol until approved by a physician.
A brain injury is no small accident. Help yourself or your loved one and receive a medical attention before it’s too late.

Victims of a traumatic brain injury should consider consulting a legal representative if the accident was due to a car crash, medical malpractice, truck accident or another form of unlawful injury. Ronaldson & Kuchler personal injury lawyers want to help you look into the matter and ensure that your claim receives the best representation.

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When a debilitating injury affects not only your health but your ability to make money, hope may seem lost. Depending on the severity of the injury, you could go months at a time without work or an income. Fortunately, social security can provide a monthly source of income while you are out of work. Unfortunately, 70% of SSD claims are denied after the first claim. While that is a high percentage, there are ways to make the most of your claim to ensure a notice of decision in your favor.

Before applying for social security benefits, you must prove you are disabled by evaluating your injury. There are five steps* to determine if you are disabled. They are as follows:

1. Are you Working?

If you are working and your earnings average more than a certain amount each month, you will generally not be considered disabled. This amount changes every year.

2. Is Your Medical Condition “Severe”?

Your medical condition must significantly limit your ability to do basic work activities—such as walking, sitting, and remembering—for at least one year.

3. Is your Medical Condition on the List of Impairments?

Conditions on this list are considered so severe that they automatically mean that you are disabled as defined by law. If the severity of your medical condition meets or equals that of a listed impairment, the state agency will decide that you are disabled. If it does not, the state agency goes on to step four.

4. Can you do the work you did before?

At this step, the state agency decides if your medical condition prevents you from being able to do the work you did before. If yes, you qualify, if not you go to the last step.

5. Can you do any other type of work?

The agency evaluates your medical condition, your age, education, past work experience and any skills you may have that could be used to do other work. If you cannot do other work, the state agency will decide that you are disabled.

*List and information from lawfirms.com, Applying for Social Security Disability.

Once your disability is determined, you can file your claim. SSD claims go through four stages of an evaluation process: making a claim, requesting an appeal, request for a hearing, notice of decision. As stated before, the majority of claims do not make it past the first two stages. However, “your chances of winning your benefits claim are greatly increased when you are represented by an experienced disability attorney” (www.Nationaldisabilitylawyers.com).

Having an attorney ensures the completeness of medical bills and records, which are imperative to the success of your claim. While you can represent yourself in an SSD claim, attorneys pay special attention to due dates, signatures and medical verification. Also, attorney’s have a better chance at getting copies of medical bills and records from doctor’s office, which only strengthen your claim.

Also, being sure to record all disabilities and treatment plans increases the validity of your claim. Disabilitysecrets.com says, “When a Claimant does not properly list every treatment source on an disability application or SSD appeal, the effect can be dramatic. A case can literally be slowed down for weeks or months as a result or, worse, be decided without crucial evidence being reviewed. Typically, this results in a denial. Cases that are properly represented, of course, stand a much better chance of avoiding such scenarios and eventually being won.”

It is also beneficial to your claim to have the support of your physician. Regardless if a doctor says he supports you getting disability benefits; it is more advantageous to receive that support in a written letter which can be presented during the hearing.

When filing your appeal, be sure to keep track of important deadline and hearing dates and always maintain a nice relationship with those working on your case.

When filing an SSD, the time before a notice of decision is made is indefinite. Because of this, it is encouraged you budget your finances to prevent debt and are discouraged from making large purchases during this time.

Should you be disabled and looking for an attorney to represent your disability claim, consider the attorneys at Ronaldson and Kuchler. We have only your best interest at heart and want you to receive the benefits you deserve during this most unfortunate time.

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Regardless of when or where, nobody is ever truly ready to hear that a loved one has died. Whether the death was accidental, such as from a car accident or anticipated due to prolonged illness, for many, hearing those words is beyond awful. Words of death cause feelings of shock, despair and indescribable loss. Questions often race through your mind wondering “how” it happened, or “why” or “what am I gong to do now?”

A family death imposes enormous challenges for surviving family members. In addition to almost insurmountable grief, there are myriad of other issues the family must deal with including the hospital, mortuary, funeral home or cemetery. If the death is due to an accident, such as an auto or truck collision or other type of tragedy, unfortunately there are other matters that require the family’s attention as well, such as dealing with the police, insurance companies calling for information and unpaid medical bills pouring in through the mail. In those circumstances, or in cases of alleged medical malpractice, it is often best to retain the services of a personal injury lawyer that concentrates their practice in such areas. The lawyer can handle all aspects of the investigation leaving to the family the important business of grieving and funeral preparations. Letting a skilled lawyer handle the issues related to the accident, such as preserving evidence, securing interviews with witnesses, getting the medical records and police reports, photographs and the like allows the family to focus on the matters most important to them.

If you should experience the unjust death of a loved one, whether due to a car collision, medical malpractice, truck accident or other form of wrongful death, consider talking to a lawyer that can bring justice for your loss. While legal aid cannot bring back a loved one, it can assist in many ways and offer some peace of mind. At Ronaldson and Kuchler, we are here to help.

Regards, Glenn

To make a bad day even worse, suddenly someone blows a stop sign and smashes into your car.  No what?  There is no one correct answer to this question, so let’ s cover it by topics.

On the scene:

While still on the accident scene, assuming you haven’t been taken away by ambulance, the first order of business is to call the police.  Dial 911 and provide all in the information requested.  You should also see if the other driver and occupants of that vehicle are ok. If not, make sure you tell the police you  need an ambulance.  You will also need to get the other driver’s information, including driver’s license number, registration, insurance information and write down the license plate number.  If you have a cell phone with camera, take a picture of all damage to your vehicle, as well as the other car, including a picture of the license plate.   Secure also the names and contact information from all witnesses to the accident and write down any other important information such as weather conditions, road repairs in progress, exact street location, etc.

After You Leave The Scene:

Once you leave the scene, if you are hurt, GO TO THE DOCTOR OR HOSPITAL!!  It may take a lot of time to get in and out of the emergency room, but it is worth your effort if in fact you are injured.  When you see the doctor, make sure you tell them you had just been in an accident and describe the accident, e.g., I was rear ended -I was at a complete stop when I was smashed in from behind-the impact was very heavy, etc.  Make sure you tell the doctor all things or parts of your body that are hurting!!  Just because your neck is the most painful, don’t forget to tell the doctor about your chest or arm too if they hurt as well.

At Home Later:

Once you get home, follow your doctor’s instructions for rest, ice packs, pain medicine or whatever was prescribed.  Also, over the next day or so, check yourself very carefully for any bruising, cuts, scrapes and lacerations, and TAKE PICTURES OF THEM!!  Visible injuries heal much faster than you think, and much better to document them while they are present.

Do I Need A Lawyer:

Only you can answer this question, but if you decide to get a lawyer, hire one that only helps victims of accidents!  Your friend that helped with your real estate closing or divorce may have the name of someone, but don’t rely on your real estate lawyer to have the expertise to help with your injury claim!  You wouldn’t hire an injury lawyer to help with your divorce either, so make sure you hire a person that knows what they are doing!

Conclusion:

Accidents are never expected, they happen suddenly, and they interrupt your day and weeks ahead (or your entire life!).  Take a few  moments to do the things above, and you will have helped yourself tremendously if you decide to hire an injury lawyer to help you further.  Good luck!  Glenn

     Well, you hired a lawyer and it just doesn’t seem like you are getting the level of communication you were  hoping for.  It seems as if you call and leave a message and wait for days to hear back.  Hopefully, at the outset, you hired a lawyer that concentrates in the area of law you hired him/her for.  If they do not consistently practice in your area of need, that may explain some part of the delay.  On the other hand, assuming you were injured in an accident and hired a lawyer that concentrates in  handling injury cases, there should be no communication issues.

     In our state, one of the leading causes of complaints against attorneys in general is the failure to communicate with the client.  From our perspective, this is just unacceptable. As attorneys, we are professionals, and under our ethical commitments to our clients is the necessity of keeping them informed of the status of their claim or lawsuit every step of the way. 

     When you hire your lawyer, have a frank discussion about communication.  We tell all of our clients that they can call our office as often as they wish.  I personally tell my clients that I return all phone calls within 24 hours, sometimes in the evening depending on court schedules.  If I know I’m going to be out for extended periods due to trials, or depositions, I have my office call my client back to arrange a convenient time in the upcoming days that I can call them and discuss their case.  I also tell my clients that each file has an associate attorney or paralegal assigned to it as well and that they are always free to contact that person for an update if needed.  Additionally, we typically carbon copy our clients on nearly every letter we write, which also serves to update them.  After status hearings in court, I typically write to my clients and give them an update on what the court scheduled at that time.  We also call  our clients on an as needed basis.  Up front, we tell our clients that if they don’t hear from us for a week or so, it is only because nothing is actually happening at that point.  Typically, there is some delay between writing for records and getting them in, or writing to the insurance company and getting any response from them.  Nevertheless, our clients are ALWAYS free to call in and see what is going on. 

     Each lawyers level of communication is unique to that particular client and their needs.  Even so, you as the client should NEVER be frustrated with a lack of information from your lawyer.  Your lawyer is your “agent at law”, and is acting for YOUR benefit.  If you are not getting phone calls returned, set up a meeting to learn why.  Of course, your lawyer will also be busy with other client’s work, but that does  not absolve them from properly communicating with you.  After all, it is your case, and you have a right to know what is going on!   Good luck!