Category: Selecting a Brain Injury Lawyer

Stephanie Mencimer’s expose book entitled “Blocking the Courthouse Door, How the Republican Party and its Corporate Allies are Taking Away Your Right to Sue” discusses problems in the civil justice system.

Certainly, 2006 was an exciting year. Besides having the honor of representing many people and their families who sustained injury in the past, this past year saw the completion of a professional life dream to publish a book on the handling of traumatic brain injury.

On Wednesday, November 29, 2006, I had the honor and pleasure of arguing before the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America-New Jersey (ATLA-NJ).

A $6.6 million settlement we obtained for a young child who suffered a severe brain injury when shelves at The Children’s Place fell on him was listed in the top 10 personal injury awards of 2005-2006.

I have just returned from attending the ATLA National Convention in Seattle, Washington where I was privileged to to speak on the topic of the “Fake Bad Scale – An Invalid Scale Used by Defense Doctors”.

I am pleased to advise that the New Jersey Supreme Court, Board on Attorney Certification, has recertified me as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney.

Aside from choosing qualified medical specialists to care for you, one of the most important decisions on the road to recovery after you have suffered a traumatic brain injury is to retain a qualified attorney.

When selecting a trial attorney to represent you or your family member who has suffered a traumatic brain injury, it is important to select an attorney who is Board certified. Many states, like New Jersey, have their own state Board certification. In New Jersey, for example, a Board on attorney certification was established by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in 1980 for the purpose of helping consumers find attorneys who have a recognized level of competence in particular fields of law. Attorneys may be designated by the Supreme Court as “Certified Attorneys” if they are able to demonstrate sufficient levels of experience, education, knowledge and skill in a specific area of law or practice, have passed a rigorous examination and have been recognized by their peers as having sufficient skills and reputation in the designated specialty. For additional information, visit the New Jersey Board on Attorney Certification website. Read More about Board certified attorney

In selecting an attorney to represent you, it is essential that that attorney have the ability to incur the necessary expenses to properly represent a client with an acquired traumatic brain injury. Pretrial expenses in these types of claims can run between $20,000-$50,000 and sometimes more. Trial expenses can exceed $25,000 or more. In my experience, it is impractical to prepare the traumatic brain injury case utilizing solely a neurologist and/or a neuropsychologist. Quite often, not only do you need a neurologist and a neuropsychologist, but you will need a consulting neuropsychologist to review the defendant’s testing data, a rehab physcian, a life care planner and a vocational economist. In many instances a biomechanical engineer and quite often an expert in PET scans and neuroimaging will also be required. When dealing with a child who has suffered a brain injury, it will be necessary to get a doctor with expertise in traumatic brain injury and its effect on maturation and education. When retaining an attorney, you want to be sure that that attorney and his/her law firm has the ability to forward the necessary costs and expenses to properly prepare the traumatic brain injury case, to be able to hire all the necessary experts and prepare the case the case for trial.