• 09
  • August
    2011

Suffering from an injury can result in months or even years of therapy and rehabilitation. But certain injuries can cause lifelong disabilities that can mean thousands in dollars of medical bills and other expenses. One type of injury that can cause permanent damage is a traumatic brain injury.

Several years ago, an employee of a pet store in California was simply helping to investigate a burglary that occurred at his workplace. The police had come to the store and the employee was with an officer on the roof of the store. The employee was helping the officer with a ladder when he walked onto the skylight and fell through to the ground.

The employee suffered a number of injuries, one of which was a skull fracture. The fall also caused permanent brain damage, forcing the employee to deal with the aftermath of that injury for the rest of his life.

Not only are there the physical consequences, but the worker will also face growing medical expenses. The pet store employee is at risk of seizures because of the brain damage and has to take medication to prevent the seizures from occurring. Not to mention if the employee cannot perform job functions that he had been able to before, keeping his job or finding new employment may be difficult.

After the accident, the employee filed a lawsuit against the police officer, the police department, as well as the owners of the property where the pet store was located. Typically, a civil claim such as this one is intended to compensate the injured individual.

Just recently, a settlement was reached and the award should help the worker with medical expenses. Money won't return the worker to his previous state before the accident, but it can help alleviate the stress that may be caused by unexpected finances and ensure that he will be able to continue getting medication and treatment.

Source: Mercury News: "Fremont police settle personal injury lawsuit for $1.1 million," Chris De Benedetti, Aug. 2, 2011.