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AV Kenneth I. Kolpan 2016
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Brain Injuries from Being Struck by an Object

If a person's head is struck by some object, for example a pipe that falls from a construction site or a piece of ceiling tile, it can cause brain damage if the force of the falling object is significant. The force of the object depends upon the weight of the object, the speed of the object and/or the height from which the object fell. A "glancing blow" by a metal pipe falling 120 feet has enough force to cause serious brain damage. The impact is equal to a one thousand pound object falling one foot.  A direct blow would likely prove fatal.

Our office has represented individuals who sustained by brain damage from a safety rail that fell 118 feet; ceiling tile that fell from ten feet; a ceiling board that fell about ten feet; a window pane that fell approximately eight feet, among others.  When struck, our client did not know what had happened, where he was nor recognize his co workers.  Fortunately, a bystander who was an insurance adjuster grabbed the "safety bar" while first responders treated our brain injured client.  The witnesses' actions were crucial to quantifying the force of the metal bar crashing in to our client's skull and Attorney Kolpan demonstrated its weight at the mediation, by dropping it on the floor in front of the liability carrier's representative. The case settled for a significant amount

In each case, retaining a well qualified expert, an engineer or a biomechanic engineer, was essential to the successful resolution of the claim.  In the case involving a "safety bar" which had been dislodged off a scaffold 118 feet above a public sidewalk, the bar glanced off the head of the client rendering him briefly unconscious and dazed but he walked away from the scene.  Later, he started exhibiting worrisome signs of a traumatic brain injury.  With the able assist of brain injury specialists, he eventually returned to his field of expertise but had had significant trouble doing so.  In order to demonstrate how a glancing blow from a metal pipe had caused a significant injury, Attorney Kolpan retained an engineer (who as also an attorney) to calculate the pipe's velocity and force at impact.  The insurance company recognized that the expert's opinion was a clear explanation how a glancing blow caused the brain injury.  Attorney Kolpan utilized similar expert resources in the other claims though they involved objects falling from lower heights.  The weight of the objects, the distance they traveled and location of impact were important factors in resolving those claims

Our office, working with brain injury experts, presents evidence of about the force of these fallen objects and how the impact may cause the individual to sustain a brain injury.

We invite you read more about brain injury litigation here on our website. For further information, you may contact our office online or call us at 617.426.2558.