New Jersey college student suffers severe brain trauma

A New Jersey college student suffered a brain injury when a deck at a Scranton home collapsed and fell down upon him. A lawsuit has been filed against the landlord of the property, the contractor that built the deck, and six other college students that were standing on the deck when the accident occurred.

The deck was placed upon the home in 2008 as an effort to attract tenants. It has also been alleged that neither the landlord nor the contractor warned the tenants about the number of people that the deck could support.

The injured student besides suffering a brain injury and concussion suffered cuts to his head and leg, and he’s suffered from headaches ever since the accident. This student has also alleged that he has been unable to return to school or to hold onto any job since the time of the accident. (Being of college age and college educated, a lifetime disability would represent a minimum of forty years of lost wages.)

The problem with any brain injury is the possibility that it will last a lifetime. Since the brain is ultimately the most important organ in the human body, injuries to the brain are often related to a large number of limitations and disabilities – including limitations on body movement and speech, memory loss, and erratic behavior accompanied by severe emotional problems.

Individuals suffering from brain injury due to the negligence of others may require a lifetime of care, prolonged hospitalizations, and compensation for wage loss and medical expense. Explaining brain injuries to members of a jury is often complex and will generally require an attorney that has a deep understanding of such trauma.

Source: The Times Tribune, “Deck collapse leads to lawsuit,” by Jim Lockwood, Feb. 7, 2012