Richard Jurewicz Discusses Depression and Injuries

Galfand Berger attorney Richard Jurewicz was recently published in the Cleveland State Law Review. His work discusses the link between serious, traumatic brain injuries and a person’s subsequent development of depression. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating that approximately 1.7 million Americans are affected by traumatic brain injuries annually, it’s an important topic for people to be aware.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the Journal of Neurotrama, it’s not all that uncommon to develop depression after being affected by a traumatic brain injury, or TBI. In fact, some studies estimate that as many as one-quarter of all people who experience a traumatic brain injury will develop major depressive disorder (MDD) as a medical complication.

After a serious accident, many people will need long-term medical care as well as different kinds of rehabilitative and physical treatment. Even those who are eventually able to return to work first need a significant amount of time off – and lots of people with permanently disabling injuries are unable to return to work ever again. After some accidents, entire families can experience financial and emotional stressors that makes day-to-day life difficult.

The CDC says that a traumatic brain injury is when normal brain function is interrupted because of a blow, bump or jolt to the head – or some kind of a penetrating injury. According to nationwide data, TBIs are “contributing factors” in as many as one-third of all injury-related deaths. Traumatic brain injuries range from mild-to-severe and are the cause of 52,000 yearly fatalities. Children under 14-years-old and adults over 75-years-old are especially prone to experiencing TBIs.

When it comes to depression, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) classifies it as a serious mood disorder. There are many different kinds of depression, but the NIMH reports that some of the most common symptoms and signs of clinical cases include:

• Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts;
• Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping;
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness;
• Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and/or that don’t improve with medical treatment, and:
• Difficulty remembering, concentrating, or decision-making

To read more about MDD, please visit this link.

In the piece “Depression: The Often Overlooked Sequela of Head Trauma” Rick explains how he would go about proving the relationship between head trauma and a plaintiff’s development of depression. It is often difficult for an injured party to prove the full scope of how his or her quality of life has changed after having a traumatic accident; this is why it is so important to work with a lawyer who has handled these kinds of cases before. For plaintiffs who experience depression after having a TBI, it’s important that a lawyer reviews medical records and looks for previous indications of depression or mental illness, as well as speaking with close friends and family members who can offer helpful observations and insights.

Attorney Jurewicz has written about brain injuries before. His chapter “Traumatic Brain Injury – A Plaintiff’s Perspective” was published in the ABA Medical-Legal Guide: Head Trauma and Brain Injury for Lawyers. As a Senior Partner of the firm, Rick has handled many different kinds of litigation, such as product liability, automobile accident and construction accident cases – and others.

If you were injured in an accident or because of a defective or dangerous product and think Rick may be able to help, please contact a representative at our firm. If you’d like to read more about attorney Jurewicz, please click here.

Philadelphia Product Liability Lawyers at Galfand Berger, LLP Represent Individuals Injured by Dangerous or Defective Products

If you were injured by a dangerous product, please contact the Philadelphia products liability lawyers at Galfand Berger. With offices are located in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Lancaster, and Reading, we serve clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. To schedule a consultation, call us at 800-222-8792 or complete our online contact form.