Teenager Suffers Brain Injury in Crash on Long Island Expressway
A young man suffered injuries in a car crash which put him in the hospital in serious condition. Ryan Brennan, a 17-year-old from Deer Park, was a back seat passenger in the vehicle driven by Robert Mangum, 21, also of Deer Park. It appears that the Nissan GTR struck the center median on the Long Island Expressway near Exit 60, crossed the expressway into the right shoulder, and finally struck a guardrail. Brennan was transported by helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital with a brain injury. The driver and a front seat passenger were treated at a nearby hospital and released. According to police, the group of friends was coming from a car show in Farmingville. While Suffolk County police are still investigating the crash and looking for any witnesses, it is believed that Mangum was speeding at the time of the accident, and that he may have been racing drivers who had also been in attendance at the car show that evening.
Brain Injury Facts and Complications
A person is said to have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when an external, mechanical force causes damage to brain tissue. Typically, someone experiencing a TBI will experience some amount of time in an altered consciousness, such as a coma or memory loss, either for a matter of minutes, months, or for the rest of that person’s life. The severity of a brain injury is not always immediately apparent after a crash or other violent incident. While a concussion may not result in long-term side effects or damage to the victim’s mental function, traumatic brain injuries can impair vision, speech, or higher-level thinking, depending on the portion of the brain damaged in the crash. In civil trials based on brain injuries, the amount of recovery awarded by a judge or jury will depend on the amount of time the individual spent in an altered state of consciousness, the amount of rehabilitation required, the long-term impact on that individual’s memory, the reduction in their quality of life and earning capacity going forward, and whether or not the injury can be shown on a CT scan or via MRI. A skilled accident and brain injury attorney will know how to investigate such issues, find the right experts to testify, and prove these claims before a judge or jury. Due to their impact on the victim’s ability to function in society and have a normal life, settlements and jury verdicts on traumatic brain injury claims can reach into the millions of dollars.
If your or a loved one has been affected by a serious brain injury, seek out experienced lawyers to ensure you receive compensation you’re owed for these claims. Contact the skilled and knowledgeable Hudson Valley attorneys at the Law Office of Taran M. Provost, PLLC for a free consultation on your claims, at 845-675-3243.
