Brain death is devastating for families, who often struggle to understand the complexity of their loved one’s condition. If a medical professional has declared your family member brain dead, here’s what to know and how Mazow | McCullough, PC can help.
What Is Brain Death?
Brain death occurs when a person’s entire brain loses function. Typically, these individuals are on life support and have machines pumping their heart and breathing for them. This is an irreversible injury, meaning there is nothing that doctors can do to help the person or bring them back. Legally, death occurs at the time of brain death and not when the heart stops.
How Brain Death Differs From Other Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
Brain death is something that happens after a traumatic brain injury, but not all brain injuries lead to brain death. Other TBIs include:
- A person can be in a coma for any number of reasons, such as a car accident or stroke. This can also be caused by infection, tumors, and alcohol or drug overdoses. When someone is in a coma, they are unresponsive and unable to be woken up. Some coma patients progress to brain death, while others wake up after a period of time.
- Minimally conscious state. A minimally conscious state can also be caused by the above factors, as well as neurological diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. In this state, the patient’s consciousness has been severely altered, but they still show signs of some awareness and may be able to respond to some stimuli.
- Vegetative state. A persistent vegetative state often occurs after a lack of oxygen to the brain. However, all the aforementioned causes of TBIs can also result in PVS. If a patient is in a vegetative state, they cannot respond to stimuli but will generally exhibit sleep-wake cycles. Recovery is possible, but it is typically very slow, and most patients will not recover fully.
Can I Sue for My Loved One’s Brain Death?
In many cases, brain death is caused by the carelessness of another person. For example:
- A drunk driver caused a car accident that left someone brain dead
- A doctor failed to diagnose a stroke in time, and the brain didn’t get enough oxygen
- A lifeguard failed to monitor the water for signs of a drowning person
- An employer failed to provide proper safety equipment to prevent workers from falling
- A company made faulty carbon monoxide detectors that failed to alert
In each of these instances, someone else is likely at fault. If something like this happened to your loved one, you may be able to file a brain death lawsuit against the party that caused your loved one to become injured.
Further Reading
Determining Fault In a Wrongful Death Case
How to Prove Negligence
To prove negligence legally, several things must be established, including who was at fault and whether that person or facility owed your loved one a duty of care. In most wrongful death claims, this is easy to prove.
However, it may be more difficult to prove other key elements, like whether their action or inaction directly harmed your family member and whether that harm caused brain death. That’s why working with an experienced wrongful death lawyer is so important.
Potential Damages in a Brain Death Lawsuit
Even though money will never bring your loved one back, no matter how much the amount, damages from a brain death lawsuit can help cover things like:
- Your loved one’s medical expenses
- Any pain or suffering they endured prior to brain death
- Their lost wages and expected future earnings
- Funeral expenses
- Loss of companionship
- Your family’s pain and suffering
It can also help hold the facility or negligent medical provider legally accountable and prevent the same thing from happening again to another person.
Further Reading
Most Common Damages Sought in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Contact Our Attorneys Today for Help with a Wrongful Death After Brain Death Case
If you’re not sure where to turn after your loved one’s untimely death, Mazow | McCullough, PC can guide you towards the resources and restitution you need to move forward. We can help you gather evidence of your family member’s neglect and prove what happened to them in a court of law.
Contact us today to book a free consultation by calling our Salem law office at (978) 744-8000 or toll-free at (855) 693-9084.
