“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body…if one member suffers, all suffer together.” I Corinthians 12

There are many ways in which to project or argue damages involving brain injury and children. These tragic cases the bad are best trial skills on behalf of those evolved. Here are some random ideas regarding approaching damages in cases like these. Here is an argument example:

“Six years ago, Jennifer Campbell did everything she knew how to do on the afternoon of April 30, 1979, to speak to the hospital staff. And the only way she knew how to do what was through the strip monitoring her condition. And what she said to them on that strip was at 3 AM: “I’m fine.” At 4 AM, she said, “I’m having a little bit of trouble, but I’m doing okay.” At 5 AM, she said, “I’m having problems.” And at 530, she was saying “I need out now 6, am and they were the cries of Jennifer Campbell dying. But she didn’t die. She made it. She survived. And so here we are today. She’s speaking to you again, but now she speaks to you not through a fetal monitor strip. She speaks to you through me. I feel her presence. This is her, and what I’m saying is what Jennifer Campbell has to say to you. And this is what she says, “I don’t ask for your pretty. What I asked for is your strength. And I don’t ask for your sympathy. But I do ask for your courage. I asked you to do what I’ve done for the last six years. I asked you to be courageous. Six years ago, her cries weren’t answered. And I refuse to believe that that’s going to happen again in this courtroom. Jennifer is six years old, and she’s cute. She’s a wonderful little girl. The problem is when you see her now to FIG, but that’s what her life is going to be. She’s disabled, but everybody adores her. While that may be true when you’re six, but when she’s 11, she had the experience of the cruelty of other children. When she’s in her 20,s her sister will be getting married and going off to college, and she will be home. 30 years from now, she will be a 36-year-old and in a sheltered environment. Her life will be composed of braces, walkers, and caregivers. 50 years from now, she’ll be 56 years old, and no one will ever remember the sweet, cute six-year-old. A 56-year-old woman with brain injury and disability is not so cute anymore.”

Another example is this:

“I want to talk for a few minutes about what to expect in Joe’s life. A normal boy crawls at six months and walks at one year. Joel was four years old, and he couldn’t crawl. A normal first-grade boy raises his hand when he needs to use the bathroom. Joel will be wearing a diaper in the first grade. A normal boy plays baseball, but Joel will never play baseball or any other sport. A normal teenage boy celebrates the day he gets his driver’s license. Joel will never drive. A normal teenage boy goes to the high school homecoming dance. Joel will be home with his caregivers. A normal boy walks across the stage at his high school graduation to get his diploma and celebrates that night. Joel will never do that or graduate from college. A young man gets his first job and leaves home. Joel will never live alone. A normal adult man marries and has children. Joel is not going to be married or have children. You will not have children to take bike riding, fishing, or teach lessons of life.”

Gerry Spence has argued in a baby brain injury case, like this:

“In a few years, he’s going to be a man 23 and that 40 years old. But it is not going to be beautiful or handsome. He is going to be someone you want to even look at. He’s not going to be someone you want to be with. He’s going to be somebody to be ignored, rejected, and shunned. People will avoid him. No one’s going to smile at him when he’s 50. He’ll be alone except for those paid to take care of them. Even a dog knows when you’re making fun of them. He strapped for the rest of his life in this brain-injured mine.”

The great plaintiff advocate, Moe Levine, has used this approach, which can be revised to apply to a child brain injury case:

“Jenny doesn’t exist anymore; she’s been replaced with a new person. The person who existed before the century doesn’t exist any longer. And what are the damages? What is left for this child? What life is left for her? Mary? Who will marry her? What happens when she goes to school? This is her life now and forever. The doctor in this case may never have intended to injure her. I’m confident that if he had it to do over again, he would never do what he did in this case. But forgiveness is not your role. Only God can forgive your rule was judgment. Who is to pay for what happened to her? He cannot restore her. How are we to accomplish justice here? Can only be done by your verdict in money. What you do here today is for now and forever. Your verdict is important. It may well be one of the most important decisions you’ve ever made. If you find the doctor, you will have approved the system of hospital practice and will have exonerated his negligent conduct. You are given approval to a continuation of the same kind of care you’ve heard described here. If this is your choice, if you feel you must, go ahead. But if you think the doctor’s conduct was wrong. If you think it must be stopped by your verdict, you should say to those hospitals: these are human beings, small human beings, but like all human beings, important within their family unit, and if not to the rest of the world. Please treat them with tenderness; treat them with love. They came to you for care and offered their bodies, only asking to do what needs to be done. They entrusted themselves completely to you.

I ask for a verdict for the right reason. You may not award her a verdict because you feel sorry for what happened to her. It would be a verdict for the wrong reason. I would like to leave you with one thought. She has been robbed of her life of normal pleasure and satisfaction. They have taken from her the only thing that makes life worthwhile. In this world of tension, hatred, and killing with constant terror and threat of bombings, survival is really not worth it. She will have nothing for the rest of her life but survival. She will not only have been robbed of all the pleasures of living, but She will have been robbed even of the pleasure of working. This has to be translated by you into a fair appraisal of damages. I pray before I begin to talk to you that I might find the wisdom and eloquence to say to you the things that have to be said. I pray now that you might find the strength within you to do what your conscience bids you to do, with no fear, no fever, no charity, and no prejudice, thank you very much

I ask you with all the humility and gratitude that I’m capable of to reflect seriously upon this matter, since your judgment is final and forever. I ask you to render such a verdict as is consistent with your sense of conscience and which is gratified by your sense of reason. I asked that you bring in a verdict without fear, without fever, and with pride. I’m sure that when you render your verdict, whatever it is, it will be one that you will render with pride in the sense of having completely fulfilled your duty as jurors.

Arguments about the liability of those responsible for the injury to a child include some of these examples:

With injuries to children, the impact involves more than just the victim. The parents’ home becomes invaded by equipment required for the care of a child. The parents’ rule changes. The parent becomes a nurse therapist and caregiver. The mother is no longer a “mommy” but in a new, changed role. Long after the case is over, and the defendant has gone back to their previous existence. Long after you’ve finished your work here their problems go on and on forever. A beautiful, cute little child with a brain injury becomes an impossible management problem as time goes by.

The signs the doctors monitor regarding the child’s condition during delivery are like the Canary miners carry into the mine. When the Canary shows signs of problems, they immediately act. A pilot flies with an ear to the sound of the engines and high on the instruments. The slightest change in pitch of the engines or a warning by an instrument requires immediate action. The pilot can’t ignore these warnings because it’s better to be safe than sorry, and he or she has a responsibility for life on board the aircraft.

A baby in distress gives signs and symptoms. It’s like someone in a hotel pulling the fire alarm handle. You can’t talk to the fire department, but when they get the alar,m they know there’s a problem that needs immediate attention.

Every time there was an abnormal reading, this baby was telling the people caring for him, “I am in trouble. Please help. Nurses are like lifeguards at a child swimming pool. They are charged with the duty of observing and are trained to take immediate action if there’s any danger.

A baby in a hospital is like a diaper and an old-fashioned diving suit that communicates to the surface by tugging on the rope. The people on the surface are supposed to react to the polls on the rope when the diver signals trouble. The medical team is like a pilot flying an airplane. If a warning light on this Sprint panel comes on, they don’t ignore or cover it with their thumb. They react immediately.

Nurses are the eyes and ears of the doctors who cannot be with the patient and monitor 24 hours a day. It’s like someone pointing the fire alarm; the firefighters keep playing cards at the fire station, ignoring it.

Mark is like a traveler and an auto going down the road there are series of warning signs to the driver the first is a no warning flag next a red warning flag than a sign and finally a flashing red light all of which the medical staff ignored. Like the driver of that car had they reacted to any of these warning signs we wouldn’t be here today.

Nurses are like lifeguards. The lifeguards on duty to watch and observe and be prepared to act if there’s an emergency. If they see a child alone in a canoe should be concerned. They see the child tip over and yell for help they need to make a rescue.

The chart warns the captain of the ship that rocks lie somewhere ahead. A lighthouse warns him to stay away from the rocks. Warnings keep us safe and prevent harm.