C. Alan Nicholson Personal Injury Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Georgia Injury Lawyer - 13-Month Old Suffers Brain Injury After Hotel Accident

Tuesday, February 5, 2013 by C. Alan Nicholson

A few months ago I represented a 13-month old Plaintiff in a lawsuit against a Georgia Hotel filed in the Superior Court of Cherokee. The family’s room was furnished with a large tube-type television weighing over 70 pounds that was sitting on top of a dresser and neither the TV nor the dresser was equipped with safety mechanisms.

As one the drawers were opened, the dresser tipped, causing the television to slide off and strike the 13-month old girl, pinning her to the floor and causing her to become unconscious. The child's mother began CPR and called 911. The Plaintiff was rushed to the hospital, where she was admitted to the ICU in critical care with numerous skull fractures and intracranial bleeds. She was hospitalized for several weeks, undergoing many surgeries to place an intracranial pressure monitor and an intracranial shunt, which drains fluid from her injured brain.

The Plaintiff will now be required to have a shunt for the rest of her life and must live within two hours of a neurosurgeon because she could experience a shunt failure at any time. Such failure, in the testimony of her pediatric neurosurgeon, is a life-threatening situation that must be handled in an emergent manner. Other issues the Plaintiff faces throughout life due to her traumatic brain injury are learning deficits, which will become more pronounced and limiting as she enters school.

After the incident, the hotel immediately completely retrofitted the hotel with safety devices. Despite this fact, the Defendant contended that the television was displayed just as it would be in a home and was not a dangerous condition.

I am very hopeful that one of the impacts of this case will be to draw attention to the dangers that these TVs pose when not properly positioned and secured. I hope that no other family will have to face the challenges that this family has faced and will face daily for the rest of their lives.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, at work, by a defective product, or from medical malpractice, and you live in Georgia, we may be able to help you hold the parties responsible accountable for their actions. For more information about the firm, please go to www.nicholsonattorneys.com or call 770-425-5117 to schedule your free initial consultation.

Posted at 16:33 PM

Topic: Personal Injury