Resiliency and the Courtroom

By Jeff Heller

Resiliency is one of the greatest attributes anyone can have. From an early age, parents teach their children, “if you get knocked down, you get back up.” Coaches teach their players, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And one of the cornerstones of the underdog mentality is to “never give up, no matter the odds.”

But what about within the context of surviving a traumatic brain injury? In many cases, the motivational thought process of resilience is not possible. The brain cannot compute the required deeper thought to even consider the concept. Physiatrists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and nurses physically push, pull, and coordinate the body to be resilient, otherwise it would not occur at all.

In mild traumatic brain injury survival, resiliency can be akin to a drain. The heaviness of the inner battle by itself could drive the average person mad. But with no choice, the survivor must continue the battle regardless of whether victory is even in sight.

After suffering a TBI or mTBI because of someone else’s negligence, the courtroom provides the opportunity to show a jury what resiliency really means. Lawyers achieve this through witnesses: clinicians, family members, co-workers, and friends. These people can talk about the struggle and the fight they see every day with their own eyes. This offers the chance to explain to others — many who never experience brain injury on any level — what it is like to live, work, or care for a brain injury survivor. Often, these witnesses provide the most important and credible testimony in the entire case. Not only does it shed light on the real ramifications of the “at fault” party’s negligence, but it shows the true David v. Goliath story. Only this time, David and Goliath (the TBI) are the same person.

Anyone who suffered a brain injury at the hands of someone else or a company should call a TBI lawyer. An experienced TBI lawyer can put together the evidence needed to show the resiliency of the survivor. All that work, day-in-day-out by the survivor, should be rewarded. At the end of the case, the jury will be asked to render a verdict, which includes monetary relief for the TBI survivor. Each day leading up to the verdict, as well as everything the future holds, is a part of that relief. Resiliency should always be rewarded!

Jeffrey M. Heller is a trial attorney with Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy Co., L.P.A., in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Heller focuses his practice solely on personal injury and medical malpractice, specifically in the area of brain injury. He has also been selected to America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys and the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. He can be reached at 216.621.2300.