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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gabby Giffords' Road to Recovery Is Simply Remarkable

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is certainly an inspiration for those who suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Her remarkable road to recovery was well documented and shown on the recent ABC 20/20 Episode

Statistically, only about 10% of those who are shot in the head even survive.  Severe brain injuries, such as from gunshot wounds, can leave the victim with physical disabilities, cognitive problems, and behavioral symptoms. The potential physical symptoms can run from total or partial paralysis to things like vision and speech problems, and general fatigue. Cognitive and behavioral disabilities from a severe brain injury can pose devastating problems for the victim too. There are innumerable cognitive and behavioral issues that a TBI victim may have to deal with, including attention, concentration, learning, and memory issues, as well as depression, irritability, and inappropriate behavior issues. Recovery from such a devastating injury is very slow, and improvements can continue to be seen months up to several years later. Some of the recovery is attributable to rewiring of neurons in the brain, sprouting new connections to attempt to regain their former functions and take over functions of the neurons that were lost.

As shown with Congresswoman Giffords, one of the most important parts of the rehabilitation process is family understanding and support for the TBI victim. Dealing with the effects of TBI is a lifelong issue for the family, as well as the victim.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Public Documents Need Not Be Automatically Disclosed in Litigation in Colorado

Today I'm changing my post's focus from traumatic brain injury ("TBI") issues, to legal issues from the Colorado Supreme Court's opinion that came out today in Averyt v. Wal-Mart, because of the significance it has to cases filed in Colorado, including TBI injury cases The Court in Averyt essentially carved out an exception to a party in a lawsuit's mandatory automatic disclosure of documents obligation under the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure for "public documents."  Rule 26(a)(1)(B) states, "[e]xcept to the extent otherwise directed by the court, a party (to a lawsuit) shall, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to other parties: . . . [a] listing, together with a copy of, or a description by category and location of, all documents, data, compilations, and tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the party that are relevant to disputed facts alleged with particularity in the pleadings. . ." C.R.C.P. 26(a)(1)(B)(parentheses added). 

In summary, the court in Averyt ruled that a City of Greeley public document - a document that could have been located equally by either the plaintiff or defendant in the lawsuit - did not have to be disclosed by the party that actually found the document after the trial that already started.

This is a very significant ruling in Colorado because now, each party in a lawsuit must be diligent in doing their own research into finding public documents that are relevant to their specific case.  The court in Averyt specifically mentioned a few public documents that do not have to be automatically produced under Rule 26(a)(1)(B): newspaper articles, minutes from meetings of governmental bodies, customer reviews, reports of health and safety inspections, complaints lodged with business rating agencies, grievances filed with professional licensing authorities, and even legal documents filed in other cases.  But the court did not foreclose the possibility that a party could still obtain, either through written discovery or depositions, information about another party's knowledge or possession of a public document. 

With this new ruling, victims of accidents should be even more diligent in finding a personal injury attorney to represent them who is knowlegable and who is going to work hard to find all the relevant public documents that could affect their case.  At Nelson Law Offices, we are dedicated to doing just that - building strong personal injury cases for all persons who are the victim of the negligence of others.