State Senator Faces Multiple Assault Charges
Orleans Criminal District Court Judge Camille Buras refused to raise the bail of a state senator who may be suffering from the lingering effects of a brain injury.
Prosecutors wanted to increase 44-year-old Troy Brown’s bail from $5,000 to $25,000 as he awaits trial on charges stemming from a November fight with a woman characterized as Senator Brown’s “side friend.” Eight months later, authorities arrested Senator Brown again, this time after he allegedly bit his wife’s forearm during an argument. He says he is “not able to recall” the details of either incident, because of memory loss issues that began when he sustained a head injury in 1991.
Louisiana Senate President John Alario (R-Westwego) said that the chamber would remove Senator Brown (D-Ascension) from all his current committee assignments; Senator Alario also suggested that Senator Brown consider resigning.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Even though over 1.7 million Americans sustain a TBI every year, these injures are frequently misdiagnosed, and as a result, often not properly treated. Many TBIs occur in motor vehicle crashes, and the disorientation and nausea/vomiting that are frequently associated with brain injuries are often dismissed as shock from the car crash. Often, victims only seek treatment for TBIs when their symptoms persist for several days and they develop new ones, like headaches, memory loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and moodswings or personality changes. In time, victims eventually develop dementia-like symptoms and even die.
Motor vehicle crashes cause so many TBIs because when the vehicle comes to a sudden stop, people and objects inside the car keep moving at the same speed. It’s like being in a roller coaster: when the roller coaster suddenly swerves, the occupants keep going forward for a fraction of a second. That effect is multiplied at freeway speeds.
Crash-related TBIs, and all other brain injuries, require prompt diagnosis, aggressive medical treatment, and extended physical therapy, so victims are often entitled to significant compensation. This compensation includes money for economic damages, like medical bills, and noneconomic damages, like loss of consortium (companionship and contribution to household management).
TBIs often have life-altering consequences for victims, as well as their families and friends. For a free consultation with a diligent personal injury lawyer in Lake Charles, contact Hoffhoss Devall. Our attorneys are licensed in both Texas and Louisiana.