Personal Injuries in a Boca Raton Case

When one suffers injuries due to the negligence of another party, they might be entitled to compensation. The personal injury in this particular case was a fractured ankle, sustained by our client after falling on a set of stairs. For help with recovering from personal injuries in a Boca Raton case, reach out to our skilled lawyers at Kogan & DiSalvo.

Physical and Emotional Injuries

This individual’s injuries were both physical and emotional. As a result of the physical injury, a fractured ankle, the client was no longer able to wear high heel shoes. As a woman of relatively short stature in a professional work environment, she felt that not being able to wear high heel shoes impacted her ability to perform her job, which caused emotional distress. There were other limitations on the client as a result of the badly fractured ankle, as well. She was not able to enjoy the types of activities as she did prior to the fall, such as playing tennis, a loss that also caused mental anguish.

Florida law defines trauma as an acute injury that is a result of a specific event, as opposed to a chronic illness or something that develops over time. The injury in this particular case was a traumatic injury, in that it happened at one specific point in time.

Role of a Doctor in a Case

Several doctors played a role in determining the client’s injuries and ultimately influencing the case. In this case, the client was taken by ambulance to the emergency room where the doctors performed x-rays and diagnosed the fractured ankle. The client later consulted with other doctors who confirmed the diagnosis, performed surgery on the ankle as a result of the fracture, and put metal hardware into the client’s ankle. The treating doctors were designated by Kogan & DiSalvo as experts for purposes of the trial. An expert witness is able to offer opinions to the jury, as opposed to so-called lay witnesses, who may only testify regarding facts. The plaintiff team called the physicians as witnesses in order to explain to the jury in detail the nature of the injury and the prognosis.

Documenting Injuries

The client’s injuries were documented for legal purposes from the beginning of her treatment. The plaintiff’s lawyers from Kogan & DiSalvo used blowups of the x-rays to show to the jury both the fracture and the hardware that was placed inside the client’s ankle. Visual aids are always helpful for the jury in a personal injury trial. In this case, the jury could see with their own eyes both the badly broken bones and the way that the surgeon used metal plates and screws to put the broken bones back together, hardware that would remain in the client’s leg for the rest of her life. As was the case here, medical documentation can play a pivotal role in a personal injury case. An experienced attorney could work to make sure that all potential medical evidence in a particular case is preserved for use at trial.