Why It's Hard to Win a Brain Injury Case in New York

I just came across a story involving a Connecticut teen who has sued her school, accusing the school of negligence, for a traumatic brain injury that she claims she suffered when hit in the head with a tennis ball during gym class. According to the lawsuit, it appears that the gym teacher set up a makeshift game of indoor baseball, where the students used a tennis racket and tennis ball, and the students were told to play at close range, and without any safety equipment.

One blogger was particularly harsh in his criticism of this girl and the lawsuit that she brought. And while I think a lot of his comments weren't terribly constructive (or appropriate), the underlying theme and platform for the following comment he made should not be quickly discarded. As he put it: "[D]id you get hit with a tennis ball or do a tour of duty in Afghanistan?"

Simply put, a trial lawyer in New York, or probably almost anywhere right now must recognize the skepticism with which much of the public views claims of brain injury, if for no other reason than it is often something that is harder to visualize or prove than say, a broken bone or, G-d forbid, a missing limb.