The lawyers at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. have been in the trenches fighting for clients who have suffered brain injuries long before many understood the seriousness of this type of injury. Many years ago, it was expected that if a boxer “had their bell rung” they would get right back in the ring or if a football player hit their head they would “shake it off.” Back then, it was not universally understood that you could suffer a concussion (which is a traumatic brain injury) even if you didn’t actually hit your head, but just from the force of your head being tossed around in a car accident. While these concepts were novel back then, we represented clients who had serious and sometimes life-long effects from this kind of head trauma, and obtained compensation for them, against all odds. Now the science has caught up, and it is well known that concussions are serious brain injuries, and they can be identified as separate, significant, life- altering events.
Based upon our experience in this area, we are often invited to teach other lawyers about brain injury. Partner Joesph Cammarata was a co-founder, with Partner Ira Sherman, of the Brain Injury Association of Washington, DC. In addition, Mr. Cammarata drafted legislation, which became the law in the District of Columbia, protecting youth athletes from concussion.
Mr. Cammarata’s role in the brain injury community has led to his selection as Chairman of the American Association for Justice’s Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, which is comprised of other lawyers throughout the country dedicated to representing brain injury victims. Congratulations to Mr. Cammarata on this honor!