The Kirts Family way of life changed in an instant in January 2019 when they were injured in an auto accident caused by a police chase that crossed state lines from Delaware. Several members of the Baltimore family are recovering from broken bones and minor head trauma, but a traumatic brain injury caused by the crash forever changed three-year-old David Tillman’s life.
Young Tillman is often in pain and struggles with memory loss due to 6-7 skull fractures, 20-25 brain bleeds, four vertebra injuries, and vision and hearing damage. He can’t play with certain toys and has had to adjust to a slower lifestyle. His mother, Meghan Stone-Kirts, started a change.org petition in January to advocate for policy reform when it comes to police chases that cross over state lines. She’s also created a GoFundMe page to help cover medical expenses from the crash.
The collision that caused Tillman’s catastrophic injury was the culmination of a police chase pursuing a man suspected of multiple homicides in Delaware. The pursuit involved police cruisers colliding into each other and led one Wilmington police car to roll over a highway barrier on Interstate 95 northbound. Meghan Stone Kirts’s vehicle was side-swiped by the suspect’s vehicle and subsequently hit by six or seven police cars.
How Brain Injury Lawyers Help Families Like the Kirts
Our brain injury lawyers at Portner & Shure have seen the devastating consequences from auto accidents like the one the Kirts family was injured in. What makes this situation more frustrating is that a reckless police chase caused the collision. In car accident claims such as this, David Tillman and his family are entitled to compensation for the medical expenses from the crash and other damages for the life-long disability the three-year-old now faces.
Some of the areas of recoverable compensation for traumatic brain injuries include:
- Medical bills
- Ongoing Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
- Home Modifications for Disability
- Reduced Quality of Life
- Pain and Suffering
Traumatic brain injuries vary in severity but can cause permanent damage including mood swings and changes in personality along with chronic pain. Disabilities such as a TBI also come with a higher rate of depression, which is often included in the compensation for “pain and suffering.”
Contact our Baltimore Brain Injury Attorneys
What happened to the Kirts family could have been avoided with appropriate police chase policies that emphasize on maintaining civilian safety.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident in Baltimore, please contact our TBI injury attorneys at (410) 995-1515 for a free case evaluation. Portner & Shure serves clients in Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia.
