Neurological Injuries

Overview

Neurological injuries are among the most devastating consequences of medical negligence. A preventable stroke, anoxic brain injury, or spinal cord injury can strip a person of their independence, their ability to communicate, their career, and their future. The damages in these cases are often profound and permanent — which makes it essential to have an attorney who can both understand the neuroscience and aggressively pursue full compensation.

Dr. Stephen A. Barnes, MD, JD, FACLM has handled neurological injury cases throughout his legal career, including cases involving anoxic-hypoxic brain damage, spinal cord injury and paralysis, and permanent neurological deficits caused by surgical errors and failures of medical management. As a board-certified surgeon who trained at Johns Hopkins and practiced at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Barnes has direct clinical experience with the anatomy, physiology, and operative considerations that underlie these injuries. He does not need to rely on a neurosurgeon consultant to explain what went wrong — he already understands it.

These cases require not only medical knowledge but innovative legal strategy. Barnes & Associates has developed novel approaches to hospital and institutional liability, negligence per se arguments based on regulatory violations, and injunctive relief in cases involving ongoing risks to patient safety. When a neurological injury stems from institutional failure — a missed stroke protocol, an improperly supervised resident, a hospital’s failure to maintain adequate staffing — Dr. Barnes knows exactly where to look and how to build a case.

What We Handle

• Anoxic and hypoxic brain injury caused by cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, anesthesia errors, or delayed resuscitation
• Stroke misdiagnosis and delayed treatment, including failure to timely administer tPA or conduct mechanical thrombectomy
• Spinal cord injuries caused by surgical errors, trauma mismanagement, or delayed decompression
• Traumatic brain injury resulting from falls, accidents, or negligent medical care
• Peripheral nerve injuries caused by surgical positioning errors or operative technique failures
• Cauda equina syndrome and spinal stenosis complications from delayed or improper treatment
• Hypoxic birth injuries resulting in cerebral palsy and permanent developmental disability
• Meningitis and encephalitis complications from delayed diagnosis and treatment

Why Choose a Physician-Attorney?

Neurological injury cases are won or lost on the quality of medical analysis. Understanding how the brain and spinal cord respond to injury, what the standard of care requires at each decision point, and where the clinical team deviated from that standard demands real medical knowledge — not a brief review of a textbook chapter.

Dr. Barnes brings that knowledge to every neurological injury case he handles. His background in surgery, critical care, and oncology — combined with direct experience managing complex postoperative neurological complications — gives him a foundation most trial attorneys simply do not have. At Barnes & Associates, the medical analysis does not come from a consultant. It comes from the attorney himself, backed by decades of clinical and legal experience and the resources to pursue full justice on your behalf.