Slip-and-Fall Causes Serious Brain Injury in Eureka Missouri Child

Last Saturday, five-year-old Ava Karpowecz was on her way to gymnastics when she slipped on a patch of ice in her driveway. Hearing her child’s cries, her mother came over and discovered Ava had hit her head on the pavement. Beyond being shaken, their child seemed to be fine, though they opted not to go on to gymnastics class. However, as the night went on the Karpoweczes grew nervous after Ava would complain about pain and began vomitting. They consulted doctors who told the parents to give her Tylenol and wake her intermittently and check for confusion.

Sunday afternoon, Ava woke from a nap screaming in pain. Her mother rushed her to St. Anthony’s Medical Center. Upon arrival, doctors noticed the child vomiting and originally diagnosed her as having the flu. However, because of her fall the previous day, they ordered a CT scan to be certain. The results of the scan sent the medical team into swift action. The fall had caused an epidural hematoma- a blood clot between the skull and the membrane covering the brain. Injuries such as these can take hours to manifest themselves through symptoms, however, once the injury occurs, it becomes a race against the clock. Ava was immediately airlifted to Cardinal Glennon for emergency surgery.

Several days later, it seems Ava will make a full recovery. While these occur more frequently with the elderly, a slip-and-fall can lead to serious injuries among people of all ages. While random accidents such as Ava’s occur, other times these falls are caused by negligence. If you or a friend have been injured due to a slip-and-fall, please do not hesitate to contact the law firm of WWF&G at 1-800-WWFGLAW or 618-567-8030 for a free consultation.