Boy Still Healing from Traumatic Brain Injury a Year After Getting Shot in the Head

Date:  January 30, 2011
Location:  Oregon City
Names:  Austin Stokes, Jeremiah Riley

More than a year after his friend shot him in the head with a shotgun, Austin Stokes’ parents say their son is still trying to relearn the most basic skills. The entire family has been left physically, emotionally and financially drained by this catastrophic injury.

Jeremiah Riley was 14 when he admitted he was trying to frighten his friend Austin with a shotgun Riley’s father had left lying in the open in the house, still loaded after a duck hunting expedition. When Riley pulled the trigger, he blew off part of Stokes’ skull and left him with a traumatic brain injury. Riley received five days in detention in a plea deal, but Austin’s mother, Shelly Stokes, blames the parents and says they are ultimately responsible. “I just don’t understand how you can leave a loaded shotgun laying around when you have a neighbor kid coming over,” she said to KPTV.com.

Austin initially had a prosthetic plate in his head for protection while his skull healed, but the plate caused a severe infection and had to be removed a month ago, leaving Austin’s brain drastically under-protected. “If he falls and hits that spot, he’s done,” said Austin’s father, Adam Stokes. Doctors plan to eventually repair the skull by using Austin’s own ribs, but for now, he has to be walked everywhere he goes.

We send our best wishes to Austin and his family, along with our hopes that his recovery continues as speedily and completely as possible.

When a child gets hurt, it can be a parent’s worst nightmare. Children are extremely vulnerable because their bodies are still growing, and they are not always aware of the dangers around them.

If your child has been hurt or even killed through someone else’s carelessness, you might want to consider legal action through an experienced Portland child injury lawyer. Besides ensuring that your child has the financial resources to recover medically, a child injury case can also help to ensure that other children are not harmed through continued negligence.