Brain Injury Lawyer
Suffering a significant blow or jolt to the head can result in a traumatic brain injury, also known as head trauma or brain damage. A brain injury can be life-altering and, in some cases, fatal.
Brain injuries are common in falls, car accidents, sports accidents, and other situations that cause significant damage to the head or brain. Often, these injuries cause immense physical, mental, and financial consequences to victims and their families.
Did you or a loved one suffer a traumatic brain injury? Did someone else’s negligence cause the accident? If so, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your losses.
The brain injury lawyers at Injury Lawyers Team, sponsored by Rosenfeld Law Offices, know exactly how devastating it can be to suffer physical and emotional pain due to the actions of others. Our attorneys will serve as your legal advocates in pursuing justice against responsible parties and will do whatever it takes to ensure you recover the compensation you deserve.
Call our brain injury lawyers today for a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team will remain private under an attorney-client relationship.
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury TBI?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as brain damage, is an injury that affects brain function. It is caused by a violent blow or jolt to the head or body, causing the brain to bounce around inside the bony skull.
Moreover, a TBI can result from an object penetrating the brain tissue, such as a bullet.
How Often Do Traumatic Brain Injuries Occur?
Traumatic brain injuries are a major cause of death in the US, causing about 176 deaths daily. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 223,135 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2019 and about 64,362 TBI-related deaths in 2020.
Over 32% of TBI-related hospitalizations and 28% of TBI-related deaths involved people 75 years and older, making this age group the most prone to traumatic brain injuries. The CDC also reported that males were about two times more likely to be hospitalized and three times more likely to die from a traumatic brain injury than females.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
TBIs fall into two main categories: closed injuries and penetrating injuries. A closed head injury is a TBI that does not fracture the skull, while a penetrating head injury is a TBI wherein the skull breaks or is penetrated by an object.
Within these categories are seven common subcategories of brain injuries, which are:
- Concussions: Concussions are the most common type of traumatic brain injury, often causing only mild to moderate symptoms. People who experience concussions may experience feeling dazed or loss of consciousness for less than 30 minutes. However, some people develop post-concussion syndrome, wherein symptoms last more than a month.
- Contusions: A contusion is a bruise on the brain, usually accompanying a concussion. Contusions that do not heal on their own may become hematomas, requiring removal via surgery.
- Brain Hemorrhage: Brain hemorrhaging or brain bleed is uncontrolled bleeding on the brain’s surface or within the brain tissue. When left untreated, a brain hemorrhage can be fatal.
- Intracranial Hematomas: A hematoma is an accumulation of blood outside the blood vessels. Large hematomas may be life-threatening if left untreated.
- Coup-Countercoup Injuries: A coup-countercoup injury refers to two separate brain injuries. A coup injury occurs under the impact point, while a countercoup injury occurs on the opposite side of the brain. This traumatic brain injury is common in accidents where someone hits their head on a stationary object. When the head hits the object, the brain collides with the front of the skull and rebounds, resulting in a second impact.
- Diffuse Axonal Injuries (DAI): A diffuse axonal injury occurs when the brain is shaken or twisted inside the skull. The connecting fibers of the brain called axons tear as the brain twists, disrupting the messages that neurons send. The severity of a diffuse axonal injury depends on the size and location of the tears.
- Second Impact Syndrome: This brain injury occurs when a person suffers a second head injury shortly after the first one. The second brain injury usually causes more severe damage and can have life-altering effects.
Degrees of TBI
TBIs can be further categorized into degrees of severity:
- Mild TBI or Concussion: A mild traumatic brain injury comes with effects that usually last less than 30 minutes. These effects may include fatigue, headache, nausea or vomiting, and loss of balance.
- Moderate Brain Injury: A moderate TBI may come with a loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes but less than one day. Symptoms, such as vomiting, nausea, headaches, and loss of coordination, may appear within the first hours to days after an injury.
- Severe Brain Injury: A severe TBI may cause loss of consciousness for more than one day. Common symptoms include confusion, persistent headaches, seizures, and clear fluids from the nose or ears. A penetrating head injury is often considered a severe TBI.
A mild traumatic brain injury may not always require medical attention, but it’s best to go to a doctor. A moderate to severe TBI often require immediate medical care to avoid severe complications.
The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) recommends immediate medical attention if you experience the following traumatic brain injury symptoms:
- Persistent headaches
- Slurred speech
- Drowsiness
- Repeated nausea or vomiting
- Weakness, numbness, lack of coordination
- Seizures
- One pupil is larger than the other
- Restlessness, confusion, agitation
- Loss of consciousness
- Unusual behavior
Continue monitoring your condition if you have suffered a traumatic brain injury that manifests in mild symptoms.
Complications of Traumatic Brain Injury
People that have suffered a traumatic brain injury may experience the following complications:
Altered Consciousness
- Coma
- Vegetative state
- Minimally conscious state
- Brain death
Physical Complications
- Seizures
- Fluid buildup in the brain
- Infections
- Headaches
- Vertigo
- Blood vessel damage
- Paralysis
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ear
- Loss of senses
Intellectual Complications
- Learning difficulties
- Memory loss
- Poor judgment and reasoning
- Poor attention and concentration
Behavioral and Emotional Changes
- Irritability
- Risky behavior
- Lack of awareness of abilities
- Mood swings
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Lack of empathy
- Insomnia
Communication Problems
- Difficulty speaking
- Difficulty understanding speech or writing
- Inability to organize thoughts and ideas
- Difficulty understanding nonverbal cues
Sensory Problems
- Blind spots
- Double vision
- Persistent ringing in the ears
- Poor hand-eye coordination
- Skin tingling or itching
- Loss of balance
- Dizziness
Serious brain injuries often lead to severe and long-term complications. However, a mild TBI can also cause significant consequences when left untreated.
Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Sometimes a traumatic brain injury can be purely accidental and no one’s fault. Other times, however, a brain injury can be caused by the negligent acts of others. A driver exceeding the speed limit can cause a car accident, resulting in a traumatic brain injury for the other driver. An establishment may fail to put signs on wet floors, causing a customer to fall and suffer a brain injury.
Brain injuries usually result from a severe impact on the head or body. The severity can depend on several factors, including the location of the damage and the force of impact.
The following are common events that can cause traumatic brain injuries:
- Falls: Falling from a bed, down the stairs, on the floor, and other fall-related injuries are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury. Falls can be especially devastating for older adults and children.
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: A car accident can cause traumatic injury to the head, leading to an open or closed head injury.
- Sports Injuries: TBIs are common in high-contact sports, such as football and baseball.
- Violence: Acts of violence such as physical assault and gun violence are common causes of TBI. Violence-related TBIs also includes shaken baby syndrome, which involves shaking a baby so violently that it injures the infant’s brain.
Negligence-Related Causes
Falls, motor vehicle accidents, and some sports injuries can result from the negligence of others. These TBI causes can root in negligent acts, such as:
- Irresponsible Driving: A driver disregarding traffic laws can put other drivers and pedestrians at risk of TBI if an accident occurs. Dangerous driving habits, such as drunk driving, speeding, and illegal turning, are the most common causes of motor vehicle accidents.
- Inadequate Building Maintenance: Improperly maintained stairs, walkways, and parking lots are fall risks that can lead to severe injuries, including TBIs.
- Lack of Safe Sports Gear: A sports coordinator that fails to provide athletes with functional safety gear may be liable for a player’s traumatic brain injury. Similarly, a gear manufacturer that produces faulty safety gear may be responsible if an athlete suffers a brain injury that they would have otherwise prevented if the product was fully-functioning.
- Medical Negligence: Doctors that fail to perform their duties within the standards of care may cause a patient a TBI. For instance, a doctor that operates on a patient incorrectly may cause damage to the brain, or a doctor that forces an infant out of the birth canal improperly may cause permanent brain damage. Negligence-related injuries committed by doctors may be considered medical malpractice.
Who is Most at Risk of Brain Injuries?
According to the CDC, some groups are more likely to be affected by head injuries. These include:
- Racial and ethnic minorities
- Active military personnel and veterans
- People in correctional and detention institutions
- Victims of domestic violence
- People who lack proper housing
- People in rural areas
- Athletes
- People in risky careers (e.g., construction workers, police officers)
Filing a Traumatic Brain Injury Case
Sometimes, head injuries occur due to the negligence of others. It could be a negligent driver, business owner, medical professional, or even a pedestrian. Regardless of how the accident occurred, anyone who causes a traumatic brain injury could be held liable.
Did you or a loved one suffer a traumatic brain injury caused by someone else’s negligence? If so, you have the legal right to seek compensation for your losses by filing a legal claim. With the help of a traumatic brain injury lawyer, you can hold the negligent party accountable for their actions (or inaction).
Proving Negligence
A successful traumatic brain injury claim requires four elements. You must prove that:
- The defendant owed a duty of care to you
- The defendant breached this duty
- The defendant’s breach of duty caused your brain injuries
- You suffered injuries and damages as defined by law
Everyone must take “reasonable care” to avoid injury to others. However, reasonable care can vary with time, place, and relationships between people. Hence, an incident may be considered negligence in one case but not the other.
Generally, no one owes you a duty of care if you are not supposed to be at that location. Hence, trespassers usually do not receive compensation for injuries sustained on someone else’s property. In any other case, you could say someone breached their duty of care.
The following are everyday places where someone owes a duty of care to you:
- Business Establishments: Business owners are responsible for the safety of all patrons under premises liability law.
- Roads: Drivers and pedestrians have a duty of care to keep everyone safe.
- Hospitals: In hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings, medical professionals are legally required to perform their duties under the standards of care set by the medical community.
- Private Property: The property owner is responsible for your safety to a certain extent as long as you have permission to be there.
- Workplace: Your employer is legally liable for your safety to a certain degree. Aside from providing a safe working environment, your employer must give you proper safety gear to perform your duties.
In most cases, it all boils down to whether a negligent act caused the accident. For instance, a person that hits someone with a foul ball may not be considered negligent since foul balls are a “reasonable” part of sports. However, a person that throws a ball out of anger is not “reasonable” and may be considered negligence.
Evidence
Proving negligence in a brain injury claim is often complicated. Hence, your traumatic brain injury lawyer will help support your claim by collecting the following forms of evidence:
- Photos of visible injuries
- Documentation of the accident scene
- Proof of medical malpractice, if applicable
- Medical records showing head trauma or brain damage
- Psychological evaluations
- Police or incident reports
- Witness accounts
- Surveillance footage
- Expert testimony
Compensation
Brain injury victims may be entitled to compensation for the following damages:
- Medical Bills: Compensation for the costs of medical care, including hospitalization, surgery, therapy, medication, and emergency transportation.
- Disability: Compensation for disability-related damages if you become permanently disabled from your brain injury. These damages may include loss of future earning potential, mobility aids, and pain and suffering.
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical and non-physical injuries, such as physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, etc.
- Lost Wages: Compensation for lost wages, income, and benefits.
- Loss of Quality of Life: Compensation for quality of life lost due to your brain injury.
- Property Damage: Compensation for replacing or repairing any personal belongings lost or damaged in the accident.
- Wrongful Death: Compensation for death-related damages if your loved one dies from a serious brain injury. These damages include funeral and burial costs, pre-death medical treatment, and grief.
The Role of Your Brain Injury Lawyer
Brain injury attorneys help victims handle legal claims to ensure they recover compensation for their losses. Your traumatic brain injury lawyer can help you:
- Determine how and why the accident happened
- Establish the liability of negligent parties
- Examine medical records
- Gather evidence to support your personal injury case
- Estimate the value of your settlement
- Negotiate with the defendant’s insurance company
- File your personal injury claim within the statute of limitations
- Consult with medical professionals
- File a personal injury lawsuit, if needed
Your attorney will discuss these responsibilities further during your free consultation.
Settlement
After you file a personal injury claim against the negligent party, their insurance company may offer you a settlement. At this point, you have two options:
- Accept the payment
- Have your traumatic brain injury attorney negotiate for a better offer
You will no longer be able to sue for additional damages if you accept the insurance company’s offer. Hence, you must consult with a personal injury attorney before accepting the compensation.
Filing a Brain Injury Lawsuit
Your traumatic brain injury attorney can help you pursue compensation through other means if:
- The insurance company downplays your severe brain injury as a mild one
- The insurance company refuses to make a better settlement offer
- The defendant denies responsibility for your injury
If any of these scenarios happen, your brain injury lawyer could help you file a traumatic brain injury lawsuit to recover compensation. A judge or jury will hear evidence from both parties and decide a verdict, with your lawyer serving as your legal representation. Most brain injury lawsuits take a few weeks to months to resolve.
However, a traumatic brain injury lawsuit is not always necessary. To avoid litigation, your lawyer could help you pursue other dispute resolution methods, such as mediation or arbitration.
Your brain injury lawyer will discuss these legal options during your free consultation.
How to Avoid Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Most brain injuries are not preventable. Nevertheless, you can avoid the common causes of TBIs by taking the following precautions:
- Wear a Helmet: Protect your head while riding a bicycle, skating, playing contact sports, or doing any other risky activity.
- Remove Fall or Trip Hazards in Your Home: Reduce your trip or fall risk by removing loose carpet, installing handrails, cleaning up tripping hazards, and putting slip-resistant mats in bathrooms.
- Drive Responsibility: Avoid risky behaviors while on the road, such as texting, eating, drinking, speeding, and swerving. Never drive while sleepy or intoxicated, and always wear a seatbelt.
- Be a Smart Pedestrian: Follow traffic rules to avoid falling victim to a pedestrian accident.
- Be Wary of Falling Debris: Avoid walking near construction sites or other places with a risk of falling debris.
Speak With an Experienced Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Today
Unfortunately, anyone can become a brain injury victim, regardless of how careful you are. Someone else’s carelessness or negligence can easily cause an accident, putting you at risk of harm. If this happens, you could hold the at-fault party accountable by filing a legal claim.
The traumatic brain injury lawyers at Injury Lawyers Team are dedicated to representing brain injury victims and helping them seek justice. Our attorneys have previously handled countless traumatic brain injury cases, winning financial compensation for brain injury survivors through litigation or out-of-court settlements.
Don’t take brain trauma lightly, especially since it puts your future at risk. Let our brain injury attorneys work with you and claim compensation for your losses.
Call our law offices today for a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team will remain private under an attorney-client relationship.
Our lawyers handle all accepted cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t have to pay for our legal services unless we win your case.