The Signs of Brain Damage Are Signs You May Need a Brain Injury Lawyer
Serious accidents, including motor vehicle collisions and slip and falls where the accident victim strikes their head on the ground, can lead to severe traumatic head injuries and potential brain damage. If you were in an accident and struck your head, seek immediate follow-up medical care and treatment at a hospital emergency room or urgent care center.
Seek medical care even if you are not sure how severe your injury might be. A doctor can make the necessary observations and undertake the necessary tests, such as a CAT scan or brain MRI, to determine if there is physical evidence of head or brain damage. However even if the imaging has normal findings, that does not mean a person did not suffer a brain injury.
Brain trauma and injuries that appear relatively mild can still sometimes lead to fatal injuries and severe functional deficits. This is because the designation of mild TBI only refers to the observable physical findings—not to the severity of the symptoms. Even when a medical professional deems a TBI to be mild, it can still lead to physical and cognitive issues that are severe, long-lasting, and sometimes permanent.
If a health care provider diagnosed you with any TBI, you and your loved ones must keep watching for any lingering complications. If symptoms worsen or change, seek immediate medical treatment. When someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing caused your injury, call an experienced brain injury lawyer to seek compensation for your medical and other treatments.
Accidents that Can Lead to Serious Head Injuries
Many head or brain injuries result from trauma caused by the negligence of other people or companies.
Examples include:
Motor vehicle accidents involving cars and large trucks (especially 18-wheelers, box trucks, and big rigs)
Motorcycle accidents
Bicycle collisions
Pedestrian accidents
Slip and fall accidents that occur on another person or entity’s premises
Construction accidents
In any of these situations, the accident victim’s brain can be exposed to trauma and suffer serious injury.
Pedestrians and bicyclists in vehicle collisions are often at high risk for severe head injuries because unlike motor vehicle occupants, they do not have the protection of being inside another vehicle. Rather, they have direct exposure to their surrounding environments and the ground. Even cyclists wearing helmets can suffer one or more serious head injuries in an accident—especially if they forcefully fall to the ground during a collision and their helmet cracks.
If you or a person you care about suffered a serious head or traumatic brain injury in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, a skilled brain injury lawyer in your area can answer all of your questions. Do not wait to learn about the legal options that are available to you for pursuing monetary compensation.
Symptoms of Brain Injuries
Several signs and symptoms often accompany traumatic head and brain injuries. You should be on the lookout for these symptoms after your accident, and if you experience any of them, should seek prompt medical treatment. Some traumatic head injuries are less obvious than others. However, that does not necessarily reduce the severity of symptoms.
Common symptoms of a head or brain injury following a serious accident include:
In the many serious head injury cases, an accident victim can become unresponsive or fall into a coma.
If you or someone you love has experienced any of these symptoms following a serious accident, your first step should be to seek qualified medical treatment immediately. Then speak with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney in your jurisdiction who can explain your options for filing a personal injury claim.
Filing a Claim for Monetary Compensation Arising From a Head Injury Case
People sustaining traumatic head and brain injuries in an accident are often able to pursue a personal injury claim for monetary compensation. The deadline for filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit can vary from state to state, and can depend on the nature of the case as well whether the potentially liable party is a public entity. These sometimes short statutory deadlines mean you must file your lawsuit before it expires, otherwise you may be permanently prevented from obtaining compensation.
Victims of traumatic head and brain injuries have the legal burden of proof in their accident cases. The injured person must prove that the accident occurred because someone acted unreasonably or improperly. They will likely need to present complex medical testimony to support that they sustained a traumatic head or brain injury, to explain the severity of the injury, and that their injury resulted from the particular accident.
Assuming that a brain injury victim can satisfy the legal elements of proof in their brain injury case, then they can recover various forms of monetary compensation. In addition to recovering compensation for all related medical expenses that they incurred, an injured person can also recover compensation for lost wages and other out-of-pocket costs.
Victims of brain injuries often suffer permanent damage and disabilities, and they might even need to undergo medical procedures in the future. Consequently, it is important to consider all the future medical damages that will result from the incident. In addition, the accident victim can seek compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, pain and suffering, lost wages past medical expenses and disfigurement.
A knowledgeable personal injury attorney in your jurisdiction can help you prove the legal elements of your claim and pursue full compensation for your traumatic head or brain injury. Your lawyer can negotiate with the at-fault part’s insurance company and, if a fair offer is not made, file a lawsuit to litigate the case in order to pursue full compensation for all damages.
Robert Bohn, Jr.
Attorney
For more than 40 years, the lawyers at Robert Bohn, Jr. has dedicated their practices to personal injury law, representing people who have been injured or damaged due to the negligence or carelessness of others. For most people, handling a personal injury claim can be complicated and stressful.