When thinking about injuries resulting from something like a workplace accident or a fender-bender, most people’s minds might jump to a broken wrist or a bit of whiplash. While these sorts of injuries are no joke, there are, unfortunately, many more serious injuries that can occur, such as brain injury. Brain injuries can have long-lasting consequences for an accident victim and their family. If you have suffered a brain injury stemming from an accident caused by another person, then you may be able to work with experienced brain injury lawyers to seek compensation for your injuries.
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, contact the brain injury law group specialists at Zinda Law Group at (888) 568-4342 for a free consultation.
How Can I Prove a Traumatic Brain Injury?
In any personal injury case, you must be able to show that you actually have suffered some sort of injury. This injury, and the effects of it, is ultimately what you are seeking to be compensated for. Proving a traumatic brain injury can present more challenges than something like a cut or gash wound, because the external markers of those injuries are readily apparent. TBIs, on the other hand, may present no readily apparent physical signs and can require further analysis.
Establish a Duty
The first step in establishing liability for an injury is to show that the person against whom the claim is filed owed a duty of care to act in a certain way. For example, if your claim is against a doctor for medical malpractice, there are regulations that govern how doctors complete their work with their patients. For a case involving an automobile accident, there are laws that drivers are required to follow to keep everyone on the road safe. Establishing this duty is critical because if someone was under no duty to act a certain way, then they cannot be held legally liable for causing your injuries.
Give a Causal Link
After establishing what the duty of the other party was, the next step is to establish a causal link between the breach of that duty and the injury that you ultimately suffered. For example, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a violation of the general duty that drivers have. However, just because a drunk driver was involved in your car accident doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be liable for all of the injuries that resulted from that accident. There needs to be a causal link between their intoxication and the injuries that you ended up sustaining.
You, Before and After Brain Injury
Because brain injuries can be difficult to see visually, one of the ways that you can establish the impact of your brain injury would be to show what you were like before and after the injury. One of the things that separates brain injuries from other categories of injuries is that they can actually lead to changes in the victim’s personality or emotional regulation ability. Because of this, proof of the impact of your injury can come in the form of testimony from close friends or family members who can talk about the changes that they have noticed in you.
John (Jack) Zinda
Founder / CEO
Over 100 years of combined experience representing injured victims across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationElements Needed to prove Negligence in a Brain Injury Claim
Prove Duty was Violated
Again, any brain injury claim will begin with proving that there was a duty, and that that duty was violated. Without this critical step, there cannot be a successful brain injury claim. Your brain injury attorney may be able to analyze the facts of your case and help determine whether a legal duty existed, and then whether it was violated in a way that could entitle you to compensation.
Medical History and Records
Providing your medical history and records is another crucial step to a successful brain injury case. Because brain injuries are entirely internal, discerning how serious they are and what the symptoms that can be associated with them often requires the help of a medical professional who can analyze medical history and records.
Your Support System
The people closest to you, while they likely don’t have the medical expertise to be able to talk in-depth about what kind of injury you suffered, do have first-hand knowledge of the person that you were before and after suffering your injury. This knowledge could potentially be an important factor in establishing how severe the impact of your injuries has been on your life.
Employment and Educational Records
Employment and educational records can potentially serve a couple of different purposes in a TBI case. Employment records can be used to help value compensation after the injury because they can show what a victim was making before an accident if they are no longer able to work. Educational records are another way to demonstrate what the impact has been on the victim. If they are no longer able to go to school like they were doing before an accident, then this could be evidence that the impact on their lives was very severe.
Neil Solomon
Partner
Real results matter. We do not get paid unless we win your case.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationFrequently Asked Questions
What is Considered Brain Damage?
An important first step in understanding what sort of a claim you might have and exactly how to go about pursuing it will be determining what type of brain injury you have. There are many types of brain injuries, but they can generally be sorted into two categories.
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Mild traumatic brain injuries are less severe. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are a few different symptoms that might be markers of a mild traumatic brain injury. Physical symptoms include minor loss of consciousness, dizziness or disorientation, headache, nausea or vomiting, fatigue or drowsiness, among others. There are also other sensory or cognitive symptoms of mild traumatic brain injuries, which include sensitivity to light or sound, sensory problems like ringing in the ears or a bad taste in the mouth, and mood changes or mood swings.
Though this category of TBI seems like it may be less dangerous because of the term “mild,” it is critical to contact a medical professional and fully address the issue if these symptoms persist. Mild traumatic brain injuries may actually present a more dangerous situation to their victims because their symptoms can be so benign. For example, a victim who suffers from a headache after their accident might not realize that this symptom is connected to a brain injury. This may result in them not obtaining proper medical attention. Some symptoms may not become apparent for days, or even weeks, after the accident.
If you or a loved one has suffered from a mild traumatic brain injury, consider partnering with Zinda Law Group’s dedicated team of mild traumatic brain injury lawyers.
Learn More: Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms
Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
As the name might suggest, moderate-severe traumatic brain injuries are more serious. As such, the accidents that cause them tend to be a bit more severe. While there can be delayed symptoms in the case of a moderate-severe traumatic brain injury, they generally appear sooner after an accident, typically within the first few hours to days.
Physical symptoms of these sorts of injuries include loss of consciousness lasting for several minutes to hours, a constant headache or a headache that progressively becomes worse, convulsions or seizures, inability to awaken from sleep, and a host of others that can be found here. Certain cognitive and mental symptoms can accompany moderate to severe injuries, such as profound confusion, agitation or other aggressive behavior, slurred speech, and comas or other disorders of consciousness.
Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
While a traumatic injury can occur anywhere, most injuries will typically fall into one of the following categories.
Falls
The most common cause of traumatic brain injuries, particularly in older Americans and children, is falling. This can be falling off of a ladder while doing home repairs, slipping in the tub while getting in or out, or simply tripping while taking a walk. A traumatic brain injury lawyer may be able to help when another person causes your fall. For example, a workplace accident can occur if you trip as a result of an unsafe condition in your office, or you may have a product liability claim if you fell due to the defective manufacturing of a ladder.
Read More: Wet and Slippery Floor Injuries
Motor Vehicle Collisions
Brain injuries frequently occur in accidents involving:
- Cars
- Motorcycles
- Trucks
- Bicycles
Brain injuries can occur during the initial collision or when colliding with the ground. Contacting an attorney after your vehicle collision may be the best way to hold the other party accountable for your injuries and seek the compensation that you are entitled to.
Read More: Evaluating Damages for Brain Injuries
Workplace Accidents
Certain workplaces are more prone to cause a traumatic brain injury than others. For example, if you work at a construction site or in a factory, then you might be at risk for sustaining a TBI on the job. These sorts of accidents can occur as a result of malfunctioning equipment, such as a piece of machinery that comes loose and hits you on the worksite, or human error, such as a co-worker swinging a hammer without checking to make sure that they were free and clear to do so.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
Standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ready to answer in your time of need.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationCan You Measure Brain Damage?
There are certain ways that doctors attempt to measure brain damage. For example, as discussed previously, brain damage can be sorted into three major categories—mild, moderate, and severe. There may be other scales and metrics that doctors can use to measure the extent of brain damage, but possibly the most important measure to you is just how much the injury has impacted your quality of life.
Cole Gumm
Attorney
We are here to ensure you won’t have to face this difficult time alone.
Available 24 / 7|Free ConsultationWhat is a Brain Injury Claim Worth?
There is no surefire way to value a brain injury without speaking with an experienced brain injury attorney. That being said, the economic value of a brain injury will generally depend on two major factors—fault and the extent of your injuries. The amount of fault associated with each party will determine what who is liable for what, and the extent of your injuries will determine what the economic value of the losses are.
If you have suffered a TBI, you do not want to try to take on the insurance companies alone. Our experienced attorneys may be able to guide you through the process and help you fight for a fair settlement. If not, they may be able to fight for you until you do.
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, contact the brain injury law group specialists at Zinda Law Group at (888) 378-1314 for a free consultation.
Jason Aldridge
Attorney
We have successfully represented clients in a wide variety of cases across the country.
Available 24 / 7|Free Consultation
