As one of the largest and most intricate organs in our body, the human brain is the command center for our nervous system. Any head injury can have devastating effects. It can impact your ability to talk, move, or perform other functions. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically occurs because of a heavy blow to the head or an object penetrates the head, upsets normal brain functions. Car accidents, workplace injuries, slip and fall accidents, sports injuries, and more common causes for traumatic brain injury.
Suppose you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury. In that case, it’s essential to hire a professional traumatic brain injury lawyer familiar with the symptoms, treatment, and care of brain injuries to protect your rights and aid your recovery.
What Is Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injury is any kind of trauma that affects your brain and can cause mild to serious long-term effects.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, TBI is defined as “a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury.”
Medical professionals can use neurological scales to determine the extent of the injury, the three measures used to score responses typically being opening your eyes, moving, or speaking.
A traumatic brain injury may not be fully realized for hours or even days after the incident, so it’s not unusual for accident victims to not realize that they have suffered a brain injury. It’s always essential to have a medical professional diagnose you and treat any potential head injuries after an accident. Some signs of TBI include:
- Vomiting or nausea
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Blurry vision
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Loss of coordination
- Numbness in fingers and toes
- Convulsions
- Change in personality
- Difficulty sleeping
- Difficulty writing or speaking
- Emotional issues
- Amnesia
- Disorientation
- Short-term memory loss
- Depression
- Lack of appetite
- Slurred speech
- Confusion
All cases are different, and the severity of your symptoms depends on the extent of damage to your brain tissue. Many signs of traumatic brain injury can impair your ability to function at work, school, or even during daily tasks. Effects can last for many years after the accident.
What are Different Forms of Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injury can take one of four forms:
- Contusion from a direct hit to the head that causes bleeding in the brain
- Coup-contrecoup involves contusions on both sides of the brain after a blow: the first impact causes a contusion, while another one forms when the brain hits the skull
- Diffuse axonal happens after shaking or strong forces
- Penetration refers to an object that has gone into the brain
Long-Term Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury
Every traumatic brain injury case is different, but they commonly involve cognitive, physical, emotional, and psychological tolls. In some cases, victims can no longer return to work because of their injuries. Other victims may need 24-hour, round-the-clock care for health needs.
If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to negligent or wrongful duty of care, you have the right to be compensated fairly. Since brain injuries can have lifelong consequences, including a decreased ability to enjoy a normal life, victims should contact brain injury lawyers. They can speak with medical experts, vocational specialists, and more to determine the potential loss of earnings, earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more.
Services for brain injuries focus on helping victims care for themselves, mobility, cognitive skills, communication, and pain management. Other benefits include psychological care, speech therapy, and vocational training.
Ongoing specialist care should not be your financial burden. You already have a lot to worry about. You should focus on healing while your injury lawyers focus on obtaining just and fair monetary compensation.
Victims of brain injuries may need long-term rehabilitation, including wheelchairs or motorized chairs to be mobile. Severe brain injury victims may need nursing home care for the rest of their lives.
A victim’s home may need to be outfitted to allow them to comfortably live there, which may mean making their home wheelchair accessible by installing ramps, roll-in showers, widening the doorways, and maybe installing an elevator.
Some homes cannot be refitted for handicap access, which means the victim and their family may have to move. All of these options require a lot of money, and if the victim is unable to work, they will be unable to afford care on their own.
You have a right to recovery, which means that you can be compensated for the financial, emotional, physical, and psychological toll on your life after a devastating change to your health.
Insurance companies may try to convince you to settle quickly. While you may have your hands full trying to focus on getting better and having money in your pocket sooner, never agree to a quick settlement with the insurance provider. You need experienced brain injury lawyers to represent you and fight aggressively for reasonable compensation so you can live your life as comfortably as possible.
Accidents That Can Result in Traumatic Brain Injury
While accidents can happen at any time, the most common incidents that can result in brain injuries are:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Defective products
- Construction mishaps
- Commercial truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Assault
- Swimming pool accidents
- Boating accidents
- Drunk driving accidents
- Medical malpractice
As mentioned earlier, the symptoms of a brain injury may not be immediately apparent. You may not begin to feel the effects for a while, which is why it’s important to seek medical care immediately after an accident, as it is crucial to try to treat brain injury cases as soon as possible. Additionally, it is good to have your serious injury diagnosed so you can have plenty of evidence for a Bronx traumatic brain injury lawsuit later on.
Holding At-Fault Parties Responsible
Negligent parties should be held accountable for all of the losses of TBI victims, including lost income and earning power, medical expenses, emotional issues, pain and suffering, and more, including:
- Lost earning capacity
- Cost of past and future medical treatment
- Property damage
- Funeral and burial expenses in a wrongful death case
- Shock
- Mental anguish
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of quality of life
What Should You Do if You Have Been in an Accident That Resulted in a TBI?
Initially, you may not realize you have had a Bronx brain injury since the symptoms are often minor. If you have been in an accident, you should always seek medical attention as soon as you can. Even if you don’t think you are hurt, you should go to the Emergency Room when you can.
It’s always best to be safe and get a complete evaluation from a medical professional. If possible, take pictures of the accident scene. If there are any witnesses, ask them for their names and phone numbers. Any accident should always involve contacting the police because they will be able to collect everyone’s information and file an accident report.
When you file your claim with the insurance company, you may need to provide evidence to prove that you were not negligent or at fault.
Filing an Insurance Claim
If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve to receive full compensation for your pain and suffering. At Jesse Minc Personal Injury Law, our professional personal injury attorney can help you file a claim in New York City.
Depending on the seriousness of your injury, you may need ongoing physical therapy and medical attention to help heal the trauma of a brain injury. It is important that you file a claim with the insurance company as soon as possible. Your brain injury attorney can help protect your rights and fight for you and will help you file an injury lawsuit if necessary.
How Your Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Can Help You
Serious accidents can be painful and disorienting, but a terrible consequence can be a brain injury. These injuries can range from temporary concussions to severe, life-changing problems like paralysis.
TBI can result in physical and emotional stress along with a devastating financial impact that can destroy the lives of a victim and their family. The cost of treatment can be prohibitive, and victims may not be able to earn a living. Brain injuries that require constant care should be compensated adequately for the victim to enjoy a standard of care.
Nothing can replace a loved one or enhance the reduced quality of life after a brain injury, but there are legal ramifications that you can pursue to offset some harm.
At Jesse Minc Personal Injury Law, we appreciate the life-changing burden brain injuries can have on victims and their loved ones. If you or someone you know suffered a Bronx brain injury due to someone else’s reckless or neglectful conduct, you need to contact a brain injury attorney in New York. They will help you pursue the compensation you are due, including lost wages, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.
We can collect and analyze all evidence to verify your right to compensation, including consulting with experts about the cause of your traumatic brain injury and how it will affect your work, health, and quality of life. We will fight hard to demand the compensation that you are rightfully due, and if necessary, we will fight on your behalf in the courtroom.
Head injuries are always dangerous to victims and can result in life-changing symptoms, permanent disability, and death. No matter what type of brain injury you suffered, you should always consider discussing your legal claim with your brain injury lawyer. We are committed to protecting your rights if you are suffering from a severe brain injury.
