Personal Injury Attorneys Helping Victims of Traumatic Brain Injury
Trust an experienced lawyer to help you move forward
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can have extreme, life-altering effects. Because the brain is so complex and involved with every aspect of how the body functions, no two brain injuries are alike. Some victims make miraculous recoveries and suffer few or no long-term effects. Most, however, find their lives radically changed as they struggle to cope with the symptoms of a brain injury.
Sadly, most brain injuries are preventable. They're caused by vehicle collisions, falls, sports injuries and other accidents that could be avoided if all parties involved were more conscious of safety. If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, contact a traumatic brain injury attorney at The Law Firm of Pajcic & Pajcic today.
Our personal injury attorneys understand the types of brain injuries - and their effects
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a traumatic brain injury is any injury caused by physical damage to the brain that disrupts its normal functioning. There are two types of severe TBI:
- Closed head injuries: This is an injury to the brain caused by movement within the skull, usually caused by blunt force trauma. An object need not make contact with the head to cause a closed head injury; in some cases, whiplash in a car accident is enough to injure the brain.
- Penetrating head injury: This type of injury is caused by a foreign object that enters the skull. These injuries are often a result of violence when a bullet or sharp object strikes the victim, but they can also be sustained in explosions, crashes and other types of accidents.
Concussions are considered a type of "mild" TBI, but there is really no such thing as a minor injury when it comes to the brain. Even a seemingly mild brain injury can prove to be a catastrophic injury causing any or all of the following symptoms:
- Loss of cognitive function such as ability to pay attention and remember information.
- Loss of motor function leading to weakness, impaired coordination and loss of balance.
- Impaired sensation, including loss of sight, hearing, perception and touch.
- Loss of consciousness, lasting from minutes to hours.
- Persistent headache, or headache that gets worse.
- Convulsions or seizures, often within a few days or weeks following the accident.
- Emotional effects, such as depression, anxiety, personality changes and loss of impulse control.
That means a traumatic brain injury can affect every aspect of a victim's life, including work, school, relationships and household tasks. Many people with traumatic brain injuries are unable to live independently, and some will require medical care for the rest of their lives.
Our personal injury attorneys help our clients with the high cost of traumatic brain injuries
Depending on the severity of the injury - along with the age and pre-injury living situation of the victim - the lifetime cost of a TBI can be hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Victims of TBI may need all of the following:
- Mental health care
- Prescription medication
- Physical therapy
- Specialized wheelchairs or braces
- Professional caregivers
- Long-term inpatient care
In addition to those expenses, TBI victims may be unable to work and need a lifetime income. They may experience significant physical and emotional pain, and their relationships may be damaged.
All of these costs should be included in your personal injury claim. While most brain injuries never truly heal, our mission is to help our clients rebuild their lives to be as normal and fulfilling as possible given their injuries. Often, the compensation we recover can pay for vocational training, therapy and other services that can help you move forward.
Many victims of TBI don’t know what to do next and have a lot of questions. Will I need brain surgery? Can a brain bleed or brain injury be missed on a CT scan or MRI? Can I recover financial compensation for a TBI? Our firm can help you find answers.