Brain Injury Lawsuit in California
Brain injuries are serious injuries commonly sustained in Los Angeles car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle or bicycle accidents, slip and falls, swimming pool accidents, elevator accidents, construction accidents, slip and fall in parking lots, falling merchandise, and other types of accidents.
A brain injury can be a catastrophic injury in which the victim may not fully recover. The effects of a TBI will vary depending on the severity of the brain damage and the part of the brain that was injured.
However, many victims experience symptoms for weeks or months following the date of injury. Anyone who suffers a head injury causing brain damage could lose some or all of their mental functions.
Your brain controls not just your ability to think, but body control as well. If you lose even a small portion of these capabilities, the impact on your life can be devastating for your family. The patient's critical recovery period is during the initial six months immediately following the injury, and many TBI patients require extensive medical care during this period.
If you suspect a brain injury in a family member, remember that immediate medical attention can significantly reduce the risk of permanent brain damage. This swift action could also pave the way for expedited treatment and rehabilitation. It's crucial to prevent any activity that could lead to another head injury, such as sports or driving.
Suppose you or someone you love has sustained a traumatic brain injury in an accident caused by another person in Los Angeles County. In that case, you may have the right to seek damages and monetary compensation under California law.
An experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyer can be your trusted guide, providing the resources and legal skills needed for effective representation throughout your case. Their expertise can be a source of comfort during this challenging time.
The complicated legal issues that typically surround a brain injury case mean you need to consult with a skilled personal injury law firm that can properly evaluate your case to determine all your potential legal options for seeking compensation.
The consequences of a TBI vary greatly, from temporary dysfunction to permanent disability or even death. The occurrence of a TBI, however, is not always immediately diagnosed. An attorney who is well-versed in brain injury cases can help you maximize the compensation you receive while you deal with emotional and physical challenges.
Information about Traumatic Brain Injuries
Approximately 1.7 million Americans sustain traumatic brain injuries every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In many cases, the TBI victim is not even aware of the seriousness of the injury until long after sustaining it.
In most cases, TBIs involve damage to brain tissues caused by external trauma or blunt force applied directly to an accident victim's head. The trauma associated with a closed-head TBI causes the accident victim's brain to directly contact the front or back of the victim's skull.
This movement can severely damage the brain's internal hardware, such as neurons and axons, and can prevent the brain from functioning properly.
Common Symptoms Associated with Traumatic Brain Injuries
The effects of a TBI can vary widely in their nature and their severity, and no two injuries are the same. An immediate sign of a brain injury is the loss of consciousness, which could be for a few minutes or could result in a coma lasting for weeks.
Just because you did not lose consciousness does not mean that your brain has not been injured, however, and you should seek medical treatment whenever you suffer trauma to your head. Brain injury victims can experience the effects of their injuries for a period, and common symptoms associated with mild traumatic brain injuries include the following:
- Confusion
- Short-term memory losses
- Disorientation
- Lightheadedness
- Blurred vision
- Difficulty sleeping
- Headaches
- Difficulty focusing or concentrating
- Dizziness and lack of balance
Symptoms of more serious and long-term traumatic brain injuries include the following:
- Long-term memory loss
- Seizures
- Slurred speech
- Long-lasting confusion or disorientation
- Impairments with balance or coordination
- Extreme mood swings and anger management problems
- Loss of taste or smell
Many of the above effects of a TBI can affect several aspects of a person's life, including their ability to succeed in school, perform their job duties, or even communicate in social situations.
Seeking Immediate Medical Treatment Following a TBI
After a head injury in any accident, it's crucial to take control of your health by seeking immediate medical care at a hospital, emergency department, or urgent care facility. Even if you don't notice any symptoms of a TBI, it's important to remember that many symptoms can develop hours or days after the accident.
A hospital or urgent care facility will be able to conduct the necessary medical examinations, tests, and imaging studies – including x-rays and MRIs – to determine whether or not you sustained a TBI.
Medical professionals can then recommend a treatment plan that can help you recover more quickly, as well as prevent re-injury and complications. In more serious traumatic brain injury cases, brain injury victims are often admitted to the hospital to monitor their intracranial pressure caused by any swelling or fluid on the brain.
While seeking help and following a treatment plan can result in medical bills, lost income, and other losses, our law firm can help you seek recovery for those losses by filing a personal injury claim against the party that caused your accident.
What Type of Compensation Can a Brain Injury Victim Receive?
A traumatic brain injury can have a wide-ranging impact on your life. It's not uncommon for a victim to show no symptoms immediately after an accident, but danger signs can often develop later. In some severe cases, the victim can be left comatose as a result of a head injury and could need long-term assistance.
We can help you understand the various types of damages you may be entitled to receive. These potential damages include medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, future damages, lifestyle changes, life care expenses, and punitive damages if the individual who caused your brain injury acted recklessly or with intent to harm.
- Medical bills, including emergency care and ongoing life-support services
- Lost wages for any time you had to miss work to recover
- Lost earning capacity due to the diminishment of what you could earn in limited work as a result of the accident
- Pain and suffering for short and long-term impairment that impact your life
- Future damages for any other additional permanent brain damage issues that may appear in the future, such as developing clinical depression or Alzheimer's disease
- Lifestyle changes that occurred for the normal activity you were forced to give up as a result of the brain damage
- Lifecare expenses for your home care and other non-medical needs that you are unable to perform as a result of your brain injury
- Punitive damages if the individual who caused your brain injury acted recklessly or had the intent to do harm
Since brain injuries can occur from a wide variety of incidents, properly identifying the responsible party will depend on the specific circumstances of the injury. Proving a brain injury can be a challenge for a personal injury attorney. Although the cause of brain damage can often be evident from the harm to brain tissues, some brain injuries are not easily identified, even after x-rays or CAT scans.
To prove that a head injury caused a brain injury, our injury lawyers will often use witnesses who were friends of the victim before the injury and have personally seen the impact of brain damage on their lives.
In most cases, these witnesses are close relatives who are in a position to notice the victim's symptoms. Additionally, our brain injury attorneys can use testimony from expert witnesses who may be providing treatment to the victim, such as a medical doctor, neurologist, neuropsychologist, physical therapist, respiratory therapist, cognitive therapist, or a life-care planner.
Learn How We Can Help You Recover Damages
Due to the debilitating impact a TBI can have and the fact that its consequences can be felt over a long period, you want to make sure that you retain a top-rated personal injury lawyer who can fight for you to receive compensation not only for the medical costs but for all other losses and pain you have suffered as well. Choosing the right brain jury lawyer can be one of the most important decisions you make.
Most brain injury cases are complex, challenging, and highly expensive. Increasing your chances of a successful outcome will often depend on selecting an attorney with the necessary resources and expertise to present a complicated case to a jury. In brain injury cases, timing is critical as evidence needs to be preserved, and the facts of the case need to be documented immediately.
In cases of traumatic brain injury, you must seek prompt medical attention and timely address your concerns to maximize your recovery. We will guide you through every step of the process to ensure that you receive the best medical care and take immediate steps to preserve all evidence and eyewitness testimony.
Finally, we will aggressively advocate on your behalf to prevent the insurance companies from pressuring, scaring, or intimidating you into accepting a lower settlement than you are entitled to. Call us immediately for a case assessment and intervention so that our lawyers can protect your rights and ensure the maximum possible recovery for you and your family.
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