Have You Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can happen in just about any type of accident. Slip and falls, car accidents, and workplace accidents can all result in these serious injuries, with the potential to have a significant impact on you for the rest of your life.

Proving how these injuries impact your life is difficult because many times the symptoms and impact can go unnoticed, and they are often unseen by people who haven’t suffered them. Your word won’t be enough to convince a judge during a personal injury case. You will need the testimony of a medical expert to corroborate your claims.

The Paris Firm is here to guide you through this difficult time. We want what’s best for you and your health, and we are ready to stand by your side until you are made whole again.

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury, often shortened to TBI, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. This can result in a temporary or permanent impairment of cognitive, physical, or emotional functions and can negatively impact the injury victim’s behavior and personality. This injury can be caused by a blow to the head, a sudden jolt, like whiplash, or by an object penetrating the head.

TBIs range from concussions and contusions, all the way to skull fractures, and some even lead to death.

It doesn’t matter how you got a TBI, if someone else’s negligence, or a business’ reckless actions, have caused you injuries, they may be liable for the damages you have suffered.

What is a Medical Expert?

Medical experts are often more than practicing doctors. They understand TBIs and can explain them in layman’s terms that a court can understand. They are licensed healthcare professionals qualified by their extensive education, training, and experience in such cases.

Personal injury lawyers frequently employ the professional services of medical experts when they need to prove to a court that the injuries you are suffering, even if they can not be easily seen, are affecting your way of life and deserve compensation.

How Do They Help?

Besides having training to explain medical conditions and injuries in a courtroom setting, medical experts are also invaluable to TBI cases for the evidence they bring to your personal injury claim.

They help your case by doing the following:

  • Confirm the presence of your TBI using exams, imaging, and cognitive assessments.
  • Identify the severity of the injury, from mild to severe, which influences the value of the claim.
  • They can describe how the injury occurred and how the specified external forces caused the damage.
  • They create a link between the accident and your traumatic brain injury.
  • A medical expert can summarize your treatments, test results, prognosis, and the symptoms you are suffering from your injury.
  • Help substantiate your economic and non-economic damages, including your future necessary medical costs, your pain and suffering, and how the injury will continue to affect you in the future.

The services of medical experts are reserved for only the courtroom. Many people who suffer from TBIs are not aware of the ongoing treatments and symptoms they will experience. When insurance companies try to push people into a quick settlement, they usually do so with the intent to avoid paying for future damages. Once you accept a settlement, you are unable to sue for additional future damages, even if you are suffering ongoing damages from your injuries.

Which Accidents Cause TBIs?

Just about any type of accident can result in a TBI if the head is hit hard enough or is jolted back and forth. However, in our experience, the most common causes are motor vehicle accidents, especially commercial truck accidents. Slips, trips, and falls can all result in head injuries, depending on how you land. TBIs are rampant in the workplace, especially at construction sites.

TBIs are especially heinous when they are caused by physical violence and abuse. When people suffer blows to the head during an assault, it can result in significant brain injuries, especially when the aggressor lands multiple blows quickly. 

It doesn’t matter how you received a TBI. If it was the result of another person’s negligence, you shouldn’t have to pay for it. If it is going to affect you for the rest of your life, it should be reflected in your settlement or addressed in court.

The Paris Firm is ready to employ medical experts to prove your claim. If it takes more than a medical expert, we will also rely on other professionals, like accident scene recreators. We want you to get your life back.

When Should You Hire an Attorney for a TBI Claim?

This is a great question, and the answer will always be as soon as possible. It is ideal to speak with an attorney after a medical examination and before speaking with the insurance company and other involved parties.

For the most part, in California TBI claims, you only have two years to file your claim. Missing that deadline means missing your chance to seek compensation. There are limited exceptions to this rule, such as delayed discovery, meaning the symptoms of the TBI were not immediately noticeable.

The Paris Firm is ready to help you file your TBI claim on time, and with the assistance of a medical expert. Our goal isn’t “good enough,” it’s making you whole and addressing the current and future impact of your TBI. Call 909-325-6185 for a free, in-depth, obligation-free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer.