Brain Injury Lawyers

What Do Brain Injury Lawyers Do?

Brain Injury lawyers help personal injury victims who have been involved in an accident resulting in brain injury. The brain serves as the control center for a variety of conscious activities, such as talking and walking, as well as unconscious bodily activities, like breathing and heart rate. Depending on the severity of the injury, the effects of a brain injury can be devastating.

Traumatic brain injuries can cause physical, cognitive, social, and vocational changes that affect an individual for a short period of time, or permanently. In many cases, recovery becomes a lifelong process of adjustments and accommodations for the individual and their family. While no amount of money can restore a victim's health, it can help ease the financial burden of present and future medical care needs and other needs that will arise. Statutes of limitations do apply, so any delay in filing your claim could affect your potential eligibility for a brain injury personal injury lawsuit. For more information, contact a qualified LawInfo Lead Counsel brain injury attorney today to help you file your legal claim.

Brain Injury - Explained:

Brain injury can include traumatic brain injury, acquired brain injury, open or closed head injury. The level of brain injury is classified as Mild, Moderate or Severe.

Severe Brain Injuries:
Severe brain injuries usually result from crushing blows or penetrating wounds to the head. Such injuries crush, rip and shear delicate brain tissue. This is the most life threatening, and the most intractable type of brain injury. The most severe types of brain injury can cause debilitating functional limitations such a paralysis and severely limited mental functioning. Severe brain injury occurs when a prolonged unconscious state or coma lasts days, weeks, or months.

Severe brain injury is further categorized as: 

• Coma
• Vegetative State
• Persistent Vegetative State
• Minimally Responsive State
• Akinetic Mutism, and
• Locked-in Syndrome.

Moderate Brain Injuries:

Brain Injury lawyers and juries have a harder time distinguishing between moderate and severe brain injury as it is not as clearly defined as that of mild brain injury. A moderate traumatic brain injury occurs when:

• Loss of consciousness lasts from a few minutes to a few hours
• Confusion lasts from days to weeks, or
• Physical, cognitive and/or behavioral impairments last for months or are permanent.

People who sustain moderate brain injuries usually have physical, cognitive and/or behavioral impairments which can last for many months and may become permanent. These impairments are typically similar to those experienced by individuals with severe brain injury. However, with treatment, individuals with moderate brain injuries usually are able to make a complete recovery or successfully learn to compensate for their deficits.

Mild Brain Injuries:
A mild brain injury (also known as a concussion) is damage to the brain caused when the head is shaken or receives an impact from an outside force. It is characterized by one or more of the following symptoms: a brief loss of consciousness, loss of memory immediately before or after the injury, any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident, or focal neurological deficits. In many MTBI cases, the person seems fine on the surface, yet continues to endure chronic functional problems. Some people suffer long-term effects of MTBI, known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Persons suffering from PCS can experience significant changes in cognition and personality.

Traumatic Brain Injury:

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines a traumatic brain injury as an injury that occurs when a sudden physical assault on the head causes damage to the brain. The damage can be focal, confined to one area of the brain, or diffuse, involving more than one area of the brain. Traumatic brain injury can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating open head injury.

According to the Brain Injury Association of America, one person in the U.S. sustains a traumatic brain injury every 21 seconds. An estimated 5.3 million Americans (a little more than 2% of the U.S. population) currently live with disabilities resulting from traumatic brain injury, and 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year.

What is an Open Head Injury?

An open head injury is one that is usually caused by penetrating objects like a bullet due to accidental or intentional shooting, or a windshield or other sharp object projected by means of a motor vehicle, airplane or common carrier collision. Sometimes, open head injuries can also be caused by construction site accidents, worksite accidents, or recreational activities.

What is a Closed Head Injury?

A closed head injury is one that is usually caused by a rapid movement of the head during which the brain is bounced back and forth within the casing of the skull. Closed head injuries often result from motor vehicle accidents, including aviation disasters, plane crashes and runway accidents, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Rollovers, and accidents involving buses, trains, trolleys and other common carriers. These types of injuries can also be caused by a variety of other accidents, like falls, sports-related accidents, boating mishaps, worksite and construction site accidents, accidental shootings, as well as All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), snowmobile, and bicycle accidents. Closed head injuries usually result in more widespread damage to the brain and, therefore, cause more extensive neurological defects.

Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms

A person with a suspected brain injury should contact a physician immediately, go to the emergency room, or call 911 in the case of an emergency.

After an impact to the head, a person with a brain injury can experience a variety of symptoms but not necessarily all of the following symptoms. Sometimes, a brain injured person may not even know anything is wrong, which is why traumatic brain injuries are also known as the "silent epidemic" and the "invisible injury." Symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can include, but are not limited to:

• Spinal fluid (thin water-looking liquid) coming out of the ears or nose
• Loss of consciousness, but loss of consciousness may not occur in some concussion cases
• Dilated (the black center of the eye is large and does not get smaller in light) or unequal size of pupils
• Vision changes (blurred vision or seeing double, not able to tolerate bright light, loss of eye movement, blindness)
• Dizziness, balance problems (Equilibrium)
• Respiratory failure (not breathing)
• Coma (not alert and unable to respond to others) or semicomatose state
• Paralysis, difficulty moving body parts, weakness, poor coordination
• Slow pulse
• Slow breathing rate, with an increase in blood pressure
• Vomiting
• Lethargy (sluggish, sleepy, gets tired easily)
• Headache
• Confusion
• Ringing in the ears, changes in hearing ability, inability to hear
• Difficulty with thinking skills (difficulty "thinking straight", memory problems, poor judgment, poor attention span, slowed thought processing speed)
• Inappropriate emotional responses (irritability, easily frustrated, inappropriate crying or laughing)
• Difficulty speaking, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing
• Body numbness or tingling, or
• Loss of bowel control or bladder control.

Contact An Attorney Now!

Have you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury due to someone else's negligence, intentional conduct or vicarious liability? Contact a LawInfo Lead Counsel qualified brain injury lawyer. A reputable and experienced personal injury lawyer can level the playing field for you by providing the representation you need in your personal injury lawsuit once it has been determined that you are eligible to pursue a claim for monetary compensation. Any delays on your part could affect your eligibility for a lawsuit claim, so contact a personal injury lawyer now!