San Antonio Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys
Accident victims who suffer traumatic brain injuries can face expensive medical bills, a long-term loss of income, and lifelong consequences. These injuries are painful both physically and emotionally, and victims and their families may struggle to get back to the lives they once knew.
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury in a car accident, fall, workplace accident, or other serious accident, you should learn about your legal rights. You may be entitled to compensation to help relieve you and your family of the financial pressures you are facing. Call our dedicated San Antonio brain injury lawyers today to schedule a free consultation, and let us get started on your case.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) typically occur when a person sustains a forceful blow to the head. The most commonly recognized type of TBI is a concussion. Minor injuries will only affect the brain cells temporarily, while more significant trauma will result in bruising, tearing of tissues, excessive bleeding, and other physical trauma to the brain. Brain injuries bring with them long-term complications and in some cases, even death.
Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury can happen at any time and in a number of different ways. The most common causes of traumatic brain injuries include:
- Slip and falls: It is common for a person to hit his or her head during a slip and fall accident, resulting in a TBI.
- Car accidents: These are some of the most common causes of head injuries. During an auto accident, a person’s head could strike the dashboard, the steering wheel, or a number of other surfaces.
- Trucking accidents: Some of the worst accidents on the roads, these types of crashes typically cause much more severe brain injuries.
- Pedestrian accidents: Pedestrians have no protection when they are hit by a vehicle. The vehicle may strike their head, or the pedestrian may hurt their head during the fall after the impact.
- Motorcycle/bicycle accidents: Although a helmet will help protect against TBIs, there is only a certain amount a helmet can do. The force of a vehicle hitting a biker or cyclist can cause severe head trauma, with or without a helmet.
- Work/construction site accidents: These injuries often include falling from a height, such as when workers fall off scaffolding or ladders.
- Assaults: Tragically, stab wounds and gunshot wounds are also very common causes of brain injuries.
- Sports and recreational activities: Some sports are inherently dangerous. Players get knocked to the ground or hit in the head, and these activities could result in TBIs.
These are just a few of the ways people suffer traumatic brain injuries. It is important to understand that when an injury is caused by someone else’s negligence, you should speak to our experienced San Antonio TBI attorneys as soon as possible to learn about your legal rights.
Common Brain Injury Symptoms
There are many symptoms a brain injury may present. These symptoms are as unique as accident victims themselves. A person may experience many of these symptoms after sustaining a TBI, or they may experience just a few.
- Inability to remember the events leading up to the accident, sometimes even difficulty remembering what happened 24 hours before the accident
- Confusion and disorientation
- Coordination problems
- Difficulty sleeping
- Sensitivity to light
- Seizures
- Inability to learn and retain new information
- Persistent headaches
- Dizziness
- Blurry vision
- Nausea and vomiting
- Ringing in the ears
- Inability to speak coherently
- Changes in emotions and sleep patterns
- Personality changes
- Loss of consciousness
- Depression
These symptoms may appear right after the accident, or they may take time to develop. This is why it is so important that anyone who suspects they may have suffered a brain injury should seek medical attention right away.
Treatment for Brain Injuries
The treatment for a brain injury will vary depending on its severity. If a brain injury is only mild, such as a mild concussion, there is often no specific treatment. Treating these injuries typically requires only rest for a period of time before the individual gradually begins to return to his or her normal activities. It’s important not to tire the brain in these situations, and even reading or looking at a computer screen may be too much.
When emergency treatment is necessary, such as immediately following an accident, treatment will focus on stabilizing the patient so he or she can survive the injury. Health care professionals will try to ensure the brain is receiving adequate oxygen, controlling blood pressure, and preventing a secondary injury, such as an infection. In the most severe cases, surgery is sometimes required to remove blood clots, repair skull fractures, and relieve pressure in the skull.
A number of medications are often used to treat brain injuries. These include anti-anxiety medication to reduce nervousness and fear, anticoagulants to prevent blood clots, and anticonvulsants to prevent seizures. Antidepressants are sometimes also prescribed to help with mood instability and symptoms such as depression.
When a person has sustained a moderate to severe brain injury, he or she will most likely require some rehabilitation as well. This can include physical therapy, which will help build strength and coordination; occupational therapy to relearn basic skills such as cooking and getting dressed; and speech therapy to relearn the ability to form words. Due to the fact that brain injuries often cause depression and withdrawal, psychological counseling is also sometimes recommended.
What Compensation Could I Receive for a Brain Injury?
When a person sustains a brain injury due to an accident that was the fault of someone else, such as during a car crash, they are often entitled to receive compensation for that injury. The at-fault party or their insurance company is responsible for providing this compensation. Since head injuries are typically quite severe, calculating the total amount the victim is entitled to receive can take time.
There are two types of damages injured individuals can claim in a lawsuit. These are:
Economic damages are the losses an injured person has suffered out of pocket. They include items such as past and future medical costs, lost wages, property damage, and therapy expenses.
Non-economic damages are those that don’t have an actual dollar value, which makes them more difficult to calculate. These damages typically include pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and disfigurement.
In some cases, when the defendant has shown gross negligence or has been extremely reckless, the courts may award punitive damages. These damages are not intended to compensate the injured individual but instead punish the defendant. In Texas, punitive damages are capped at twice the amount of economic damages, plus an amount equal to non-economic damages.
How a San Antonio Brain Injury Lawyer Can Help
There are many ways a lawyer can help after a catastrophic accident.
- The first way an attorney will assist with your claim is to build you the strongest case possible. To do this, your attorney will gather evidence to support your claim, bring in medical expert testimony when necessary, and use these to build and present your case to the court or to the insurance company. At KRW Lawyers, our lawyers have the experience and the resources to craft a strong case for you.
- Accident victims aren’t always certain of the many different types of compensation they can ask for in a brain injury lawsuit. For example, they may know to ask for current medical expenses but might not understand that future speech therapy costs can also be sought. An attorney can help with this, outlining what the total cost of injury will be to the injured individual and making sure full compensation is sought in a claim.
- Last, but certainly not least, a lawyer will always protect your best interests. Your attorney will understand the special concerns associated with your brain injury and how to hold liable parties accountable. They will use this knowledge to protect you from insurance companies that come forward with settlement offers that are far too low. They will also use their knowledge and resources to refute any claims that the accident was partly your fault. An attorney will fight for the best possible outcome in your case.
Talk to a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney for Free
If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you need the experienced San Antonio traumatic brain injury lawyers at KRW Lawyers. These cases require not only a thorough understanding of the law but also a medical understanding of how long recovery from these injuries takes and the costs associated with that recovery.
Get the competent and compassionate legal representation you need when seeking compensation for these serious injuries. Contact us today for your free consultation. Our firm does not charge any fees to begin work on your case, and you owe us nothing unless we recover money for you.