California Brain Injury Lawyer

Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury, commonly called a TBI, is an injury that affects how the brain functions. The severity and effects can vary significantly from one person to another. Some people experience a mild traumatic brain injury and improve over time, while moderate or severe injuries can result in long-term or lifelong health problems.

Brain injuries can affect thinking, memory, concentration, communication, balance, vision, emotions, behavior, and physical abilities. The effects may also change throughout the recovery process.

For an injury claim, understanding the diagnosis is only part of the picture. Medical treatment, symptoms, functional limitations, future prognosis, employment effects, and changes to the injured person’s daily life can all become important when evaluating the full impact of the injury.

Common Types of Brain Injuries After an Accident

Brain injuries can range from relatively mild concussions to serious trauma involving bleeding, swelling, or other damage to the brain. The medical terminology and diagnosis will depend on the circumstances and findings of the healthcare professionals treating the injured person.

A person may experience a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury without losing consciousness. Other accidents may produce more significant injuries requiring hospitalization, monitoring, surgery, rehabilitation, or continuing neurological treatment.

The seriousness of a brain injury cannot always be determined simply by looking at the injured person shortly after the accident. Some symptoms of mild TBI or concussion may appear immediately, while others can develop hours or days later.

For that reason, medical evaluation and documentation can become especially important after an accident involving a substantial blow or force to the head.

Concussions and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

A concussion is considered a form of mild traumatic brain injury. The word “mild” describes the initial classification of the injury and does not necessarily mean that the symptoms feel minor to the person experiencing them.

Potential symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light or noise, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, sleep changes, nausea, vision problems, and emotional or mood changes. Some symptoms may not appear immediately after the accident.

CDC guidance also notes that brain imaging is not necessarily required to identify every mild TBI or concussion, although imaging may be appropriate in certain circumstances to evaluate risks such as bleeding.

In an injury case, medical records, symptom history, follow-up treatment, work limitations, and documentation showing how the concussion affected everyday activities can all become important.

Long-Term Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury

The effects of a serious brain injury can extend far beyond the initial hospitalization.

A moderate or severe TBI may affect memory, learning, concentration, communication, balance, coordination, vision, mood, behavior, and other areas of daily functioning. CDC recognizes that moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries can lead to chronic or lifelong health problems.

Some people may require physical therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, neurological treatment, psychological care, or assistance with daily activities. A person who previously lived and worked independently may experience limitations affecting employment, relationships, driving, recreation, and family responsibilities.

These long-term consequences are one reason serious brain injury cases should consider not only the medical bills that already exist but also the potential future effects of the injury.

Brain Injuries After Car, Truck, Motorcycle, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents are a major source of serious head and brain trauma. A person’s head does not necessarily have to strike the windshield, pavement, or another object for an injury to occur; the forces involved in a collision can produce complex head and body movement.

DAG Law Firm handles brain injury cases connected to California car accidents, commercial truck accidents, and motorcycle crashes.

Cyclists and pedestrians may face an especially serious risk of head trauma because they have comparatively little physical protection when struck by a motor vehicle. Our firm also represents people injured in bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents.

Brain injuries can also result from serious falls, construction accidents, unsafe property conditions, and other traumatic events.

Who May Be Liable for a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Liability depends on what caused the brain injury.

A negligent driver may be responsible for a brain injury resulting from a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian collision. In other cases, responsibility may involve an employer, trucking company, rideshare company, property owner, business, contractor, government entity, or another party.

Some accidents involve more than one potentially responsible person or business. A commercial truck crash, for example, may require examining both the driver’s conduct and the trucking company’s operations. A serious fall may require determining who owned, occupied, controlled, or maintained the property.

Identifying every potentially responsible party can affect the available evidence and insurance coverage. The particular facts of the accident should therefore be evaluated rather than assuming responsibility based solely on the type of injury.

Evidence That May Help a California Brain Injury Claim

Brain injury cases often depend heavily on documentation because many symptoms are not visible in the same way as a broken bone or open wound.

Medical records can help establish the diagnosis, reported symptoms, treatment, imaging when performed, specialist evaluations, rehabilitation, and the progression of recovery. Records showing changes in memory, concentration, balance, communication, behavior, or other abilities may also become important.

Accident evidence can include photographs, videos, police or incident reports, witness statements, vehicle damage, surveillance footage, and other information showing how the injury occurred. Employment records may help document missed work or changes in earning ability.

Family members, friends, and coworkers may also notice changes in the injured person’s abilities or behavior after a serious brain injury. The usefulness and admissibility of particular evidence will depend on the circumstances of the individual case.

How Much Is a California Brain Injury Case Worth?

There is no reliable average value for a California traumatic brain injury case.

Potential value depends on factors such as the severity of the injury, medical treatment, hospitalization, rehabilitation, future healthcare needs, lost income, reduced earning ability, permanent limitations, emotional effects, strength of the liability evidence, available insurance, and the effect the injury has on the person’s daily life.

California Courts recognizes that personal injury losses can include medical bills, lost wages, ongoing treatment, emotional harm, and future injury-related problems.

A concussion that resolves after a period of treatment will generally present a different damages picture from a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury that results in permanent cognitive limitations or ongoing care. Each brain injury case must be evaluated according to its own medical evidence and circumstances.

What to Do After a Brain Injury and How Long You May Have to File

Medical attention should be a priority after a suspected brain injury. Because some concussion and mild TBI symptoms can emerge after the initial accident, continuing to pay attention to symptoms and following appropriate medical guidance can be important.

From an injury-claim standpoint, preserving accident photographs, witness information, reports, medical records, bills, employment documentation, and other evidence can help establish both how the injury happened and how it affected the injured person.

California personal injury lawsuits generally operate under a two-year filing framework, but important exceptions and different rules can apply. California Courts also warns that claims involving government agencies can have much shorter preliminary deadlines; personal injury claims against qualifying public entities generally require an administrative claim within six months, subject to exceptions.

Because deadlines depend on the parties and facts involved, an injured person should not assume that a general deadline applies to every brain injury case.

California Brain Injury Resources and How DAG Law Firm Can Help

Traumatic brain injury cases can involve complicated medical, legal, and financial issues. Important questions may include how the injury occurred, who may be responsible, what evidence documents the brain injury, how symptoms affect daily life and employment, and what future medical care may be necessary.

Brain injuries frequently result from serious accidents. DAG Law Firm, APC represents people who suffer head and brain trauma in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, construction accidents, falls, and other serious personal injury accidents.

DAG Law Firm can review how the traumatic brain injury occurred, identify potentially responsible parties, evaluate available evidence and insurance coverage, and consider how the injury has affected medical treatment, employment, independence, and everyday life.

When a serious accident results in a fatal injury, qualifying family members may also need to consider a potential wrongful death claim.

You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. There are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying brain injury matters handled on a contingency fee basis.

Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today to discuss your situation.