Traumatic Brain Injury Suits
There are many types of personal injuries, and each has its own set of specific concerns associated with it. Personal injuries involving traumatic brain injury are no exception. Here are some of the specific issues unique to traumatic brain injury claims.
Damages Calculations
In personal injury suits seeking damages, a court must find an appropriate figure to compensate the victim for things like lost wages, medical expenses, property damage, etc. But in cases involving traumatic brain injury, damages calculations are complicated by the nature of the injury. A traumatic brain injury can have lifelong implications for earning potential and quality of life. It may cause additional injury, pain, suffering, or mental anguish in the future not yet obvious at the time of the suit. The result is that damages must be calculated skillfully to ensure that a claimant is properly compensated, and that damages payouts for traumatic brain injuries are often quite high, even topping millions of dollars to a single claimant, depending on the case.
Documentation Difficulties
As alluded to above, traumatic brain injury symptoms are not always obvious immediately and may appear as delayed onset symptoms; symptoms that are not visible or quantifiable for some time after sustaining the injury. Even if symptoms do arise immediately, the most common signs of a traumatic brain injury can be difficult to diagnose and document, for example, changes in concentration and memory abilities, alterations to the individual’s emotional state or behavior, etc. This means that getting documentation for traumatic brain injuries can be complicated by time and difficulty, may not have been produced properly if the injury was misdiagnosed or missed at the emergency room visit, and may require experts to assist in interpretation.
Dispelling Myths
Perhaps due to the internal nature of the injury, traumatic brain injury is an area of law and medicine rife with myths that can impede an individual from filing a claim and can affect a jury’s verdict. For instance, while it is common to believe that a loss of consciousness signifies traumatic brain injury, such injuries can still be quite severe even if the injured party never “passes out”. Another widespread yet incorrect belief about traumatic brain injuries is that they only occur in cases in which the injured party strikes his or her head. In fact, traumatic brain injury can occur through a wide variety of methods, including acceleration or deceleration forces, loss of oxygen supply to the brain, and even exposure to some toxic materials such as lead.
It is possible, if inadvisable, for some personal injury suits to be navigated by individual parties. But cases involving traumatic brain injuries often require an experienced hand. Indeed, even among lawyers, not every lawyer is qualified to effectively navigate a traumatic brain injury case. But at Barbas, Nunez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian, Lawyers and Counselors at Law, Tampa lawyers with specific experience in traumatic brain injury claims are standing by. If you believe you may have a personal injury claim for a traumatic brain injury, call toll-free at 1 (800) 227-2275 for a consultation today.
