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Fresno Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney
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What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury occurs when an object rapidly collides with the victim’s skull. The sudden clash with that external force can cause the victim’s brain function to be damaged or altered. Typically, this is classified after significantly more than a bump on the head, though a minor jolt such as whiplash can also lead to TBI.
There are two types of traumatic brain injuries:
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Closed Brain Injury: The skull isn’t broken. The brain is shaken and its blood vessels are bruised and torn due to its impact with the hard bone of your skull. The most common example is a concussion.
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Penetrating Brain Injury: The skull has been opened and the brain tissue may have been punctured. An object, such as a bullet, has entered the skull.
After any type of brain injury, returning to a full or even comfortable quality of life can feel intimidating. If your pain and suffering are due to someone else’s negligence, a traumatic brain injury lawyer can navigate your personal injury case. They can recover compensation for medical bills and lost wages to ease your transition and help you adjust to a new normal. This includes the losses incurred after the wrongful death of a loved one. Call Valley Injury Attorneys for a free consultation with a traumatic brain injury attorney in the Fresno area.
California Statistics on TBI
It is possible to fully recover from a traumatic brain injury, even in severe cases. In moderate instances, most patients regain most brain function, if not full capacity.
Here are a few statistics regarding TBI:
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Traumatic brain injury causes 30% of all injury-related deaths
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5.3 million U.S. citizens (2%) are living with disability from a traumatic brain injury
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Car accidents cause most TBIs in people under 25
Regarding statistics, the nature and treatment of a head injury can vary widely because TBI can be caused by anything from smacking into the pavement in a slip or fall, to a blunt strike during assault. The extent of the brain injury also depends on the side of the brain that was injured; this affects which mental and physical faculties were diminished and can impact the victim’s level of independence moving forward.
Injury attorneys can help you understand what you are owed for your brain injury claim, including financial compensation for impaired cognition, motor senses, communication, and behavior, or the wrongful death of a loved one due to another’s negligence. Talk to a traumatic brain injury attorney from Valley Injury Attorneys to start your personal injury claim.
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How does TBI differ from other Brain Injuries?
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The violent contact of a head injury can dramatically reduce the victim’s ability for work and relationships due to lifelong disability. Physical impairment can limit the tasks they are unable to form, and mental impairment can cause behavioral and communication challenges that prevent successful connections with friends and family.
In many cases, a traumatic brain injury is so much more devastating because recovery requires the following:
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Neurosurgery
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Occupational therapy
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Physical therapy
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Speech and language therapy
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In-home or in-facility care
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Psychological services
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Social services
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Walkers or wheelchairs
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Insurance adjusters will often speak to a victim before the necessity of these rehabilitative efforts can be identified and included in a settlement offer. They will attempt to undermine a victim’s pain and suffering so that they can justify a lower payout. If you suffered a traumatic brain injury, call Valley Injury Attorneys. A brain injuries lawyer can help you understand the claims process for personal injury and begin work on your brain injury lawsuit.
How to Choose the Right Fresno Brain Injury Attorney
When choosing a traumatic brain injury attorney, seek experienced legal counsel that understands the physical, emotional, and mental toll of TBI. They should be familiar with the potential for all of the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury in order to account for your full range of expenses. This includes everything present and future, from property damages to emotional anguish. A head injury lawyer with adequate awareness and insight is important when calculating compensation.
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An experienced attorney will understand that the brain may continue to deteriorate in the days, weeks, and years after the sustained injury. Epilepsy, for example, can surface decades afterward. Your compensation should provide you with the means to confront the pain and suffering you will be forced to contend with between disability and death. A skilled attorney will know what you’re up against mentally and physically and they will fight to combat it financially.
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Representation should have practice in and out of the courtroom to prepare for either scenario. Ideally, their success rate should instill you with confidence in their ability to set you up for a decent quality of life. Their exposure to similar cases will help you recover a satisfactory settlement to ensure this happens.
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Your attorney should also help you feel that your injury is not insurmountable. A patient, dedicated, compassionate lawyer will make a world of difference as you undergo medical treatment or mourn the loss of a loved one. Leave the legal process to Valley Injury Attorneys. Call our law firm for a free consultation. We have decades of experience in injury law, including brain injury cases.
Types of Personal Injury Accidents in Fresno
Common Symptoms of a Brain Injury You Shouldn't Ignore
When a direct blow to the brain causes internal damage, there are many immediate and prolonged symptoms of a TBI. They may be noticeably different to the victim or may require a medical expert’s opinion. The unseen dangers are why it’s so important to immediately seek medical assistance after any level of head injury. But here are a few TBI symptoms you or a loved one may observe:
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Cognitive abilities are reduced.
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Coma
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Memory loss or lapses
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Reduced problem-solving skills
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Impaired judgment
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Lack of self-awareness
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Failure to follow or remember a series of instructions
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Motor abilities, including coordination and endurance, are impacted.
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Paralysis
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Spastic muscles
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Imbalance
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Delayed movement
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Tremors
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Sense of perception is distorted.
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Lost or diminished senses
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Decreased or increased feeling in limbs
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Depth perception
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Blurry or otherwise impaired vision
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Communication is weakened.
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Disorientation
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Difficulty speaking or choosing words
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Difficulty reading or writing
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All TBI symptoms need to be taken seriously because they can have wider implications of a life-long disability. Once your symptoms have been diagnosed, seek a traumatic brain injury attorney to learn how they should be financially compensated. For example, slower speech can affect career opportunities, or new personality differences that stem from a TBI, such as anger and aggression, can affect a person’s ability to form and sustain relationships. Your quality of life is at hand and it is possible to seek compensation.
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While TBI victims may recover within a week to three months, never underestimate what you are owed, or how your life may be affected afterward. Recovery also may take longer with age because brain cells may not regenerate. Even then, while a younger brain is better equipped to learn new neuropathways and work around damaged tissue, no injury is alike. Call the TBI lawyers at Valley Injury Attorneys to talk through your options.
As the brain jolts backwards and/or forwards against the side of the skull, it can lead to internal bleeding and swelling. Oftentimes, it is a result of the following:
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Sports injury
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Car accident
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Slip and fall
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Assault
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Shaken baby syndrome
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Whether you hit the ground or the steering wheel, a blow to the head can lead to functional and social deficits. It is always serious, no matter the cause. When the brain shifts and rotates, it can tear nerve fibers. The rate of movement can also tear the brain from the spinal cord. Immediately seek medical care before legal assistance if you suspect brain trauma. Valley Injury Attorneys will have a traumatic brain injuries lawyer once you’re ready.
Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
What are the 7 types of TBI?
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Concussion
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Contusion
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Hemorrhage
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Hematoma
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Axonal Shearing
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Second impact syndrome
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Penetrating brain injury
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Brain Injuries & Medical Malpractice
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When brain damage is the result of a medical malpractice, a practitioner disregards their patient’s safety. Every patient is owed a standard of reasonable care and skill. The medical practitioner may have abandoned their standards of care by:
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Failing to properly diagnose a patient
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Failing to identify symptoms
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Misreading or ignoring lab results
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Discharging a patient too soon
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Failing to provide follow-up or aftercare
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Recommending or performing unnecessary surgery
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Failing to follow proper procedure
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Providing the wrong medication or dosage
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Because brain injury symptoms make thinking clearly difficult, it’s important to have someone in your corner. For a free consultation in the Fresno area, speak to a traumatic brain injury attorney at our law firm. We can consult your medical records and assess your personal injury case.
Brain Injuries & Motor Vehicle Accidents
When another person disobeys the rules of the road, you should be compensated for any disruptions to you and your loved one’s lives caused by a related TBI. Survivors of TBI caused by motor vehicle accidents may have a concussion, or they may no longer be capable of dressing, feeding, or bathing themselves, now depending on others for daily activities. Even with physical function intact, chemical alteration that results from a brain injury can lead to psychiatric disorders. You should not be held financially responsible for any of these consequences due to another driver’s negligence.
You may file for personal injury when the driver responsible for the TBI crashed as a result of these conditions:
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Distracted driving
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Drunk driving
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Poor maintained roads
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Speeding and otherwise reckless driving
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Defective motor vehicle
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Valley Injury Attorneys will help you regain control of your life. Call for a free consultation with a traumatic brain injury attorney at our brain injury law firm.
What happens when a Traumatic Brain Injury becomes wrongful death?
If negligence caused your loved one to suffer trauma to the head and it proved fatal, then a brain injury lawyer can recover financial damages for you and your family. From the loss of your loved one’s income to the loss of your enjoyment of life, the magnitude of their absence can be debilitating. But nothing has to fall through the cracks while you put the pieces back together. Your lawyer can investigate the circumstances of the death and handle insurance companies while you focus on burial and emotional recovery.
Speak to a head injury attorney from Valley Injury Attorneys to seek maximum compensation from the individual or entity responsible. It doesn’t matter if the cause was medical malpractice or a motor vehicle accident. We will make sure you are financially prepared to handle your loved one’s death.
Potential Compensation for Brain Injury lawsuits
Most brain injury cases generally settle for a minimum of $100,000, but frequently settle for millions due to the victim’s disability or loss of life.
You can seek compensation for the immediate financial burden of medical bills and property damage. If you require future expenses such as medicine or a wheelchair after your TBI, or you are no longer able to work to earn income, a brain injury attorney will factor these livelihood costs into your settlement
Additional compensation will vary with your injury’s impact on your life. The brain health of a victim affects their chance and timeline of recovery, especially if the victim had a prior brain injury. From recurring dizziness to headaches, you may have daily inconveniences that diminish your quality of life moving forward. Your self-esteem is also of relevance after a TBI; you may suffer mental anguish from your loss of independence, such as failure to regulate bowel control or the inability to perform self-care acts, such as brushing your teeth. You can seek compensation for the emotional pain.
Contact Our Fresno Brain Injury Lawyers Today
If you or someone you know has been a victim of a brain injury, you need time to process the events and adapt to the radical change in your life. A traumatic brain injury attorney can take over the challenges of the claims process when you have been inconvenienced by another’s negligence. Speak with our Fresno traumatic brain injury attorney today so you can physically and mentally focus on recovery. We will seek financial justice while you do.
FAQ
How do I find a brain injury lawyer?
Start with a free consultation. Call Valley Injury Attorneys to speak to a brain injury attorney in Fresno.
You may not be able to anticipate the sudden and profound impact on your day-to-day after your accident. But you don’t have to do it alone. A traumatic brain injury attorney specializes in securing compensation for the physical, emotional, and social impacts resulting from your loved one’s loss of life. An experienced injury attorney will know the costs associated when your injury is focal (damaged one part of your brain) or diffuse (the damage is more extensive). They can obtain medical bills to account for emergency room visits and intensive care, as well as employment records that indicate missed hours, etc.
How do you prove a traumatic brain injury?
While your medical records can prove the location and severity of your initial brain injury, rehabilitation efforts and ongoing medications can demonstrate the injury’s future impact on your cognitive and physical function. Psychological testing and counseling can prove behavioral and emotional issues. In the event of wrongful death, psychological analysis can also provide evidence of a loved one’s pain and suffering.
For a personal injury claim, the impairment, disability, or handicap resulting from a TBI must be due to another’s negligence. The party must have been aware of the risk as they put you in danger. A brain injury attorney will work to obtain evidence of their disregard for your safety, which could come from traffic cam footage, poor premises safety compliance, etc.
How much money can you get from a traumatic brain injury?
Lifetime treatment costs for a traumatic brain injury can range from $85,000 to $3 million. Most brain injury cases in California settle for $100,000.
What factors do I consider when hiring a traumatic brain injury lawyer?
Familiarity with brain injury cases similar to yours will help a brain injury lawyer financially estimate the true impact of your injuries. This level of first-hand knowledge will allow your attorney to fight for your well-being beyond initial recovery to prepare you for what comes after. In addition to a respectable level of experience, find a brain injury lawyer that is respectable emotionally and financially. They should ease the burdens of your damages, not take advantage of them.
How long do I have to file a brain injury lawsuit in California?
By California law, you have two years to file a personal injury claim for a brain injury from the date of the accident. This is reduced to one year for medical malpractice cases. Speak to a brain injury attorney at Valley Injury Attorneys to get started.