A severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) could upend your life and your family’s lives. A significant TBI might cause headaches and vertigo, cognitive difficulties, personality changes and a range of other life-altering symptoms.
If you are diagnosed with a TBI in an accident that was not your fault, you could claim compensation from the parties whose negligence resulted in your injury. Consult a Cambria County traumatic brain injury lawyer for information about your legal options and assistance pursuing a claim for monetary damages. An experienced Cambria County catastrophic injury attorney is prepared to help.
TBIs occur when a forceful impact to the head causes the brain to slam against the skull. Penetrating injuries also could cause a TBI. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, TBIs account for thousands of hospitalizations every year, and more than 150 people die every day of causes related to TBIs. The most common causes of TBIs are falls, gunshot wounds, motor vehicle accidents, and assaults.
A TBI can become a cumulative trauma: repeated mild concussions could eventually lead to severe symptoms. It is also possible for an individual to be permanently incapacitated after just one severe TBI.
When a child experiences a TBI, his or her growth, learning, physical coordination, emotional development, and personality all could be affected by the injury. Birth injuries could produce TBIs in newborns that affect them for the rest of their lives.
An individual seeking damages (plaintiff) must prove that the negligence of another party (defendant) contributed to the injury. A Cambria County TBI attorney could review the circumstances of an accident to determine whether grounds for a negligence action exist.
Many TBIs result from falls. If the fall happened in a location that was open to the public—such as a store, concert venue, office building, or sports stadium—the owner or operator has a responsibility to protect the patrons from injury. Failing to discover and repair a hazard, or to warn people of the danger, could lead to liability. If a patient sustained a TBI resulting from a fall in a nursing home or hospital, a medical negligence action might be appropriate.
Motor vehicle accidents are also leading causes of TBI. An individual’s personal injury protection typically covers only a fraction of the cost of treating a TBI. Depending on the circumstances, an experienced Cambria County traumatic brain injury lawyer could help an injured person bring a lawsuit against an at-fault driver and perhaps find other sources of insurance coverage that might provide compensation.
The costs of caring for someone with TBI could be devastating, even if the injured person has excellent insurance. If a child has a severe TBI, he or she might need physical, occupational, and other specialized therapies to thrive. An adult with a severe TBI might need to relearn how to speak, walk, or perform activities of daily living. He or she may never be able to resume full-time employment.
Monetary damages could help ensure that the TBI sufferer gets the care he or she needs, and the family gets the support they require. Damages reimburse the out-of-pocket costs of treating and adapting to the TBI, and also anticipate the family’s future expenses. Damages also could provide financial compensation for intangible losses like pain and suffering, lost opportunities, loss of companionship, and diminished enjoyment of life.
In some circumstances, the injured person’s conduct might have contributed to the accident that caused the TBI. However, in many cases, the injured person could still collect damages from other parties even if he or she is partially at fault. Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence law, 42 P.S. § 7102(a), allows injured plaintiffs to collect damages unless they were primarily at fault for the accident that caused their injury.
Dealing with a devastating injury like a TBI could strain the finances of any family. Add in the emotional turmoil of a life-altering injury, and you could have a situation that causes enormous stress.
Rely on a seasoned Cambria County traumatic brain injury lawyer at Marcus & Mack for sound counsel and aggressive advocacy that could help you move forward. Schedule your free consultation today.
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