A Maryland brain injury lawyer at Gelb & Gelb can help you navigate the complexities of such an injury. If you suffer a brain injury, you may be disoriented and confused. Such is the nature of this type of injury. You need an attorney you can trust to maximize your compensation and get you on the path to recovery. Attorney Roger Gelb and his team of Maryland personal injury lawyers excel at complex legal battles against tortfeasors who cause you harm. Brain injury cases can stem from countless different sources of negligence. Most commonly, our firm pursues claims for negligence in car accidents, slip and falls, truck accidents, wrongful deaths, and more. Each instance presents a different case for proving negligence. Once we prove that the defendant is liable for your injuries, the more complex part of brain injury cases is determining the extent and severity of your injury.
There is still much that is not fully understood about brain injuries by modern science. Our Maryland brain injury lawyers have considerable experience working with doctors to understand how a brain injury will impact the rest of your life. Our job is to recover compensation from the defendant, so you do not have to pay a nickel out of pocket for your future medical expenses. Accordingly, we work with your doctors to calculate how much your past medical expenses are in addition to any future medical expenses you may incur due to your brain injury. Of course, that only scratches the surface of what your case could be worth.
Below, we will discuss the types of brain injuries you may experience and how they relate to the value of your case. Additionally, we will examine the most common causes of Maryland brain injuries and whether we can establish liability based on those causes. If you have any questions on the viability of your case, contact a Maryland brain injury lawyer immediately for a free consultation.
Our Maryland brain injury lawyers handle traumatic brain injuries (“TBIs”) with unfortunate regularity.
A concussion or mild traumatic brain injury is the most common form of injury our Maryland brain injury lawyers encounter. Note that the term “mild” does not mean the injury is not significant. Any trauma relating to your brain is something to take seriously. Concussions occur due to a blow to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Symptoms can include headaches, confusion, dizziness, and temporary loss of consciousness, but many people experience more subtle symptoms like irritability, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating. This type of head injury is typically not life-threatening, but it can cause problems and can lead to more serious brain problems down the line. Accordingly, it is critical to seek medical treatment even if your symptoms appear minor. Failure to treat may result in more significant injuries if not addressed properly.
A concussion or mild TBI may not be serious enough to pursue a cause of action alone. However, if it is in conjunction with another injury in Maryland, it may be. Moreover, these injuries can develop into permanent disabilities.
A more moderate or severe traumatic brain injury can occur due to a serious blow to the head. Or, in rare cases, a severe TBI can happen when an object pierces the skull and makes contact with brain tissue. When this happens due to the negligence of a third party, it is critical to speak to a Maryland brain injury attorney immediately. Our legal team will ensure you are getting appropriate medical care. This type of injury can result in an inability to care for oneself. Thus, getting a trusted advocate on your side is imperative to ensure you are taking the appropriate steps to protect your health, safety, and right to fair compensation.
Victims may experience unconsciousness, comas, severe headaches, vomiting, seizures, an inability to awaken from sleep, and death. Cognitive symptoms can include profound confusion, slurred speech, and an inability to concentrate. Naturally, these effects can impact every aspect of your life. You may no longer be able to work because of your traumatic brain injury. You may need nursing care for the remainder of your life. If you are left paralyzed, you may be unable to get around in your own home, necessitating a renovation to your house to make it handicap accessible. When this is the case, damages can be exorbitantly high monetarily. This is when you need a skilled Maryland brain injury lawyer to hold the defendant accountable. In some instances, there is just not enough coverage for your damages in these extreme cases. However, our attorneys leave no stone unturned in getting you the compensation you deserve.
Acquired brain injuries (“ABIs”) are not caused by external trauma but instead by internal factors. It can result from a stroke, brain tumor, infection, or lack of oxygen to the brain. Notably, unlike the traumatic brain injuries discussed above, acquired brain injuries are less likely to lead to a viable cause of action against a defendant. This is because ABIs are generally due to health concerns made up internally. However, as part of our comprehensive guide for Maryland brain injuries, it is necessary to touch on this type of brain injury. If you have suffered a brain injury, speak to our legal team right away to explore your options.
The various causes of brain injuries in Maryland each present different challenges and amounts of coverage for your claim. For example, a car accident leading to a brain injury may afford you the coverage on the tortfeasor’s vehicle and any underinsured coverage on your policy. Meanwhile, a battery case may entitle you to more compensation via punitive damages, but it may be more difficult to collect depending on the nature of the defendant. As always, it is crucial to consult with an attorney.
After a brain injury, you should take different steps depending on the nature of your injury. Of course, if you suffer an injury that renders you unable to move, you should attempt to call paramedics. But fortunately, severe injuries are less common. The more common brain injury is when you notice symptoms, but are unsure of the severity of your brain injury after an act of negligence. Visit an emergency room or urgent care provider who can conduct imaging tests, such as a CT scan or MRI, if they deem it necessary. Much about brain injuries is still unknown. However, if you notice any symptoms at all, or even if you do not immediately notice symptoms, you should seek medical attention if you are in a serious accident and hit your head. This is vital to your health, and the doctor will also contribute to your medical record.
This is essential evidence for your case. Your doctors will note the symptoms you are experiencing and decide whether to causally relate them to the incident in question. Their notes in your record and testimony at trial are necessary to meet our burden of proof. Note, too, that we will likely go against the defense team’s experts at trial. Their doctors will testify that you are exaggerating symptoms or that they are not causally related to our cause of action. Although, specific to Maryland, we may not need an expert witness if your case’s value falls below a certain amount. This is one advantage to filing a lawsuit in Maryland over another jurisdiction. This is true even if the injury occurred in a neighboring jurisdiction like Washington, DC, or Virginia.
Brain injuries can negatively impact every aspect of your life. As a personal injury law firm, we aim to get you maximum compensation for these losses. Cognitive difficulties, memory problems, mood changes, chronic headaches, and physical impairments are common consequences that may make it impossible to resume previous work or enjoy daily activities. For example, if you suffer from chronic headaches, we first must prove that you have this symptom and that it is causally related to the injury in question. Once we do this, we can value what the damage is worth. Of course, you are entitled to medical expenses for any treatment for your headache. Then, we must estimate the value of the headache. We do this based on the county in which we would file a lawsuit, even if we are ultimately settling your case.
Judges and juries tend to decide one way in one county and another in the next. We also consider any activities you cannot participate in because of the headache. If your favorite thing to do is go bowling on Wednesdays, but you can no longer participate because of your headache, you are entitled to additional compensation. However, we must be able to prove that you actually missed bowling. So keep this in mind if you decide whether to go and spectate, as doing so may confuse witnesses who could be called to the stand. At the same time, if you feel like you can go despite your headache, we welcome any return to normalcy you can tolerate.
If you suffer a brain injury severe enough to affect your earning capacity, we will need to hire an expert witness who is willing to testify that you can no longer work the same job as you did before. This type of expert is a vocational rehabilitation expert. Note that this is a trickier process if you are younger and do not have an established career. Nonetheless, our attorneys can still work alongside an expert to calculate your loss of earning capacity. This takes the form of a lump sum amount, discounted to present value.
So, if we calculate that you have lost $1 million because you cannot earn as much money over the next 20 years, you are not necessarily entitled to the full $1 million. This is because a judge will discount the sum to account for taxes and what a reasonably prudent person would have made after investments to get you to the $1 million.
Insurance companies are notorious for disputing brain injury claims, often claiming that symptoms are exaggerated, pre-existing, or unrelated to the accident. The difficulty in pursuing these claims, even in a more preferable jurisdiction like Maryland, is that milder brain injuries are harder to prove. If your only symptom is that you suffer from chronic headaches, we can only rely on your testimony and perhaps the testimony of your physician. But even then, this is not as tangible evidence as an X-ray showing a broken bone. Thus, the insurance company will attempt to dissuade a jury from believing you have suffered such an injury. And if they cannot do that completely, they will at least argue that it is not as severe as you claim.
Another common tactic is offering a quick settlement before the full extent of your injuries is known. At least once a month in Maryland, we get a call from a potential client who tells us they have already accepted a settlement offer and signed a release of liability form, but now their pain is worse than they thought. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done once you sign that form. Although, our skilled attorneys have circumvented an executed release at least once. Nonethless, this is a common and effective tactic, accentuating the benefit of contacting legal counsel immediately after a brain injury.
The challenges in brain injury cases mirror the challenges in any type of personal injury case. But, because the severity is typically greater in a brain injury case, the stakes are higher to get it right. Here is what our Maryland brain injury lawyers look for.
Our brain injury lawyers in Maryland have considerable experience recovering compensation for victims injured by the negligent conduct of a tortfeasor. Call our office today for a free consultation to discuss your options and next steps at (202) 331-7227.
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