So much of what makes us individual humans originates in our brains. Our emotions, creativity, personalities, intelligence, and control of our bodies all depend to some extent on the successful functioning of our brains. Disruption of that functioning can lead to permanent, life-altering injuries that could affect every person’s existence. When this happens, speaking to a brain injury lawyer is critical.
If someone else’s negligence caused an accident that led to traumatic brain injury (TBI), an injured person could talk with a compassionate catastrophic injury lawyer about whether to seek monetary damages from the negligent party. Damages could help an injured person and their family adapt to the changes that a TBI brings and pay for the injured person’s care in the future.
Insurance companies could try to bully an injured person or their family into accepting less than the injury merits. A Washington, D.C., traumatic brain injury lawyer could push back against such tactics and negotiate for a fair settlement to ease the family’s transition into life after TBI.
TBIs happen when the brain hits the skull with force. Penetration injuries when a foreign object passes through the skull and into the brain also could cause a TBI.
Sometimes, these injuries produce mild symptoms that clear up rapidly, but the damage is cumulative. A minor TBI is a serious injury because it sets up more severe and long-lasting symptoms in subsequent TBIs.
The long-term effects of TBI could include insomnia, uncontrollable anger and agitation, seizures, cognitive decline, and psychiatric illnesses. People who suffer from severe TBI symptoms might be unable to care for themselves, hold a job, or fully engage in meaningful personal relationships.
TBI often is the result of accidents. Falls, motor vehicle crashes, sports injuries, and explosions are all leading causes of TBI. Many accidents arise from someone’s negligence. A slippery floor in a bank could lead to a fall, speeding through an intersection could cause a car crash, and a defective bicycle helmet could result in a cyclist’s fractured skull. In any of these cases, there might be grounds for an injured person to claim damages based on negligence.
Sometimes, the defendant might assert that the injured person was negligent and that the plaintiff’s negligence contributed to their injury. Unfortunately, Washington, D.C. law bars a negligent plaintiff from receiving damages. An experienced attorney might seek evidence that absolves a plaintiff from responsibility and places the blame squarely on a negligent defendant.
Generally speaking, plaintiffs have three years from the date of their accident to seek damages for their injuries. Plaintiffs who fail to file a lawsuit within that period lose their right to bring the matter to court.
Sometimes, the effects of an injury do not immediately manifest. In such cases, a plaintiff must bring a lawsuit within three years of the date they learned of the injury or would have learned of it with reasonable diligence.
Suppose a plaintiff alleges that a government’s negligence led to their injury. In that case, the Code of the District of Columbia §12-309 requires the plaintiff to file a notice of claim within six months of the accident that led to their injury. The city could be a potential defendant if the TBI resulted from a car crash involving a city-owned vehicle, a diving accident in a city-owned pool, or a fall at a municipal office building. A seasoned head injury attorney could determine whether the city is a likely defendant and ensure that necessary notices are filed promptly.
A brain injury, or traumatic brain injury (“TBI”), involves either short-term or long-term damage to someone’s brain. Our brain injury lawyers in Maryland and Washington, D.C., have encountered a multitude of different types of brain injuries in our 70 years in practice. Of course, brain injuries are not as easy to detect as, for example, a cut or even a broken bone. Simply put, a brain injury is any damage that disrupts its normal function. A CT scan may be able to detect a brain injury. Or, doctors can look at the symptoms the accident victim is reporting.
A brain injury can be very mild. It can be as minor as a mild headache or concussion. However, on the other end of the spectrum, a traumatic brain injury can lead to death. A brain injury can be a life-changing event for the victim and their family. It may render the victim dependent on family members to perform basic tasks. Our brain injury lawyers are here to help when things like this occur.
This list of common types of brain injuries is not all-encompassing. It does, however, illustrate how devastating a brain injury can be. If you have one of these injuries after receiving immediate and continuous medical treatment, contact a brain injury lawyer for a free consultation.
The causes of a brain injury are theoretically endless. As personal injury lawyers, we handle injuries that involve either negligent or intentional conduct resulting in damages or death by a third party. We can apply general theories of negligence or other tort law to nearly any scenario. However, some activities are more likely to cause injury, particularly brain injury, than others. Here, we discuss the most common causes of brain injury that we handle.
Unfortunately, car accidents are still prevalent in 2023. Due to the high speeds of cars and the stress and pressure of not arriving late, people drive impatiently and negligently every day. When car accidents occur, injuries are frequently deadly. Whiplash, in particular, is something that happens regularly in car accidents. The physics of driving forward at a high rate of speed to come to a near-immediate halt causes whiplash in the head. In addition to injuring the neck, this movement can throw a driver’s or passenger’s head backward into the seat’s cushion. This is a significant catalyst for concussions.
Of course, car accidents can lead to even more severe brain and head injuries, as discussed earlier. One particularly gruesome cause of a brain injury is a sharp object coming into contact with a victim’s head. In this case, it likely would be a piece of glass. Although, there is a limitless number of items in your car or the motor vehicle you collide with.
A nightclub injury distinguishes itself from other types of injuries on this list due to the nature of the act. Nightclub injuries are generally due to intentional conduct, not negligence. The primary difference is that intentional conduct earns a victim punitive damages under our tort law system. Moreover, a brain injury in a bar or nightclub will likely be due to blunt force trauma such as a punch, kick, or fall to the ground. These injuries tend to be due to repeated blows, such as punches by an aggressive attacker, whether it be security or another bar patron.
Brain hemorrhaging is caused by a ruptured blood vessel, which causes bleeding inside the brain. While they can occur without physical trauma, physical trauma is just as likely to be a cause. If your brain begins to hemorrhage after a nightclub attack, you may have a claim for substantial compensation and should reach out to a brain injury lawyer immediately. Brain hemorrhaging is a dire medical emergency and requires immediate attention from a medical provider.
While not as common as a car accident, a motorcycle accident is more likely to result in serious injury. Of course, the reason is the lack of safety technology on a motorcycle. While all motorcycle riders are or should be aware of the risks of riding, it is a hobby that many choose despite the risk. When we take a motorcycle accident case, the injuries are almost always more severe than our typical car accident case. This is why it is worth mentioning here, even though they are less frequent.
This depends on the facts of your case. We cannot give you a blueprint to analyze the elements of your case. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of rules in tort law. This is even more complex when you learn the number of exceptions to the general rules. Then, applying these rules to your facts almost always makes speaking with a good brain injury lawyer necessary. While there is no blueprint, we can give you the general rules in a negligence case. Of course, this does not cover intentional torts such as assault or battery.
There are four elements of negligence we must prove to be successful.
Not every person owes a duty to every other person. Instead, as plaintiffs, we must prove that the defendant owed you a duty at the time of your brain injury. This requires proving that you are foreseeable as a plaintiff and victim of the negligent conduct. The duty a defendant owes you will be different depending on the circumstances. For example, on the highway, a driver must maintain control and reasonably drive their car. What is ultimately reasonable is a question for the fact finder at trial. However, attorneys can debate this point in settlement negotiations before trial.
The second element we must prove is that the defendant breached the duty they owed to you. The defendant must stray from the legal duty present in the case by act or omission. Proving breach by omission is arguably more complex than merely proving that something occurred. But our brain injury lawyers have decades of experience proving just this.
This is the most difficult of the four elements to prove. Causation has two prongs. First, there is actual causation. This is the more straightforward prong to prove. To show it, we use a “but for” test. As an example, but for the defendant’s breach of duty, the plaintiff would not have been injured. Or, in a car accident case, but for the defendant entering the plaintiff’s lane, there would not have been an accident. The second prong is proximate causation, also known as legal causation. This is harder to prove as it is more narrow. The general rule is that the defendant is liable for all harmful results of the foreseeable incidents caused by his acts. Our brain injury lawyers use a foreseeability test.
While not necessarily challenging to calculate, much of the debate occurs here. Insurance companies will argue every dollar in the damages portion of a negotiation. They generally pay very little to the first three elements. We calculate damages by considering your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The medical expense element covers both past and future medical costs. If your brain injury is severe enough that you will need lifelong care, you have a claim for that. Although the court may discount it to present value, we factor that in. They will consider how much money it will be if you invest it prudently at a relatively modest rate of return.
A brain injury lawyer can assist you in your recovery in several ways.
At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., we have private investigators we work with that we know and trust. When the police are unsuccessful in arriving at a scene on time or collecting all pertinent information, our investigators can be invaluable in deciding the outcome of your case. But our investigation does not stop with our investigators. We will also contact the police department and obtain a copy of the police report. The police report can provide important information. While not all of it is admissible in court, we still use it to get an impression of the case’s narrative. We also reach out to every one of your medical providers. As discussed above, you have a right to compensation for your medical expenses, past and future. Accordingly, we ensure we are aware of each of your medical visits.
We also appreciate your updates so our brain injury lawyers can contact that provider immediately. Once you finish with a provider, we contact them and obtain a copy of your bills and records. The records can explain to us exactly what your injuries are. This is the information we use to build your case. Of course, the bills tell us your expenses so we can help you cover them.
This is also something that our private investigators or police can do on your behalf. Of course, identifying the responsible party is a critical aspect of your claim, and it is something our brain injury attorneys have plenty of experience doing. We can subpoena security footage at a nightclub or bar, for example. We can also send spoliation of evidence letters to the bar or nightclub to preserve the evidence.
Although, if we are unable to identify the responsible parties, there are still steps you can take. If this is the case, ideally, you have uninsured motorist coverage if you are in a motor vehicle accident, for example.
Filing your claim with either your insurance company or the adverse tortfeasor’s insurance company is a job you should leave to your brain injury attorney. Given the gravity of your case and the amount of damages at stake, you need someone with decades of experience negotiating on behalf of clients.
Our trial attorneys have years of experience taking cases to trial. Of those cases, countless injuries have been TBIs and ABIs. This is important because proving brain injuries is more complex than other injuries. It almost always requires an expert witness who can testify as to the brain damage and extent of the injury. A concussion, for example, is a very broad term. It can be a mild injury or a life-altering one. We will need an expert witness to testify how it can affect your daily life. Of course, an expert is unnecessary in milder cases, but it will be if your head injury is more severe.
The brain injury lawyers at Gelb & Gelb, P.C. have 70 years of experience fighting for the rights of accident victims. Call our office today for a free consultation.
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