If you suffer from a traumatic brain injury after a car accident, you could face a lifetime of expensive medical treatments, and you may even struggle with physical or mental impairments that keep you from earning a living wage. A Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer can help.
Tragically, these injuries are incredibly common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.5 million people suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) annually, and they’re the leading cause of death among American children and young adults. Although collisions aren’t the only type of accident that can cause serious or fatal TBI injuries, car wrecks are the second leading cause of these afflictions after falls.
In the event that you’ve suffered from a TBI or another injury after a car accident caused by another person, you need to contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. In this blog, you’ll learn about why it’s critical for you to enlist the services of a traumatic brain injury lawyer.
Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms
Traumatic brain injuries are incredibly common after wrecks because victims often experience head trauma from the wreck’s sudden impact. A person may suffer from a car accident brain injury if they hit their head against a window, dashboard, steering wheel, or another person, and people can even suffer from serious brain trauma without making direct contact with an object. The sudden force created by the impact can cause a person’s head to jerk backward and forward suddenly, which can cause their brain to hit the interior of their skull. Tragically, this can lead to a serious or fatal brain bleed from a car accident.
Fortunately, not all traumatic brain injuries have catastrophic consequences. You may not even be aware that you’ve suffered from a TBI, especially if it’s a mild concussion. If you experience a car accident or another accident that may have caused a TBI, be on the lookout for these symptoms:
- Losing consciousness for any period of time
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Difficulty sleeping
- Trouble waking
- Convulsions
- Seizure
- Confusion
- Trouble concentrating
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Slurred speech
- Pupil dilation
- Trouble remembering
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision
- Light sensitivity
- Sound sensitivity
- Unusual taste in your mouth
- Increased aggression
- Changes in sex drive
- Trouble with critical thinking
- Loss of balance
- Ringing in your ears
- Numbness or weakness in your fingers or toes
Any brain injury has the potential to cause devastating effects when left untreated, so if you suspect that you have a TBI, seek immediate medical attention. Even a seemingly mild symptom could indicate an incredibly serious TBI, such as brain swelling from a car accident.
What Should I Do If I Suffer From a Brain Injury From a Car Accident?
After suffering from an injury in a car accident, you need to take immediate action to ensure your safety. Call 911 and receive medical attention at the scene of the accident.
If you’re not taken to the hospital from the scene of the accident, you need to seek immediate medical attention to diagnose your injury. Medical professionals may discover that your head injury is serious or even life-threatening and requires immediate attention.
In addition to ensuring your safety, undergoing medical attention right after your wreck is also critical for your personal injury claim or lawsuit. You need to prove that the car accident caused your traumatic brain injury, and seeking immediate medical attention provides you with evidence connecting your accident and your injuries.
After receiving medical attention, follow your doctor or medical professional’s instructions concerning treatments, medications, and follow-up appointments.
Receiving medical attention is often incredibly expensive, especially if you require surgeries and ongoing treatment. You may even require additional treatments years after your accident. Fortunately, you can file a claim with the negligent driver’s insurance company, or you can sue the driver. Before taking action with your claim or lawsuit, you need to contact a personal injury attorney to represent you.
Why Should I Contact a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer?
It’s absolutely critical that you contact a personal injury attorney rather than deal with the negligent driver’s insurance company on your own. Insurance companies are primarily interested in saving money, and they’ll do everything in their power to devalue or reject your claim. For that reason, they may contact you and try to take a recorded statement. Anything you say can be used against you, so it’s best to only communicate via a personal injury lawyer.
Your lawyer will help you gather critical evidence for proving that the other driver was at-fault for your accident, and they’ll also help you collect relevant medical evidence that indicates that the accident in question directly caused your traumatic brain injury. Some forms of evidence include:
- Photos and videos of the wreck
- The police’s accident report
- Eyewitness statements
- Accident reconstruction expert witness testimony
- All medical documentation
- Doctor’s notes
- Medical expert witness testimony
Personal injury lawyers speak on behalf of their clients, and they’ll communicate with your insurance company and the at-fault driver’s insurance company so that you receive compensation for your medical bills and other damages as soon as possible.
Without legal representation, you’ll likely have a harder time proving your case and dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. The insurance company will likely try to put some of the blame on you to avoid paying out damages, or they may try to get you to agree to a settlement that doesn’t fully cover your damages. For that reason, it’s crucial to have a personal injury attorney who will help you prove your case and maximize your compensation.
Get the Most Compensation Possible by Contacting a Personal Injury Lawyer
When you enlist the services of a personal injury attorney, they’ll work in or out of court to get you the most compensation possible for damages. This is especially important after a traumatic brain injury because you may suffer from permanent physical or mental impairments that hinder your ability to work and enjoy life.
Depending on your case, you may be able to recover damages including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Property damage
- Disability
- Loss of future income
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Contact a Baltimore Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
If you were injured in a car accident in Baltimore, contact the Maryland traumatic brain injury lawyers at Zirkin & Schmerling Personal Injury Attorneys. We’ll work tirelessly to prove your case and maximize your damages.
We offer 24/7 phone support so that you can contact us at any time for a free case consultation. Call us today at 410-753-4611, or you can schedule your free consultation online here.