Every year, millions of lives are impacted by traumatic brain injuries. Even head injuries classified as “mild” or moderate can have severe repercussions for your overall health. By and large, brain injuries are catastrophic in nature, and can arise from almost any type of accident, including car accidents, slips and falls, workplace accidents, and more.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61,000 Americans died in 2019 from TBI-related causes. That equals out to roughly 167 deaths every day. Tens of thousands of others live with disabilities arising from concussions or traumatic head injuries that impact their ability to work, complete daily tasks, and enjoy their daily lives.
If you sustained a traumatic brain injury through no fault of your own, call the Virginia Beach brain injury lawyers at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp today to schedule your free consultation.
What Does a Traumatic Brain Injury Look Like?
Traumatic brain injuries can involve concussions, blunt force trauma, brain bleeding, brain swelling, or whiplash. Common symptoms include:
- Losing consciousness, anywhere from a couple of seconds to several days or more
- Memory loss that ranges from mild and short-term to severe and permanent
- Trouble controlling speech functions, forming words, or speaking
- Vision impairment, an inability to open your eyes, or blindness
- Paralysis, inability to move, or loss of motor function
- Changes in personality or cognition
Traumatic brain injuries often require exhaustive medical treatment and long-term medical care. If you were left carrying the can, the price of treating a TBI can drain your savings or even bankrupt you entirely. By taking legal action, you can shift the burden to those responsible for your injury and recover compensation for the damages you’ve endured.
Personal injury lawsuits are designed to help you obtain financial compensation for injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, caused by a negligent party. However, to successfully file this type of lawsuit and collect a settlement award or jury verdict in your favor, you need to show that:
- The person who caused your injury failed to uphold the duty of care they owed you
- Due to this breach, you suffered personal harm
- Their action, or lack thereof, was the immediate cause of your injuries
Traumatic brain injury cases are very fact-specific. The result hinges heavily on the exact circumstances of your accident:
- What event led to your brain injury?
- Who was responsible for causing it?
- What physical, emotional, or financial harm have you experienced?
You will have to respond to these and other questions with strong evidence.
So, what is the best way to prove a traumatic brain injury case? What specific proof is needed to hold someone liable for the injuries they caused? With the help of an experienced Virginia Beach brain injury attorney, you can get answers to these important questions and work with medical experts to gather the evidence necessary to pursue financial compensation successfully.
How Do I Prove My Claim in a TBI Lawsuit?
In order to build a compelling TBI case, you will need:
- First, you need medical records that show you sustained an injury. When you see a healthcare professional, it starts a paper trail that documents your injuries. These records can be presented in court to substantiate your claim.
- You will also need to demonstrate the severity of your TBI. This ultimately plays a huge role in how much compensation you receive. Personal injury damages are intended to cover all of your medical expenses, even those occurring in the future. The more serious your brain injury is, the more expensive your medical treatment is going to be resulting in a larger settlement award.
- The next step is demonstrating the long-term impacts of your TBI. You must show if you are going to require any rehabilitation treatments, forthcoming surgeries, in-home care, or assisted care. If your injury has left you unable to return to work, you will need to show how much pay you will lose so that your settlement or judgment can absorb the expense.
- Lastly, you need to show that your TBI was directly caused by the accident related to your claim. This is one reason it is important to see a medical professional immediately after you’ve been injured. The longer you take to get an official diagnosis, the more difficult it will be to link your brain injury to the accident.
The more of this evidence you have, the better.
If you sustained a TBI because of an incident like a motor vehicle accident, you will most likely wind up dealing with an insurance adjuster at some point. No matter what they say in their adverts, insurance companies do not make good neighbors and they are not on your side. An insurance carrier’s priority is their company’s bottom line, which is adversely impacted every time they pay a claim. In fact, it is not uncommon for Insurers to reach out to victims early with a settlement offer that falls far short of what their case is truly worth in hopes of closing the claim quickly and cheaply.
Working with a skilled Virginia Beach brain injury lawyer will help ensure that you do not become a victim of these and other predatory insurance practices and help you assemble the most compelling case possible for your situation.
All We Do Is Injury Law
Traumatic brain injuries are serious. They can impact not just your physical and cognitive functions but your memories and personality as well. You might be left unable to work and care for yourself. These drastic changes can be emotionally and financially devastating to both you and your family.
Since 1985, the Virginia Beach brain injury lawyers at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp have been here for clients and their families, ensuring they do not have to face the aftermath of a catastrophic injury alone. For example, in one recent case, we achieved a $5.5 million settlement for a family of four who suffered serious physical and brain injuries when the driver of a tractor-trailer rear-ended their vehicle as it was stopped at a red light in Virginia Beach.
If you sustained a brain injury after a personal injury accident, contact the experienced Virginia Beach brain injury lawyers at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp at (833) 997-1774 or use our online contact form. We can evaluate your case and outline your options for financial recovery. For your convenience, we have offices in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Hampton.
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For over twenty years, Mr. Sharp's law practice has focused on serious personal injury claims, including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury claims. He also handles nursing home neglect cases and medical malpractice claims. Mr. Sharp has counseled numerous clients about the complexities concerning litigation of both pediatric and adult brain injury. Mr. Sharp has been awarded the AV Preeminent ranking by Martindale, the highly respected and widely utilized directory of lawyers throughout the world. AV Preeminent status is awarded only to those lawyers who achieve the highest level of success within the legal field and is a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers and Judges rank him at the highest level of professional excellence. He has also been recognized as a "Best Lawyer" by U.S. News for personal injury, an accolade awarded to only a small fraction of lawyers. Mr. Sharp has also been recognized by Super Lawyers as one of the top personal injury lawyers in Virginia. This recognition is awarded only to those lawyers who have achieved the highest level of success and have been recognized by their peers as demonstrating the highest level of professional excellence.
