Acceleration and deceleration can have much to do with brain injuries, particularly when discussing injuries that result from auto accidents. When a motor vehicle accelerates, the brain of anyone in the vehicle accelerates, too. If there is sudden deceleration, such as the stopping of a vehicle due to a collision, the brain may become injured as its forward momentum causes it to contact the inside of the skull.
When an object in motion suddenly stops, that object may absorb considerable force. This is true of the bodies of drivers and passengers involved in motor vehicles. Because the brain is a fragile organ, it is particularly susceptible to injury when a traffic accident happens. Our experienced Tampa traumatic brain injury lawyer will help you to get the compensation you deserve.
A Rapid Change in Velocity Can Cause Brain Trauma
Researchers have documented, in-depth, the relationship between acceleration, deceleration, and brain injuries, including concussions. Without getting too into the technical details, just know that:
- Whenever your body moves in a certain direction, the organs inside your body (including the brain) travel at the same velocity as the rest of your body
- If you are to avoid injury to sensitive body parts, including the brain, you must generally decelerate at a steady pace
- If your body stops suddenly after traveling at a significant velocity, the sudden deceleration puts immense strain on your body, posing a high risk of injury
Brains are so fragile that even non-physical forces like stress can affect them negatively. Physical trauma, such as the force imposed during a traffic accident, can have devastating consequences for your brain health.
Injuries That Can Happen During a Traffic Accident
Closed brain injuries are associated with car accidents, as well as other types of accidents. These injuries do not cause the skull to fracture but can nevertheless cause injury to the brain within the skull.
Medical professionals refer to several types of injuries as “traumatic brain injuries,” or TBIs. This term can refer to:
- Bruising of the brain (contusion)
- Tearing of brain tissue
- Tearing of blood vessels in the brain
- Hematoma (bleeding around the brain)
- Diffuse axonal injury (general damage to white matter in the brain)
Other ailments that may be associated with accident-related TBIs include post-traumatic dementia, skull fractures, and Hemorrhagic progression of a contusion (HPC). Any brain injury or secondary condition related to a TBI can be life-threatening, so it is necessary that you seek medical care and determine how to care for the injury.
What to Do After Suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury During an Auto Accident
You should not delay in hiring a traumatic brain injury lawyer, and we will get to that. First, though, is your health.
Steps to take as soon as possible after an accident resulting in a possible brain injury are:
Get a Specific Diagnosis and Treatment Plan
Knowing that you have suffered an injury is not sufficient to protect yourself and recover. It is important that you understand:
- The specific type of brain injury you suffered during the accident
- Exactly how your injury happened
- What symptoms you are suffering (and can suffer) because of the TBI
- What treatments you will need to improve the injury
- Whether any injury symptoms can be permanent
- How you can protect yourself from worsening (and potentially permanent) injury symptoms
You can only learn these critical types of information by visiting a medical professional qualified to evaluate and diagnose brain injuries. If you are uncertain about finding such a medical professional, a brain injury lawyer can help you locate one.
Hire a Brain Injury Attorney to Seek Compensation (Including TBI-Related Medical Care)
It’s important to note early and often: Hiring a lawyer is not a priority that should wait. Your legal team will need to obtain evidence from your accident, report your injuries to insurers, and protect you from bad-faith tactics. If you sue, there is likely a filing deadline.
You may gain much-needed peace by placing your case in a lawyer’s hands. Don’t wait to find a brain injury attorney who:
- Has many endorsements from former clients
- Has case results that are impressive (and relevant to your case)
- Instills confidence in you
Auto accident law firms offer free consultations. This means you can speak with multiple firms without any cost or obligation to hire any specific firm.
Keep All Documentation Related to the Accident and Your Brain Injury
You should not throw anything out that has to do with your accident or subsequent treatment. This includes:
- A copy of a police report
- Images of injuries
- Medical bills
If you have already lost or disposed of such documentation, don’t worry. Your lawyer will work to secure new copies. However, it may save time to provide all available documentation to your lawyer.
You might also keep a journal describing any physical pain, mental health challenges, and other accident-related difficulties you face. Your attorney may incorporate these accounts into your case.
Listen to the Professionals (Including Your Doctors and Lawyer)
When you trust doctors and an attorney, you eliminate much of the stress from your case. All you have to do is follow the advice of your medical and legal teams, make decisions when they need you to, and let your attorney resolve your case.
Once You Hire a Lawyer, It’s Their Job to Obtain the Money You Deserve for Your TBI
You have enough on your mind and on your plate. Hand your case over to an attorney whose sole job is obtaining the brain injury compensation you are entitled to (and perhaps more).
Your lawyer, their paralegals, other team members and hired experts will:
Document Your Brain Injury (and the Damages the Accident Has Caused You)
For a lawyer to succeed in negotiations, they have to prove the cost of their client’s brain injury (and the accident that caused the injury). Your legal team may use several types of documentation, including:
- CT scans and any other medical images showing accident-related injuries
- Doctors’ detailed evaluations of your brain injury (and all other accident-related injuries)
- Medical bills
- A mental health service provider’s documentation of depression, mood issues, PTSD, and other problems related to your TBI
- Bills detailing any repairs to your vehicle
If you lose income because of the brain injury, your lawyer will secure any financial records or employment records showing the value of your lost income.
Prove, with Evidence, Who Caused Your Brain Injury
If your brain injury happened during a traffic accident, your lawyer will urgently seek:
- Accounts from eyewitnesses
- Video from any security cameras, traffic cameras, or other cameras that captured the accident
- Copies of any police report related to the accident
- A qualified expert’s opinion about who caused the collision
- All other evidence that can benefit your claim or lawsuit
If your injury happened under any other circumstance, a lawyer can still secure evidence of negligence. Proving fault for your brain injury is one of the most important duties your lawyer will handle.
Hire Experts to Elevate Your Case
Experts can bring valuable services, insights, and credibility to a brain injury case. Other sides in your case, such as insurance companies, may have their own experts—that’s one reason why lawyers so often have experts of their own.
Some types of experts that may contribute to your case include:
- Experts in motor vehicle accidents (such as engineers): These experts may testify about who they believe caused the collision. They may also reconstruct the collision, which may be more likely if there is no clear video of the accident.
- Automotive technicians: These experts may testify to the cost of vehicle repairs, the fact that your vehicle is totaled, and the replacement value of a totaled vehicle
- Medical experts: One of the most common experts that personal injury lawyers hire, medical experts can speak to your injuries, symptoms, treatments, and treatment costs. A doctor may also testify that one or more of your injuries (possibly including a brain injury) is disabling.
- Mental health professionals: A licensed mental health professional can diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and any other forms of pain and suffering related to your accident. They may also testify to traumatic brain injury symptoms that negatively affect your quality of life.
- Economists: Economists may be uniquely qualified to project long-term professional harm.
Your law firm will hire any experts at no direct cost to you. Your lawyer’s fee structure will be designed to account for expert services.
Calculate a Specific Case Value
Your legal team will establish an exact case value before beginning to negotiate a settlement.
All of your accident-related damages will be critically important. That said, a lawyer’s ability to calculate pain and suffering—a type of harm that does not have an obvious financial cost—may be especially beneficial.
Pursue a Settlement
Lawyers are qualified to negotiate financial settlements for accident victims because:
- They understand how to accurately calculate damages
- They know how to assign financial liability for damages
- They have experience negotiating with insurance companies and other lawyers
- They can file a lawsuit if liable parties do not offer a fair settlement, and this may give your lawyer leverage during settlement talks
An experienced lawyer will also be familiar with a range of negotiation tactics. Whether your own lawyer is employing such tactics or they experience such tactics from the other side, you will benefit from having an attorney leading your case.
File a Lawsuit (Circumstances Warranting It)
The majority of brain injury cases settle without the need for a trial. Many don’t even require the accident victim to file a lawsuit.
However, it should be comforting for you to know that suing is an option should you elect to do so. You may choose to sue if liable parties do not offer fair compensation via a settlement.
Fight for You in Court (If You Decide Trial Is the Right Move)
If your case leads to court, your attorney will:
- Handle the trial from start to finish
- File pre-trial motions and complete pre-trial proceedings (like depositions)
- Prepare you for any participation you will have in the trial
- Prepare and question favorable witnesses
- Cross-examine defense witnesses
- Lead every other aspect of your trial
Trials related to auto accidents are high-stakes proceedings. However, you can be confident if you hire an attorney with a successful history of winning in court.
Damages Brain Injury Lawyers Often Seek Compensation For
While brain injuries vary in their severity, a serious brain injury can be utterly devastating. Between permanent brain damage, mood changes, pain, and other symptoms, you may face:
Long-Term Pain and Suffering
Brain injuries can take a long time to heal, and setbacks are common. Some brain injuries cause symptoms that never fully go away.
Some forms of pain and suffering you may endure because of your TBI include:
- Memory problems
- Physical pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Sensitivity to sound
- Depression
- Mood disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Anxiety
If your accident caused scarring or other forms of disfigurement, your lawyer will count these challenges among your pain and suffering.
Medical Costs (Such as Imaging, Surgery, and Rehabilitation)
Your legal team will account for all medical expenses related to your accident. Brain injuries sometimes require surgery and many other medical resources, and your attorney will account for all of them.
Lost Income
Your lawyer’s settlement demands will reflect all of your professional damages, such as:
- Lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Missed bonus and overtime opportunities
- Lost chances for promotions
Those with disabling injuries may be unable to work again. If this describes you, your attorney will calculate the cost of lost income through your career, including retirement age.
Vehicle Repair Costs
If your vehicle or any other property was damaged during the accident, your lawyer will account for all expenses related to the property damage.
Everyone with a TBI Can Afford an Attorney—Here Is How
Attorneys who represent auto accident victims do not receive a guaranteed fee. Instead, they receive a percentage of any settlement or verdict they secure for the client. This is called a contingency fee.
Call An Experienced TBI Attorney Today
Do not wait to find and hire a Tampa personal injury attorney. There is no financial barrier to hiring them, and you should empower them to fight for your financial recovery as soon as possible.
James Wayne Holliday
James Wayne Holliday has been practicing law since 1995. He has been named as a “Best Attorney” Lifetime Charter Member in Florida, an honor awarded to less than one percent of the nation’s lawyers.
Mr. Holliday has earned a reputation as a relentless trial lawyer because of his outstanding work ethic and thorough preparation of his cases for trial.
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