Houston Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

Traumatic brain injuries are severe and can cause serious disruption to your life. In fact, any damage to the brain tissue creates the possibility of lifelong consequences. The scariest part of any such incident is that it can take time before any noticeable symptoms develop.

This is why healthcare professionals advise seeking immediate medical attention after a head injury — even if you don’t think it’s serious at the time. Failing to get proper care in a timely manner can put your health and future maneuverability at risk. If you suffered such harm due to negligent parties, you should also consider reaching out to a traumatic brain injury lawyer in Houston.

The potential difficulties that could arise after a brain injury are many, and oftentimes, they can lead to years of medical care needs, lost wages, continuing therapy (both mental and physical), and a variety of other losses.

With the help of experienced personal injury attorneys on your side, though, it’s possible to recover compensation for the damages you suffer — both now and in the future. Contact the Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown for a free consultation today — even if you’re unsure that you have a case — and we’ll help you determine how to reach a conclusion in your best interests.

What are Traumatic Brain Injuries?

Medical professionals classify a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a sudden injury to the head that causes mild, moderate, or severe head injury damage to a person’s brain. These conditions can cause an individual to suffer from stilted mobility, personality changes, comas, and possibly death.

Such damage can lead to catastrophic injuries — or injuries that cause lifelong disability and other long-term effects. TBIs are divided into two categories: closed head injuries and penetrating injuries.

Closed head trauma occurs when a sudden jolt to the head causes damage but doesn’t penetrate the body. These can lead to skull fractures and other serious damage. Penetrating injuries tend to result from more violent incidents and actually cause penetration into the head.

These constitute the most severe traumatic brain injury an individual could sustain. Penetrating injuries are a significant cause of fatal incidents in young persons.

What Are Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries?

There are several accident or incident types that commonly lead to traumatic brain injuries. Many brain injury cases involve the negligence of third parties. This could include anything from a distracted driver to a property owner failing to provide safe passage through a building. The following are the most common causes of TBIs based on whether they’re closed head trauma or penetrating injuries:

Closed Head Trauma

Penetrating Injuries

Aggressive assault and battery
Severe car accidents
Explosion incidents

Symptoms of a TBI

Houston brain injury lawyers see a variety of symptoms in TBI victims. Many cases involve symptoms that do not appear for several hours or even days following an accident. This is why you should seek treatment following any significant accident.

Even in the absence of a serious brain injury, many wounds to other areas of the body also don’t become apparent until much later. When a TBI has occurred, though, the most common symptoms that people may suffer from include:

Persistent headaches
Memory loss
Blurred vision
Reduced cognitive function
Dizziness
Neck pain
Tingling or numbness in the hands and feet
Difficulty concentrating

Traumatic brain injuries range across a variety of symptoms. Failing to take such symptoms seriously could inadvertently worsen your injuries.

All parties who suffer harm due to car wrecks, bus crashes, motorcycle collisions, accidents on another person’s property, or defective products should seek the help of a medical professional as soon as possible.

Not only is this important for your health, but failing to do so can actually hinder your personal injury lawsuit later.The simple fact is that your health can worsen without treatment or when you fail to follow a doctor’s orders. If an insurance company or at-fault party can show that you worsened your own condition, it becomes that much more difficult to secure a fair settlement or court award.

If you’re worried about how to pay for medical expenses following a car accident or other serious injury, contact an accomplished TBI accident attorney in Houston immediately. They can help you search for ways to cover medical care and file a brain injury claim against negligent parties.

Compensation in a TBI Accident

There are several situations where one party may be able to hold other parties liable for their traumatic brain injuries. Any individual who drives recklessly fails to care for their property, or otherwise neglects a duty of care could be taken to court after an accident.

In the majority of personal injury cases, though, a settlement is reached before making it to trial. This doesn’t mean that an insurance company will be motivated to provide fair compensation for a traumatic brain injury, but it does show that they prefer to avoid courtrooms.

To get compensation, your Houston brain injury lawyer will need to help you identify every potentially liable party. It’s necessary to show that those you claim are at fault had a duty of care and that their failure in this duty is what led to your severe brain injury.

It’s also necessary to decide how much compensation you deserve, and a law firm experienced in representing TBI victims can review your medical records and help reach a fair compensation amount. Factors considered often include medical bills, emotional damages, and even lost opportunities for wages or employment.

Statute of Limitations for TBI in Texas

Not every individual who suffers a traumatic brain injury is able to recover compensation. In many cases, this is because the Texas statute of limitations has expired. Most personal injury lawsuits — including traumatic brain injury cases — must be filed within two years of the accident that caused harm.

Failing to file in a timely manner can forfeit your right to receive compensation — even if your case seems “open and shut” on the surface. There are some exceptions to this rule, but in most cases, you’ll need to file within two years.

Of course, many individuals who suffer a traumatic injury think they have plenty of time to file. Two years certainly seems like a long time to seek compensation, but legal deadlines aren’t always the biggest concern in these cases.

With all personal injury claims, time can negatively affect the eventual outcome. Witnesses may die or move away; memories can fade; police evidence can become deteriorated. In each of these situations, it becomes more difficult for an injured person to get fair financial compensation.

This is why you should speak with a Houston brain injury attorney as soon as possible.

What Is Shared Liability in Texas?

In Texas personal injury cases, you may hear the terms “shared liability” or “comparative negligence.” These terms apply when more than one individual shares fault in an accident that leads to a serious brain injury.

An insurance company may try to offer a low settlement by claiming that you were a responsible party for your injury. The important thing to remember is that this doesn’t bar you from recovering compensation.

In fact, you may still be reimbursed for things such as medical bills, lost time from work, and even pain and suffering.

This is because Texas is a modified comparative negligence state. This means your traumatic brain injury case can still result in a court award even if you contributed to the accident in some way. The final award would simply be reduced by the percentage of your own fault.

For instance, imagine you suffered a brain injury after running alongside a damaged sidewalk. The jury may think that you were 10% at fault for your accident — but they might still feel the unmaintained sidewalk was the main reason the incident occurred.

If you were granted $2 million to cover losses related to brain damage, this award would be reduced by $200,000 — or 10%. This means you’d still see a recovery of $1.8 million to cover things like medical treatment and other expenses.

The important thing is that you shouldn’t make any assumptions on your own — or let insurance companies tell you who was most at fault. A Houston brain injury attorney can conduct an investigation to figure out who’s really at fault for your injury.

Should I Look for Brain Injury Lawyers?

If you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury due to another person’s negligence, it may seem tempting to seek compensation on your own. This may be even more tempting if there’s no question that the responsible party was fully at fault for your accident.

Unfortunately, you’ll be going up against insurance companies whose main goal is to increase profits. Paying you a fair settlement for your brain injury is counterintuitive to this goal.

This is one of the biggest reasons you should consider having Houston brain injury attorneys on your side. Insurers won’t be able to convince a traumatic brain injury attorney that you should take less than you deserve.

They’ll also think twice about going to court if they know you have an experienced legal professional representing you. While you may think you’ll receive higher monetary awards going it alone, you’re actually creating a higher risk for yourself.

In fact, statistics show that individuals with legal representation receive higher payouts on average.

And since you can get a free consultation at the Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown, you have zero excuses to not seek out more information. You’ll also have an attorney-client relationship that exists based on a contingency fee.

This means your Houston traumatic brain injury lawyer will not get paid unless you do. You have nothing to lose with a free case evaluation, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

Call a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer in Houston Today

Suffering a traumatic brain injury is a serious event, and such an injury frequently leads to long-term effects. Whether you were hurt in a car accident or willful misconduct such as an assault, you have the right to seek fair compensation for your losses.

While it may be possible to get an appropriate settlement from the insurance company, the chance always exists that you might need to file a brain injury lawsuit to get what you deserve. In either of these cases, having an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side is vital.

The Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown is on standby and ready to discuss your brain injury claim. Severe traumatic brain injuries can lead to ongoing medical expenses, lost wages, loss of companionship, and a variety of other damages.

To determine whether you’re entitled to compensation, though, it’s important that we review the facts of your case. Contact our Houston brain injury attorneys today by calling (713) 714-6206 for a free case evaluation to figure out the best way forward.

You need a Houston tramautic brain injury lawyers on your side, and when we’re in your corner, we won’t stop until you get the compensation you deserve.