Suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be a life-changing event, affecting not only the victim but also their family and loved ones. If you or a family member has experienced a brain injury in Texas due to an accident or negligence, seeking the expertise of our Austin brain injury attorneys is crucial.
It takes specific knowledge and experience to handle complex brain injury cases, ensuring that victims receive the support, compensation, and justice they deserve during this challenging time.
Why Hiring Our Austin Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers Is Essential for Your Recovery
If you or a loved one has sustained a brain injury, hiring an Austin traumatic brain injury lawyer is highly recommended. Brain injury cases are often intricate and require a thorough understanding of both medical and legal aspects. An experienced personal injury attorney can assess the full extent of your injuries, consider long-term consequences, and determine the appropriate compensation you are entitled to.
For our clients, we navigate the legal complexities, gather necessary evidence, and negotiate with insurance companies or the responsible parties on your behalf. When clients hire us, we ensure their rights are protected, and we seek full compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages related to the brain injury.
What Are The Benefits of Hiring an Austin TBI Lawyer?
Hiring a brain injury attorney offers numerous invaluable benefits. Butler Injury Law has a deep understanding of brain injury cases, including various types of TBI and the medical day-to-day impacts. We work closely with medical experts to accurately assess the extent of our clients’ injuries and their impact on their future.
Our Austin traumatic brain injury lawyers will gather vital evidence to build a strong case. This may include medical records, testimony from medical and economic experts, advanced imagery, and testimony from close friends, co-workers, and family members to establish liability and demonstrate the full extent of your damages. We handle communications with insurance companies and the responsible parties. We fight to secure a fair settlement that adequately compensates you for past, present, and future medical expenses, lost earning capacity, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) vary widely in severity and type, often depending on the cause and force of impact.
Concussions, the most common form of TBI, occur when the brain is jarred or shaken, leading to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and memory issues. While often labeled as “mild,” concussions can have lasting effects, particularly if they are repeated or left untreated.
Another type is a contusion, which involves localized bruising of brain tissue caused by direct impact. These injuries can lead to swelling and other complications requiring close medical monitoring.
More severe types of TBIs include diffuse axonal injuries and penetrating injuries. Diffuse axonal injuries occur when rapid movement, such as in a car accident, causes the brain’s nerve fibers to tear, often resulting in significant cognitive or physical impairments. Penetrating injuries happen when an object pierces the skull, damaging the brain and potentially leading to life-threatening conditions.
Each type of TBI requires immediate medical attention and long-term care to manage its effects. Understanding these injuries is vital for proper treatment and for seeking compensation to address the challenges they create.
Common Events That Contribute to Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries can be triggered by a number of events and can result in blunt force trauma or an injury that penetrates the skull. Each type of event is unique, can impact an individual’s brain differently, and may present its own set of considerations and complications during treatment.
Among the leading causes of brain injuries, falls are the most common and makeup 28% of TBIs. Vehicle accidents are a close second and makeup 20% of events that trigger a TBI. Violence/assault and sports injuries are other types of events that can lead to a TBI along with other serious injuries.
Additionally, military personnel are particularly vulnerable to traumatic brain injuries, given their exposure to explosions and other combat-related injuries. When these causes are the result of another party’s negligence, they may lay the groundwork for a personal injury claim.
Individuals May suffer Complications from Traumatic Brain Injuries
TBIs themselves are highly concerning, but individuals may be at risk for several complications that can exacerbate their condition, damage, and degree of recovery. The nature of the complication may be dependent on the severity of the brain injury.
Individuals with a severe TBI may lose their consciousness to a varying extent. Some may be minimally conscious or be in a coma, while others may sustain so much damage that they are in a vegetative state or are brain dead. Traumatic brain injuries can also leave patients with other conditions that require monitoring and management. Infections, headaches, seizures, fluid buildup, vertigo, and blood vessel damage are all potential complications individuals could face.
Conversely, those who have suffered moderate to minor TBIs may notice complications that affect their everyday life and routines. These individuals may find certain abilities and functions like communication, senses, behaviors, and emotions a challenge in the aftermath of their injury.
What Does a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney Do?
Butler Injury Law plays a critical role in providing comprehensive legal representation for brain injury victims and their families. Our first priority is to understand the specifics of your case and assess the severity of the brain injury’s impact on your life.
A brain injury attorney in Austin will collaborate with medical experts to evaluate your medical records and treatment plans, ensuring that the full extent of your injuries is documented accurately. We will also consult with vocational experts to determine the potential impact on your ability to work and earn a living in the future. We will handle all legal aspects of your case, including filing necessary paperwork, negotiating with insurance companies, and, if needed, representing you in court.
Our goal is to secure fair compensation that reflects the true extent of your losses and helps you and your family cope with the challenges posed by the brain injury.
How Does a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Determine Liability?
When your traumatic brain injury was caused by another party’s reckless actions, liability must be established in order to recover compensation for your losses. When you want to pursue legal action against the party who hurt you, a lawyer assists you with filing a personal injury claim and fulfilling the legal requirements that are associated with it.
One of those components is identifying and establishing which party was negligent and, therefore, liable. This forms the foundation of personal injury cases and must be demonstrated before a settlement can be issued.
The standard of negligence is made up of four elements, and your lawyer must provide evidence to satisfy each one.
The first step is to show that the other party owed you a duty of care to reasonably prevent harm from befalling you. The next stage demonstrates that they breached their duty to you when they failed to act responsibly and take all necessary precautions.
The third step links their actions to your injuries as a direct cause and effect. Lastly, once negligence is established, the party at fault must pay for your losses to ease the financial burden you are under.
Additionally, there may be times when an individual is partially at fault, or multiple parties may have been involved in the event that caused your traumatic brain injury. In these instances, each party’s level of liability must be established to determine who is at fault and how damages are distributed.
According to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33, each party is assigned a percentage that reflects their contribution to the accident. The value of compensation is then reduced in proportion to the percentage of fault they are assigned. Any party responsible for more than 50% of the accident will be barred from recovering compensation for their losses, even if they are injured.
When Is the Best Time to Hire a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney?
When you or someone you care about has suffered from a brain injury, it is important to hire a traumatic brain injury attorney as soon as possible. Brain injuries often require significant treatment and ongoing care, resulting in a mountain of expenses.
By reaching out to an attorney, you can minimize the time it takes to secure the compensation you need to ensure you can get your necessary medical care. They also provide support, help you get justice, and handle your case so you can turn your attention toward recovery. Another important reason to hire a lawyer as soon as possible is that there is often a time limit on recovering your losses through a personal injury claim.
The statute of limitations is restricted to two years. Individuals may be barred from recovery if they wait until after this window of time expires.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer?
Butler Injury Law understands that the thought of adding on another expense in the wake of your brain injury might make you hesitant to hire a lawyer. That is why we operate on a contingency fee basis.
You do not have to pay any fees upfront to hire us to begin working on your case. You only pay fees once we win your case and you have been awarded compensation. Once the verdict or settlement has been issued, our fees are deducted from your compensation, so you never have to pay us out of your own pocket.
It is important to us to ensure that our clients receive the legal services they need when they need them the most. This approach also allows our clients to feel confident that we have their best interests in mind and that they are in alignment with their goals and needs throughout the case.
Why Choose Butler Injury Law to Handle Your Traumatic Brain Injury Case?
At Butler Injury Law, we understand the life-altering impact a traumatic brain injury can have on you and your family. Our Austin traumatic brain injury attorneys approach every case with compassion and dedication, leveraging our extensive experience to advocate for the justice and compensation you deserve.
From investigating the accident to collaborating with medical and vocational experts, we meticulously build a case that reflects the full extent of your losses. Our personalized approach ensures that you are supported every step of the way, with clear communication and tailored legal strategies designed to address your unique needs.
If you are ready to take the first step toward reclaiming your life, contact us today at 737-252-8445 or visit our contact form.
FAQs About Traumatic Brain Injury
Can a single concussion cause long-term issues?
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head or by quick acceleration/deceleration movement (such as whiplash) without a direct blow to the head. Most people fully recover within weeks or months, but some experience persistent symptoms. Symptoms vary from person to person and can range from headaches to cognitive issues such as difficulty focusing, to speech or vision issues, to personality or mood changes, as well as a broad range of other issues. Even if this is a first concussion, it’s important to seek medical care as soon as possible.
Is a “mild” TBI anything to worry about?
Brain injuries are categorized by doctors as mild, moderate, or severe. These labels are clinical terms based on objective scoring and do not necessarily accurately describe the severity of any particular person’s symptoms. A mild TBI is still a brain injury and can have serious, long-term impacts on someone’s day-to-day functions and enjoyment of life. It’s important not to disregard a “mild” diagnosis or forego treatment based on this label but to seek medical treatment from specialists for the particular symptoms that follow a TBI.
How quickly do people recover from a serious brain injury?
Recovery time for a mild TBI can vary. Many people improve significantly within weeks or months, while others suffer the effects for much longer. TBI symptoms can be very personalized, and long-term needs will change based on the specific impact on each person. Some people might need lifelong help, while others are back to their normal day-to-day activities relatively quickly.
Does the ER always diagnose a TBI when someone has one?
No, emergency rooms might not always diagnose a traumatic brain injury correctly when someone has suffered one. Here are a few key points:
- Milder TBIs, like concussions, are commonly missed in ER screenings, especially if symptoms are subtle. Concussions frequently go undiagnosed.
- More severe TBIs can also be missed initially if the injury is not obvious based on scans and outward symptoms. A mild TBI, by definition, includes normal imaging, but traditional MRI and CT scans performed at ERs do not always show evidence of a brain injury.
- Some signs of severe TBI, like cognitive deficits, may not appear until later.
- ER doctors are often focused on ruling out immediate life-threatening injuries, so subtle neurological issues can be overlooked.
- Standard ER evaluations are not specialized for picking up TBIs. Diagnosis may require detailed neurological exams by specialists and follow-up brain imaging tests.
- Patients may downplay or fail to report key TBI symptoms like headache, confusion, or memory loss to ER staff. Patients who have experienced a loss of consciousness often do not realize they did and report no loss of consciousness to their ER doctor. This can lead to a missed diagnosis.
So, while ERs can pick up obvious severe TBIs like those with visible trauma or significant loss of consciousness, they frequently miss more subtle neurological injuries.
What are the common symptoms of TBIs?
Potential TBI symptoms are very broad and vary from person to person. Common symptoms include headaches, dizziness, confusion, vision and hearing issues, balance issues, memory and concentration problems, mood and personality changes, anxiety and depression, difficulty sleeping, and speech issues.
Symptoms may not be apparent at first and can develop in the hours, days, or weeks following an injury. It is important to closely monitor your or your loved one’s health after you have received a blow to the head. If something about your health seems off, do not ignore it and seek immediate medical attention. A quick response can significantly impact your conditions and prognosis.
