While any accident has the potential to drastically alter your life, brain injury accidents are among the most dangerous. Accident victims may not instantly recognise they've sustained a major damage, which makes brain injuries unique and potentially devastating.

Signs of traumatic brain damage

• Agitation or combativeness 
• Coma 
• Confusion
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Loss of coordination
• Memory loss
• Repeated nausea or vomiting
• Ringing in the ears 
• Seizures 
• Slurred speech 
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep.

However, it is usual for persons who have a brain injury to initially just exhibit minor symptoms. This can make determining the severity of a head injury after an accident difficult.

When Can You File A Personal Injury Case After Sustaining A Traumatic Brain Injury?

For instances involving brain injuries, including traumatic brain injury claims, the statute of limitations is two years. The statute of limitations for brain injuries brought on by medical misconduct is one year, though.

To file a case, an accident victim typically has one or two years from the date of the accident. There is a crucial exception, though, that holds true in many instances of brain injury. 

You only have six months from the date of the injury to make a claim with any government agency, including a city, a county, a school, or a water district. You will only have six months to initiate a lawsuit once they reject that claim.

The statute of limitations doesn't start running in California until an accident victim “discovers”, or should have “discovered”, that they may be entitled to compensation. Therefore, an accident victim who does not file a claim until years after discovering they have a TBI may still be eligible to do so.

Traumatic Brain Injury Victims Can Recover Compensation

It's crucial to understand that you are still eligible for financial compensation if you have sustained a severe head injury, whether as a result of someone else's carelessness or an accident. A traumatic brain injury attorney can assist you by looking into your case and calculating the amount of damages for which you are entitled to compensation due to your brain injury. The following catagories of damages may be available to you:

Pain & Suffering

You feel anguish because of your traumatic brain damage, both physically and mentally. Remember that you must demonstrate that your traumatic brain injury has led to persistent changes in your feelings, routines, or behavior in order to receive compensation for past and future pain and suffering. A brain injury attorney can compile evidence to demonstrate the severity of your personal injury.

Medical Bills & Treatment Costs

You might be eligible for financial assistance if you seek medical attention after suffering a traumatic brain injury. To determine how much is owed to the healthcare providers, a traumatic brain injury lawyer can consult with your insurance provider.

Lost Wages

You are entitled to compensation for these lost wages if your traumatic brain injury has rendered you unable to work. Your loss will be quantified by a traumatic brain injury attorney, who will also help you present that information to the insurance provider or jury.

Wrongful death

A wrongful death lawsuit can be brought by the decedent's family when a significant brain injury results in death. Wrongful Death Damages can include many important losses. “Damages” are the plaintiff's claimed losses in a personal injury case. To understand the scope of damages that might be available to a surviving family member in a California wrongful death lawsuit, we can look to the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI). Judges use these forms to educate jurors on the specific laws and legal concepts they'll be applying during deliberations after a civil trial.

Specifically, CACI No. 3921 (Wrongful Death of an Adult) says that damages in a wrongful death case fall into two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages can include:

• any financial support the decedent would have contributed to the family (with awards of any future support reduced to present cash value)
• loss of gifts or benefits that the family/family member would have expected to receive from the decedent
• funeral and burial expenses, and
• the reasonable dollar value of household services that the decedent would have provided.

Non-economic damages might also include the following impacts on the family member(s) bringing the wrongful death lawsuit, according to CACI No. 3921:

• loss of the decedent's “love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support”
• the spouse or partner's loss of the enjoyment of intimacy with the decedent, and
• loss of the decedent's guidance.

a traumatic brain injury lawyer will assist in calculating compensation for survivors.

We can help

Our California personal injury law firm can assist you in seeking compensation for your injuries if you were hurt in an accident, even if it happened a long time ago, and you are still experiencing symptoms of traumatic brain damage. Contact us to find out more.