Right now, more than five million people in the United States require daily care to deal with the impacts of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Everything from how we walk to how we regulate our emotions is controlled by our brains, making these injuries particularly devastating.
Common causes of brain injuries include truck and car accidents, falls, sports injuries, acts of violence, improper medical care, and workplace injuries. If a brain injury results from another’s negligence, the victim needs an Atlanta personal injury lawyer to help them obtain compensation. This is the best way to pay for medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering, and other damages.
What Is A Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury is a serious and debilitating injury that occurs as a result of some type of trauma to the head. Traumatic brain injuries can leave a victim with severe and long-lasting symptoms and can be deadly.
These types of injuries are not always easy to diagnose and if not identified in time and treated properly, the victim could suffer for the rest of their life.
After suffering trauma to the head, you must see a medical professional who can examine your brain for potential injuries. The exam will typically consist of a neurological exam that evaluates thinking, motor function, sensory function, eye movement, reflexes, and coordination.
CT and MRI scans are often used to diagnose traumatic brain injuries. These scans can also detect brain bleeding and assess whether immediate medical or surgical care is required.
While many brain injury victims may go on to recover and lead normal lives, others are not so lucky. Recovery timelines and results for traumatic brain injuries can vary drastically.
Contact An Atlanta Brain Injury Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one have suffered a traumatic brain injury, we urge you to contact a Atlanta brain injury lawyer with Rafi, Brown, and Stokes. You’ll speak with an experienced and compassionate lawyer who will hear the facts of your case, learn about the impact your injury has had on your life, and answer any questions you may have.
They will also explain your legal rights, outline your options, and advise you on your possible next steps. If you decide to move forward with the team at Rafi, Brown, and Stokes, our lawyers will begin an immediate investigation into the cause of your case to determine who must be held accountable.
Our team has extensive experience in handling serious injury cases in the Atlanta area. We’ll consult with accident reconstruction experts, medical professionals, and neurologists that can assess the impact of the brain injury on your life.
When working with the victim of a brain injury, our overarching goal is to pursue fair and just compensation, whether through negotiation or a trial, to cover any damages caused by the injury.
Our firm represents victims on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay a dime in legal fees unless we secure compensation on your behalf.
What Are The Common Causes Of Brain Injuries In Atlanta?
A football field tackle. An accident on I-75. Walking in a public place. These are all common scenes where traumatic brain injuries occur.
Throughout the years, our firm has handled various types of brain injury cases and we know that these injuries can happen anywhere at any time to any person. Regardless of how careful a person is being, brain injuries can occur because of the actions of another person.
Our firm also knows that many traumatic brain injuries could have been prevented if it weren’t for the careless and negligent, or even intentional, wrongdoings of other parties.
Some common causes of brain injuries in Atlanta include:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
The impact from a car crash involving another passenger vehicle, commercial truck, motorcycle, or bicycle can cause a severe brain injury. Whether it’s from exiting the vehicle and hitting the ground or striking one’s head on the steering wheel while being slammed from behind by another vehicle, brain injuries are an unfortunately common result of vehicle accidents.
Slip And Fall Accidents
A fall can occur when a negligent property owner fails to maintain safe and secure conditions on their premises. Allowing hazardous conditions to remain, such as spills, pools of water, ice and snow, debris, torn carpeting, uneven flooring, broken stair rails, and poor lighting, can lead to slip and fall brain injuries.
Sports And Recreational Activities
Traumatic brain injuries can affect anybody at any age. Children are especially at risk for brain injuries when engaging in activities that involve physical contact. While football, soccer, boxing, lacrosse, hockey, and skateboarding are all favored pastimes, they can have horrific consequences. Far too many young athletes simply trying to enjoy playing a sport they love become victims of brain injuries.
Oftentimes, these injuries are the fault of coaches, trainers, and other youth leaders who failed to provide adequate protective equipment. These people can also be held liable if they failed to act appropriately after the injury, such as by alerting parents, emergency medical services, etc.
Medical Negligence And Birth Injuries
Doctors, nurses, midwives, and other delivery and birth professionals have a duty to provide adequate care for a new mother and her baby. However, medical negligence can cause traumatic brain injuries in a newborn.
Cerebral palsy and other permanent disabilities can result from improper use of force or too much pressure on a new baby’s head. These disabilities will affect a child and their family for the rest of their lives.
Falling From A Height
Traumatic brain injuries are often the result of falling from a height. Whether it was from a roof, ladder, scaffolding, or window, these types of falls can lead to severe injuries and complications. Falling from a height often happens in the workplace but also one’s own home.
While a brain injury can happen to anyone, brain injury research shows that the following groups of people are more at risk:
- Children ages newborn to 4 years
- Young adults ages 15 to 24
- Adults ages 60 and up
- Males across all age groups
Results For Victims Of Brain Injuries In Atlanta
After suffering a brain injury, it’s expected that you may feel overwhelmed, angry, and confused. You have every right to feel this way, and you likely have many questions.
- Why did this happen to me?
- How will I pay for recovery expenses, lost wages, and other damages?
- Who caused my injury?
- What are my options?
- How much is my case worth?
- Who can I turn to and rely on in my time of need?
These are all the right questions to ask. The answers can lead you down a path that will help you heal, provide the necessary financial compensation needed to recover, and reclaim your life after a traumatic incident.
An Atlanta brain injury lawyer with Rafi, Brown, and Stokes is deeply committed to seeking the best possible results for victims of brain injuries in the Atlanta area. While other personal injury firms take on as many cases as possible, we do the opposite. We purposefully take on fewer clients so we can devote more time and energy to each case.
Fewer clients mean more compelling arguments, tighter evidence, and attorneys who are more dedicated to fighting for you. When you work with a skilled Atlanta brain injury lawyer with the Rafi, Brown, and Stokes, you know that your case isn’t going to end up in the hands of a less-experienced associate. We like to let our case results speak for themselves.
Here are just a few of the cases we’ve taken on in which we won settlements and verdicts on behalf of our personal injury clients:
- $1.6 million settlement (policy limits) for client hit by car while walking his dog
- $1.25 million settlement for client injured at convenience store
- $1 million settlement (policy limits) for client hit while driving motorcycle
- $1.1 Million settlement for client injured at gas station in Tucker
- $800,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case
No two brain injury cases are the same. To gain an understanding of how much you might be able to recover, schedule a risk-free case evaluation with a top Atlanta brain injury lawyer. They’ll review the facts of your case and give you an honest assessment of it free of charge.
Head Injury Classifications
Injuries to the head are classified as open or closed injuries. A closed head injury is when the brain makes contact with the inside of the skull. An open head injury occurs when the skull is broken, fractured, or pierced by an object. Both closed and open head injuries can cause severe damage, including loss of cognitive functioning and use of the senses.
Closed Head Injuries
Closed head injuries happen when the brain hits the inside of the skull. These types of injuries may result from whiplash or when the head strikes a object. Although there may be no outward physical signs of injury, the brain can swell inside the skull and put pressure on delicate tissues and nerves, causing permanent damage.
Closed head injuries are commonly caused by:
Concussions
A concussion is a mild form of closed brain injury that causes swelling. The brain can usually recover from a concussion; however, the injured person loses consciousness or swelling continues long after the initial injury, serious brain damage may result. Additional concussions, especially sustained before the person fully recovered from the previous one, can be even more devastating and could cause death.
Diffuse injuries
A diffuse axonal injury causes shearing of large nerve fibers and stretching of blood vessels in many areas of the brain. In addition to bleeding, this type of injury can trigger a biochemical cascade of toxic substances in the brain during the days following the initial injury.
Mass lesions
This refers to the specific location of the injury, which can sustain bruising (contusion), blood clots (hematoma), and bleeding (hemorrhage), that put pressure on the brain, causing damage.
Closed head injuries are very serious because if bleeding and swelling inside the brain is not controlled, the brain will be increasingly damaged.
Open Head Injuries
Open head injuries happen when an object pierces or breaks the skull. In addition to damaging the brain, open head injuries typically have open wounds that can become infected and complete the brain injury.
There are 2 primary kinds of open head injuries: skull fractures and penetrating injuries.
Skull fractures
The skull is a bone like others—but it protects your most important asset. So, like other bones, the skull can be fractured or broken. The most dangerous fractures happen at the base of the skull, where the brain gets its blood and oxygen supplies. The most common fracture is called a linear fracture, which is when the skull is cracked or broken. Linear fractures are very dangerous because if a piece of the skull pushes into the brain, the person can be seriously hurt—this type of situation is called a depressed skull fracture. The skull can also be fractured at suture lines, which are where the brain fuse together during birth. The most serious skull fracture, however, is one that occurs at the base of the skull.
Penetrating-skull injuries
This is when an object punctures the skull, travels through it, and makes contact with the brain. Gunshot injuries that enter the brain are penetrating-skull injuries.
What Are The Symptoms of A Traumatic Brain Injury?
Closed and open head injuries can cause a TBI. A TBI occurs when normal brain function is disrupted because of an impact or a loss of blood and oxygen to the brain.
TBIs are often life-changing, resulting in memory loss, paralysis, and cognitive difficulties that require long-term care and rehabilitation. Everyone’s brain and body react differently to brain injuries.
Here are some typical symptoms:
- Loss of consciousness
- Blurry vision or other visual disturbances
- Paralysis
- Confusion
- Slurring or slowed speech
- Lack of focus
- Vomiting
- Loss of memory
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Neck pain
- Tinnitus
Your brain is the most important part of your body. Seek immediate medical attention if you think your brain has been injured in any way. If you have suffered a brain injury, hiring the right lawyer – someone who understands brain injuries and their cases – is extremely important.
Attorney Mike Rafi of Rafi, Brown, and Stokes has personal experience with brain injuries; a close family member had successful brain surgery in 2015. Mike will treat you and your family like you are part of his, and as your Atlanta brain injury lawyer, will do everything he can to help you in your journey of recovery and justice.
What is it Like to Have a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The effects of a traumatic brain injury can be extensive and impact day-to-day life. There are a number of neurological, psychological, and physical consequences. Behavior, quality of life, and physical functions are usually all affected by a TBI.
A person living with a TBI may experience trouble paying attention and focusing, feelings of “fogginess” or confusion, reduced thinking speeds, difficulties with memory, and difficulties completing complex tasks. It’s also extremely common for people living with TBIs to experience depression, anxiety, and severe personality changes.
How Can Our Atlanta Brain Injury Lawyer Help?
Learning to live with the impacts of a TBI can be extremely overwhelming and frustrating to adapt to. In the aftermath of a crisis, it may feel hopeless. Many injury victims are inundated with a mountain of medical bills, recovery expenses, and other costs as they try to return to a semblance of normalcy.
This is where an Atlanta brain injury lawyer can step in to help. At Rafi, Brown, and Stokes, our number one goal is to fight for justice on behalf of victims. This means pursuing the compensation needed to cover the losses you’ve sustained.
When we go to bat for a brain injury victim, we will assess the total impact of the injury on the victim’s life and evaluate what the case may be worth.
Recoverable damages for brain injury victims often include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Surgery costs
- Increased risk of future harm
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Caretaking expenses
- Lost wages and reduction of future earning capacity
- Funeral and burial expenses if a brain injury leads to a fatality
The damages you can recover depend on the severity of your injury. Our skilled brain injury lawyer will investigate the cause of your accident and mount a strong defense for your case. We will work to maximize your damages to ensure you receive a just settlement or verdict in your case.
Brain Injury Questions And Answers
Does Traumatic Brain Injury Qualify For Disability?
In 2016, the Social Security Administration began to include traumatic brain injury as a disabling impairment. Therefore, brain injury victims suffering from long-lasting physical and mental complications are eligible to apply for disability benefits.
To qualify, your medical records must show that your brain injury is severe enough to limit or complicate your ability to work.
How Do You Help Someone With Traumatic Brain Injury?
If you have a friend or loved one suffering from a traumatic brain injury, it’s crucial that you know how difficult it can be to live with such an injury. Encourage them to rest often as they will likely need more time to do things that once required little energy. Refrain from putting them in a position where their TBI could become exacerbated.
You should also encourage them to avoid drinking, smoking, or taking recreational drugs as these could set back their recovery and further damage their brain. If your loved one is showing signs of depression and anxiety, encourage them to seek out professional help and consult with a brain injury lawyer who can evaluate their case.
Are Traumatic Brain Injuries Permanent?
The permanency of a traumatic brain injury depends on the severity of the injury. While over 80% of victims of mild brain injuries will recover and live with no lasting effects, the other 20% will face persistent challenges for possibly the rest of their life.
Moderate to severe brain injuries can have long-lasting and permanent effects on the victim’s life. While it is possible to manage the effects and live a full life, most people with moderate to severe TBIs will need to adapt to their condition and face a new reality following the injury.
Can Someone Fully Recover From Traumatic Brain Injury?
Recovery from a traumatic brain injury is often a long and difficult journey. While people with milder injuries can fully recover, this is typically not the case for victims of brain injuries. Severe to moderate traumatic brain injuries often lead to other motor deficiencies and disabilities that could affect the victim for the rest of their life.
Effects such as paralysis, loss of fine motor skills, vision problems, and difficulties with memory may persist long after the traumatic brain injury has been treated. Brain injury victims must receive the compensation needed to have their best chance at recovering from their injury.
