If you are like most Americans, you appreciate on some level how daunting and even horrific sustaining a brain injury can be, how a traumatic brain injury can upend a person’s life. If you are also like most people in the United States, you may be unaware of how commonplace brain injuries of all types, including TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) are in this day and age. The reality is that on any given day, you and your loved ones are at risk of sustaining a brain injury as the result of the negligence of some other person. The prevalence of brain injuries caused by the negligence, recklessness, or even intentional conduct of some other party is why Brain Injury Attorneys is here for you. You can reach us not or at any time convenient for you by calling 800-337-7436.
Shocking Brain Injury Statistics
Every 23 seconds in the United States, a person sustains a brain injury. Approximately 1.7 million people in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury annually. About 1.4 million Americans are treated in emergency rooms for TBIs but do not require long-term hospitalization. Had a considerable percentage of these individuals not promptly obtained medical treatment, their traumatic brain injuries would have become more severe, in some cases even deadly.
5.4 million people in the United States are estimated to be living with disabilities associated with a traumatic brain injury. The lifetime cost for a person with more serious traumatic brain injury typically is more than $4 million.
Approximately 61,000 people across the country will die as the result of a traumatic brain injury this year alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thousands and thousands of other individuals will be injured because of brain injuries, and oftentimes very seriously so.
Perhaps the most shocking statistic of all is that the vast majority of traumatic brain injuries did not have to happen in the first place. These types of injuries are so often completely avoidable except for the negligence or careless conduct of someone else.
Understanding a Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury occurs when there is a violent jolt or blow to a person’s head, according to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. There are also penetrating traumatic brain injuries in which a projective goes through the skull and into the brain.
Other Types of Brain Injury
There are other types of brain injuries beyond those associated with trauma. These other brain injuries involve deprivation of oxygen. While most adults who experience brain injury because of trauma, most brain injuries associated with the birth process involve oxygen deprivation.
Most Frequently Occurring Types of Traumatic Brain Injury Accidents
There are a number of accidents and other types of incidents caused by the negligence of another party that result in traumatic brain injuries, including severe and fatal TBIs. Negligence legally is defined as a situation in which a party has what is known as a legal duty of care, breaches that duty of care, causing another person to sustain injuries. Examples of accidents and other incidents that result in traumatic brain injury include:
- Automobile accidents
- Workplace accidents, particularly construction and manufacturing accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Sports and recreational injuries
- Explosive incidents
- Combat incidents
- Labor, delivery, and birth medical errors
- Other medical errors
Car accidents, falls, and acts of violence are the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries.
The Compensation You Deserve After a Traumatic Brain Injury
If you or a loved one suffer a traumatic brain injury as the result of someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or even intentional conduct, justice for your losses can never be fully complete. The best that can be done is to obtain financial recompense in an amount that appropriately compensates you for your injuries, damages, and losses.
Computing financial compensation is a challenging task. The surest way of successfully obtaining the money you deserve following an accident that resulted in a TBI is to retain the services of a skilled, tenacious, experienced brain injury lawyer.
Possible compensation for a traumatic brain injury depends upon the facts and circumstances of the accident or incident giving rise to the brain damage. Compensation is also dependent upon the nature and extent of the brain injury itself. With this understood, common examples of losses for which compensation is sought in a brain injury claim or lawsuit include:
- Medical bills and expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Short-term disability
- Long-term disability
- Permanent disability
- Lost wages
In a claim or case involving a brain injury, financial compensation is paid not only for existing or current losses but also those that are reasonably expected to occur into the future. The reality is that injuries, damages, and losses associated with a brain injury can persist for what may prove to be an extended period of time. Examples of these types of ongoing and reasonably foreseeable damages include:
- Medical care and treatment, including rehabilitation
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Disability
In some cases, a brain injury attorney may be able to seek what are known as punitive damages in a TBI lawsuit. Punitive damages are additional financial compensation. Punitive damages successfully can be sought when the actions of the party that cause the accident or incident that caused a brain injury are considered particularly reckless. Punitive damages are designed not only to provide additional money to an injured individual but to serve as a form of punishment for particularly egregious conduct.
The Death of Loved One: Fatal Brain Injuries
As mentioned previously, thousands of people die each year as the result of a brain injury, 50,000 such cases attributed to trauma of some sort. If you’ve lost a family member as the result of a brain injury, there are some important facts you need to bear in mind.
Close family members, like spouses or children (as well as some other relatives depending on the facts and circumstances of a person’s death) have the legal right to pursue what is known as a brain injury wrongful death case. An experienced brain injury lawyer can explain to you the legalities of pursuing a wrongful death claim and lawsuit.
Depending on the specific facts surrounding a family member’s death, compensation may be available for a number of losses that include:
- Medical bills
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Lost companionship
- Lost income or lost support
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Pain and suffering (endured by the deceased family member)
As is the case with a brain injury personal injury lawsuit, in some instances a claim may be made for punitive damages. Punitive damages may be available in a wrongful death case if the conduct of the party that caused the brain injury is deemed to be particularly egregious or reckless.
Get a Fighter on Your Side: A Tenacious Brain Injury Attorney and the Justice You Deserve
The first step in best protecting your vital legal interests following an accident or other type of incident that results in a traumatic brain injury is to schedule what is known as an initial consultation with an experienced brain injury lawyer. An initial consultation with a (insert name of law firm_ brain injury lawyer gives you the opportunity to obtain answers to any questions you may have. You will also receive a full evaluation of your claim or case. You can schedule an initial consultation and case evaluation by calling our firm at 800-337-7436. There is no obligation and no cost for an initial consultation with a brain injury lawyer.
