When the brain suffers an injury, the effects can be pervasive, affecting multiple body systems, including balance, coordination, mood, personality, concentration, speech, memory, and cognitive function. A brain injury may have serious adverse effects on all aspects of the injury victim’s life.
But how do you prove a brain injury that isn’t always visible, and what evidence is necessary to demonstrate the at-fault party’s liability so their insurance pays a settlement for your damages? These common questions address what makes a St. Louis brain injury claim a complex process.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Brain Injuries?
When a brain injury occurs through an accident and not from a medical condition, such as a stroke, it’s a traumatic brain injury. The brain may suffer an injury from blunt force trauma, penetrating wounds, or a violent jarring or shaking that causes the brain to bump against the inside of the skull. The most common causes of brain injuries in Missouri or elsewhere include the following:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Commercial truck accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Contact sports injuries
- Recreational activities like skiing, skating, and horseback riding
- Hypoxic brain injuries from near-drownings or medical malpractice
- Workplace injuries
- Anesthesia errors
- Birth Injuries
After suffering a head injury, it’s crucial to seek medical help as soon as possible so your medical provider can identify and treat your brain injury. The medical report with details of your injuries, your doctor’s treatment recommendations, your prognosis, and the anticipated economic damages becomes crucial evidence in a brain injury claim.
How Do You Prove a Traumatic Brain Injury?
When the brain suffers a serious injury, the impacts aren’t always outwardly visible. The brain is the body’s control center and the source of all thought, mood, problem-solving, and personality. When it sustains an injury, the injury victim may experience impacts on some or all of those areas. One complex aspect of a successful brain injury claim is proving that the brain suffered an injury and the impacts of the injury. This requires evidence such as the following:
- Medical reports, including medical imaging, hospitalization records, and physicians’ notes
- Copies of medical bills, invoices, and receipts
- Physical, speech, and/or occupational therapy records and receipts
- Receipts for out-of-pocket costs for home assistance, adaptive equipment, and travel to see specialists
Medical expert testimony is often required in brain injury litigation, not only to prove that the injury occurred and the extent of its effects, but also to interpret medical data to an insurance adjuster evaluating the case during settlement negotiations or to a judge and jury in court.
Proving Liability for a Brain Injury Claim
Just because you prove that your brain injury damages are real, does not mean your claim against the at-fault party will be easy and straightforward. Often, the insurance company of the at-fault party fights to disprove its client’s liability or shifts liability to the injury victim. It takes an experienced investigator to prove that the party responsible for the brain injury is liable for damages. The evidence presented to an insurer must demonstrate the following:
- The at-fault party owed a duty of care to the injury victim
- They breached this duty of care through negligence.
- The breach of duty caused the injury
- The injury victim suffered damages from the injury
The liable party is legally responsible for compensating the injury victim and their family. Most brain injury claims end with a settlement, especially when the victim has an experienced attorney representing them. Only about 4% of personal injury claims, like brain injury cases, require litigation in court.