St. Louis Brain Injury Attorney

A brain injury or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most frightening injuries a person can sustain. Even a minor brain injury must be treated as an emergency since the consequences can rapidly become more severe if the injury is left untreated. Victims of brain injuries often require extensive medical treatment, including brain surgery. Even with the proper treatment, victims may never regain what they lost due to the injury. Getting the help from a St. Louis brain injury lawyer can make the path toward recovery easier to manage.

How Our St. Louis Brain Injury Lawyers Can Help

At Miller & Hine law firm, a team of knowledgeable and experienced personal injury lawyers is ready to help you pursue compensation for your suffering. Your attorney will work diligently to address every legal requirement for filing. We will thoroughly investigate all aspects of your injury to prove liability and compel the appropriate insurance company to offer an ample settlement for your claim. An investigation may include:

• Reviewing the police report or accident report about your injury
• Determining the liable party
• Talking to brain injury experts about the long-term impacts of your injury
• Gathering evidence to support your claim by proving liability on the part of the party at fault
• Interviewing eyewitnesses to your accident

Your attorney will enter into negotiations with your insurance company with your best interests as their highest priority in order to maximize your settlement. If an agreeable settlement isn’t reached, your brain injury attorney is fully ready and willing to take the matter before a judge and jury in courtroom litigation.

Most brain injury cases settle out of court through evidence-based negotiations with the insurance company. Only about 5% of cases require a full lawsuit in court. If this happens, it may involve more time and effort, but court awards tend to be higher than settlements.

Call Miller & Hine today at (314) 413-2053 or visit our contact form to arrange a free consultation with an experienced St. Louis brain injury attorney.

Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Every year, an average of 2.5 million people suffer brain injuries. Traumatic Brain Injuries are most common in young men between ages 15-24, but they also occur in the elderly population and children under age 5. The most common causes of TBIs are those that most often impact people in these age groups. Most brain injuries are caused by the following:

• Falls
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Athletic injuries
• Violent assaults and gunfire
• Explosions

Traumatic brain injuries may result from blunt force trauma, sudden violent shaking, or penetrating injuries such as gunshots. When the delicate tissues of the brain bump against the bony inner surface of the skull, the tissue may bruise, bleed, swell, or tear. Injuries to brain cells have long-lasting or permanent consequences. Brain cell regeneration is an area of medicine that remains unclear. The brain has to rewire itself to regain lost function and in many cases, victims of severe brain injuries never fully recover but may live with varying degrees of impairment and brain damage.

Common Types of Brain Injuries

Brain injuries are commonly divided into two types: Open (penetrating) brain injuries and closed injuries. Concussions are the most common type of closed brain injury, ranging from mild to severe. While most people fully recover from a concussion, studies show that repeated concussions may lead to a form of dementia later in life. Other common brain injuries include:

• Diffuse axonal injury, which is caused by the tearing of the connecting fibers in the brain as it shifts or twists within the skull due to sudden force
• Brain hemorrhages
• Intracranial hematomas
• Contusions (bruises on the brain)
• Coup-contrecoup brain injury: this occurs when a powerful force causes the front of the brain to hit the bones inside the skull with such force that it bounces back and also bumps against the back of the skull causing injuries in two places.

Brain injuries can cause an array of impairments depending on the part of the brain that’s injured and the severity of the injury. While brain cells cannot regenerate once damaged, with intense therapy, the brain may rewire itself to use new portions of the brain to compensate for the damaged areas. Recovery from traumatic brain injuries which leave areas of the brain damaged can vary greatly between individuals but treatment is long-term and costly. A successful claim for compensation after a preventable brain injury opens the door to the best medical care to maximize physical recovery.

Consequences of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries can have catastrophic consequences for the victim. The severity of a brain injury depends on many factors, including the force of impact on the head or body, and the nature of the injury itself. For example, the consequences of a minor concussion, typically won’t be as severe as a coup-contrecoup brain injury, which is caused by the brain colliding with the inside walls of the skull.

Nevertheless, if you believe that you or someone you care about has sustained a brain injury of any severity, seek immediate medical attention. The injury must be thoroughly evaluated by a qualified physician and treated as soon as possible to mitigate the consequences.

What to Do If You’ve Experienced a Brain Injury

Experiencing a brain injury is a terrifying experience for anyone whether it’s a concussion or a more serious long-term injury. You might feel confused and helpless. By taking some important steps during your recovery period you can take back some control and improve your outcome. After suffering a brain injury it’s important to remember the following tips:

• Tell your doctor about any new or developing symptoms during the days and weeks after a brain injury
• Get a good night’s sleep each night and plenty of rest during the day. The brain needs rest in order to heal
• Resist returning to physically demanding activities too soon, and return to your normal activities gradually and only after your doctor clears you
• Be sure your employer knows about your brain injury and is willing to give you light duties during your early days back on the job
• If you have difficulty remembering, try immediately writing down anything you’ll need to remember later
• Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs
• Avoid lengthy television-watching sessions and don’t play video games during the early weeks after recovery
• Avoid plane rides and extensive travel soon after a brain injury
• Focus on one task at a time if you are easily distracted

Remember, the brain requires rest and relaxation in order to recover to the greatest possible extent. Avoid stress and make self-care a priority after a brain injury.

Compensation in a St. Louis Brain Injury Case

Brain injury victims often suffer physical and mental damages while having to deal with medical, financial, and legal challenges. But those whose traumatic brain injury is the result of someone else’s negligence may be entitled to substantial compensation for their injuries and financial losses.

Our St. Louis brain injury lawyers will work with you and your family to help navigate the personal injury claims process to recover monetary compensation through a brain injury lawsuit. While monetary compensation won’t undo the pain and suffering you and your family have endured, it can help pay for treatment, rehabilitation, and any other costs associated with your traumatic brain injury.

What Damages Can I Gain in a Brain Injury Case?

When the actions or negligence of another party causes an accident leading to a brain injury, the injured person is entitled to compensation for their economic and non-economic losses. If you or a family member suffered a traumatic brain injury and someone else is liable, you could gain compensation for damages such as:

• Medical expenses
• Future medical expenses for ongoing care or treatments
• Lost wages and any future lost earnings
• Diminished earning capacity in the event of a disability or impairment caused by the injury
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium (the ability to enjoy all aspects of relationships with loved ones)
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Mental anguish

While economic losses are tangible and easily calculated, non-economic losses are sometimes even more damaging to those who’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury. Injured victims deserve compensation for both types of significant damages.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Brain Injury?

Brain injuries are commonly caused by accidents, whether a car accident, a slip-and-fall accident, a sports injury or another unexpected traumatic or violent event. If the accident that caused the injury directly resulted from the negligence, recklessness, or wrongdoing of another party, that person or entity can be held liable for damages suffered by the injury victim. Proving liability requires showing the following:

• That the person at fault owed a duty of care to the victim; for instance, a driver owes a duty of care to keep others sharing the roads safe by following traffic laws and driving responsibly, and a shop owner owes patrons a duty to care to prevent fall hazards on their property
• That the at-fault person breached their duty of care through an act of negligence or wrongdoing
• That the breach directly caused the brain injury
• That the injury victim suffered damages as a result of the traumatic brain injury

Once the evidence clearly proves liability, the person at fault for the injury owes compensation for damages, typically paid through their insurance company.

How Long Do I Have to File a Brain Injury Case?

Missouri has a generous time limit for filing personal injury cases, including those for brain injuries. The state’s statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim is 5 years from the date of the accident or five years from the date the injured person discovered their injury. This statute helps to preserve the quality of evidence and prevents plaintiffs from facing long, ongoing threats of lawsuits.

What to Do After Sustaining a Brain Injury in St. Louis

After sustaining a traumatic brain injury, you should visit an emergency room or medical facility immediately to have a qualified healthcare professional assess the injury, take steps to mitigate the damage, and officially document the injury for any future injury claim you might file.

You should then gather as much evidence as possible to document your head injury and the accident that caused it, whether that be a slip and fall accident, motor vehicle accident, workplace accident, etc.

This evidence may include:

• Medical records
• Police reports
• First responder reports
• Photos and videos
• Personal written accounts
• Eyewitness testimony
• Other documents, statements, and records

Also, keep a journal of the treatment you receive as well as the difficulties and challenges you have to deal with as a result of your injury. All of this will assist your traumatic brain injury attorney in building a strong case for compensation.

Finally, it is important to seek out and hire an experienced St. Louis brain injury lawyer to assist you with your personal injury lawsuit. At Miller & Hine law firm, a team of knowledgeable and experienced personal injury lawyers is ready to help you pursue compensation for your suffering. Visit our contact page or call us today at (314) 413-2053 to arrange a free consultation where you can learn more about how our law firm can help you.