A New York personal injury lawyer, our see many crash victims living with serious, lasting injuries. This often includes back and neck injuries, spinal cord injuries, or traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). We know how frequently car accidents cause brain injuries and how these injuries affect our clients and their families.
If you or a loved one suffers a brain injury following a car crash, a collision attorney will know how to handle your case and seek compensation on your behalf. You could hold the at-fault driver legally responsible for any serious injuries you suffered.
- Brain Injuries Are Common After Serious Car Accidents
- Crash Injuries Often Leave Victims With Severe Brain Injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Among the Most Expensive Crash Injuries
- What Rights Does a Victim Have After Car Accident Brain Injuries?
- Discuss Your Car Accident and Brain Injuries With Our Team
Brain Injuries Are Common After Serious Car Accidents
The forces that occur in a crash are known to cause injury to almost any part of the body. While advancements in safety technology have reduced the severity of injuries and fatalities in many types of crashes, injuries still occur. This includes a wide range of traumatic brain injuries, from concussions to coup-contrecoup injuries (i.e., injury remote from, and classically opposite to, the actual site of impact to the head,) to severe penetrating trauma and skull fractures.
Seatbelts and airbags often prevent the head from striking the steering wheel, windshield, or window. However, head injuries still occur from the whipping of the head back and forth or from a sudden blow to the head. This often leads to brain injury, serious complications, lasting impairments, or even death.
Even relatively minor brain trauma, known as concussions, require medical evaluation and could keep the victim out of work and other activities for a week or longer. They occur in rear-end crashes, minor fender benders, and more serious accidents.
Common Types of Brain Injury Symptoms That Could Entitle You to Compensation
Any type of brain injury could cause permanent damage. If you get treated right away, you might be able to avoid suffering a long-term brain injury.
After an accident, seek medical care in the emergency department for any of the following symptoms:
- Blurred vision or double vision
- Loss of balance
- Memory loss
- Nausea
- Seizures
- Loss of consciousness
After you have been treated, your lawyer will explain your legal options for recovering an accident settlement.
For a free legal consultation, call 516-932-0400
Crash Injuries Often Leave Victims With Severe Brain Injuries
Some brain injuries cause only temporary bruising, leading to headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, and other symptoms. Others cause a wide range of lasting complications, difficulties, and disabilities. The outcome of TBIs varies widely, with some patients recovering and returning to most or all their previous activities while others lose mobility, independence, and self-care skills.
When someone suffers a brain injury that permanently damages the parts of their brain that handle coordination and movement, they struggle to relearn to walk, feed themselves, or manage their own daily activities. Some suffer significant cognitive impairments following a TBI.
Some crash victims do not return to their previous jobs after a brain injury because of lasting impairments—whether physical, cognitive, or psychological. Many people simply cannot manage the tasks they could before because of reduced attention span and difficulties with concentration. Some take different jobs, while others do not return to the workforce due to their injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Among the Most Expensive Crash Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are expensive to treat and rehabilitate.. Our lawyers see this firsthand when we handle collision cases for clients. We represent victims who suffered head injuries in truck accidents, bicycle accidents, Uber accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other traffic collisions. We understand how much it often costs to get treatment and rehabilitation for a brain injury. Living with a lasting impairment because of a TBI is also, potentially, extremely costly.
Anyone with signs of a brain injury following a collision should seek medical care immediately. Most who have serious brain injuries require hospitalization. Some need to be transferred to a trauma center, incurring additional costs. Acute stabilization and initial treatment usually last a few days to several weeks. Some patients are in a coma during some of this time and require critical care unit (CCU) care.
Once the crash victim is through the acute treatment phase, they likely need therapy or rehabilitation. Many with car accident TBIs go to inpatient rehabilitation. Depending on their injuries and needs, this could last several weeks or several months. Rehabilitation and therapy often focus on:
- Rebuilding muscle strength
- Regaining flexibility
- Relearning basic skills
- Learning to walk
- Speech therapy
- Occupational therapy
The brain heals slowly. It usually takes a year or more for someone living with a brain injury to reach their full recovery. Some take even longer. During this time, they will likely be out of work, need to adapt their home for their new impairments and take other steps to improve their mobility and independence. These costs quickly compound.
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What Rights Does a Victim Have After Car Accident Brain Injuries?
When a crash victim suffers serious injuries in a collision caused by someone else, they have a right to seek and secure compensation based on the crash facts. This means you could file a fault-based case to show how negligence and liability falls on the other driver. You could recover damages that include:
- Medical care and related expenses
- Ongoing and long-term medical support
- Income losses
- Diminished earning capacity
- Related expenses and losses with documentation
- Physical pain and suffering
There is a limited time to file a lawsuit based on traffic accident injuries. If you miss the deadline set by New York Civil Practice Laws & Rules § 214, you could lose the right to recover compensation in the case. Depending upon the particular facts of your accident, an even shorter statute of limitations may apply to your case. It is important to note that claims and lawsuits have other deadlines in addition to the applicable statute of limitations. There are also practical time considerations, such as gathering evidence, that make acting promptly the most prudent course of action to protect your rights. Evidence such as dashcam and surveillance video or witness statements, for example, may become more difficult or even impossible to obtain after too much time passes. As time is of the essence, you should consider hiring a motor vehicle accident lawyer right away. You can learn about the statute of limitations and other deadlines that apply to your case in a free, no-obligation consultation with our law firm. We will advise you as to your options so you can decide how you wish to proceed.
How Your Motor Vehicle Collision Lawyer Will Handle Your Case
If you are living with a lasting brain injury or underwent extensive, expensive care and rehabilitation after your accident, an attorney will serve as a passionate advocate fighting for the money you deserve. Count on your attorney to:
- Keep you updated on your case and answer your questions
- Identify liable parties and build a case against them
- Communicate with all parties for you
- Gather evidence
- Determine a value for your case
- Fight relentlessly to win the best possible case outcome for you
Your attorney will demand appropriate compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier and prepare the case for a jury trial. They have the knowledge and experience to know how to navigate this process for you while you heal.
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Discuss Your Car Accident and Brain Injuries With Our Team
At Friedman & Simon, L.L.P., our team provides free consultations to car accident victims within our service area. Our car accident team meets people on Long Island or elsewhere in the New York metropolitan area for a discussion about their accident, brain injury, and other details of the case.
Call today for a free consultation or use our online contact form to connect with our team.
Call or text 516-932-0400 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form