Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys
A head injury, or traumatic brain injury (TBI), is any type of trauma to the head that results in an injury to the skull, brain or scalp. Trauma is the leading cause of death in the United States for people between the ages of 1 and 44, and it is the third leading cause of death overall.
When hiring a personal injury attorney to represent a person who has suffered a traumatic head injury, it is necessary that the attorney have knowledge of head injuries. The team of attorneys at Epperly & Follis, P.C., located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, has handled head injury cases, and understands the unique problems of a head injury victim.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Brain injuries can range from mild to severe, and can be classified as closed-head injuries, or open-head injuries. An open-head injury is when the object that has made contact with the head breaks through the skill and enters the brain. Statistics show that there are approximately 1.5 million brain injuries reported each year in the United States, and of those, approximately 52,000 in death.
Many head injuries could have been prevented, but because of the negligence of someone else, a personal injury results.
The most common types of brain injuries are:
- Concussion: an alteration of consciousness, transient or prolonged, due to a blow to the head that may be followed by transient amnesia, vertigo, nausea, and weak pulse.
- Anoxic brain injury: caused when the oxygen supply to the brain is cut off.
- Traumatic brain injury: results from rapid acceleration and deceleration of the brain, including shearing (tearing) of nerve fibers, contusion (bruising) of the brain tissue against the skull, brain stem injuries, and edema (swelling).
Will I Be Able To Recover Damages?
Car accidents are the leading cause of brain injuries in the U.S., and most of the accidents are due to negligence. If negligence is the cause, the victim may be entitled to recover damages, including all current and future medical costs, property damage, pain and suffering, loss of current and future earnings, loss of enjoyment and in some cases, punitive damages.
What Are the Symptoms of a Brain Injury?
While many accidents do not result in death or serious injury, other accidents dramatically affect victims for the rest of their lives. The long-term effects of a traumatic brain or head injury can include cognitive deficits, reduction in motor skills and physical deficits, which can include walking, balance and coordination, fine motor skills and strength.
Cognitive deficits include difficulty in language and communication, information processing, memory and perceptual skills. Many victims exhibit changes in their personality (such as mood swings) and major lifestyle changes. Loss of short- and long-term memory can often result from head injuries. Other symptoms that affect a brain injury victim might include emotional problems, speech complications, loss of sensations, seizures, paralysis, coma or even death.
After a brain injury, doing things that once seemed easy become extremely difficult. A great deal of mental effort is usually required to do things that once required little or no effort before the injury. Work, school and personal relationships suffer. The injured party often becomes less efficient at their job and they become unpredictable, unreliable, and sometimes violent.
We Are Here to Help
Through experience and education, the attorneys of Epperly & Follis, P.C. are able to evaluate traumatic brain injuries and successfully pursue claims on behalf of the injured plaintiff. It is always important to consult with an attorney regarding brain injury cases. There are many times when a victim may not be aware of their legal rights, but Epperly & Follis, P.C. lawyers will investigate the facts and determine whether or not you have a right to compensation, and in most cases you will have that right. Additionally, depending on the extent of your injury, you may have a right to public or private benefits such as Social Security disability, Medicare, or private disability insurance payments.
At Epperly & Follis, P.C., our attorneys concentrate on catastrophic personal injury cases against major defendants such as nursing homes, hospitals, insurance companies, product manufacturers, corporations and municipalities. We do not approach our cases as mere jobs, but as causes in which larger issues are at stake – causes in which our firm’s lawyers invest personal dedication to see that justice is done. We can help you make informed decisions, so please contact the traumatic brain injury law firm at Epperly & Follis, P.C. in Richmond, Virginia at 1-888-703-0109 or (804) 648-6480, or contact us via our online Contact Form.