Few words are as frightening as “brain injury” during your diagnosis or that of a loved one. The brain is the body’s control base and the center of mood, personality, and cognition. Unfortunately, it’s also a highly sensitive mass of delicate nerve cells that do not regenerate when injured. Despite its cushioning layer of fluid and the bony protection of the skull, the human brain is vulnerable to injuries, with permanent impairment as the result.
If you suffered a brain injury in Georgia through no fault of your own, you have the right to seek compensation from the responsible party. Contact the Georgia personal injury lawyers at Marc Brown Law Firm to learn more about your legal options for recovering financial losses.
Why Choose Marc Brown Law Firm for Your Georgia Brain Injury Case?
After suffering a serious brain injury, taking on a personal injury claim against the responsible party may seem overwhelming. Fortunately, with Marc Brown Law Firm, your case has the following:
- Our history of professional, compassionate advocacy and results adds a well-respected voice to your claim
- Our Georgia injury attorneys develop a personalized strategy for every client, rather than relying on a formulaic approach that might not recover the full amount of compensation available to you
- We deliver assertive legal representation—maximizing your compensation is our highest priority
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The brain is subject to injury from blunt force trauma, or from a powerful shaking or jarring motion that causes the brain to bump or twist against the skull. When a brain injury results from trauma caused by outside forces rather than a medical condition, it’s known as a traumatic brain injury, or TBI.
TBIs can cause temporary or permanent symptoms depending on the severity of the injury. While mild TBIs are fully recoverable, severe or catastrophic brain injuries in Georgia and elsewhere can cause cognitive impairment, coma, vegetative state, or wrongful death.
Common Causes of Brain Injuries In Georgia Personal Injury Claims
Studies indicate that falls are the leading cause of brain injury deaths, followed by traffic-related accidents.
The most common causes of TBIs in Georgia include the following:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Falls from heights
- Truck accidents
- Contact sports
- Work injuries
Although brain injuries that cause cell death are permanent, the brain can learn to adapt by forging new pathways. Serious brain injuries require specialized therapies to maximize the patient’s recovery.
What Are the Most Common Types of Brain Injuries?
Fortunately, the most common traumatic brain injuries are concussions with temporary symptoms and the victim’s full recovery; however, even a mild concussion has adverse physical, emotional, and financial impacts. A more serious brain injury can result in permanent impairment. The most common types of TBIs in Georgia brain injury cases include the following:
- Concussions, or swelling in a region of the brain that has sustained trauma from an impact
- Contusions, or bruising in the brain, caused by small amounts of blood leaking from the tiny blood vessels
- Hematoma, or a pooling of blood or a clot that forms inside the skull, either between the brain and skull or inside the brain
- Coup-Contrecoup injuries, or injury to one side of the brain and on the opposite side, due to a powerful impact that caused the brain to bump back and forth or from side to side inside the skull
- Diffuse axonal injury (DAI), or a diffuse spread of injury throughout the brain, caused by severe trauma, bursting of tiny blood vessels, and inflammation
Doctors commonly categorize brain injuries as closed or penetrating injuries. The brain injuries above are closed. Some brain injury cases involve penetrating injuries and skull fractures, caused by trauma that breaks through the skull, leaving an open wound.
What Are the Symptoms of a Brain Injury?
It’s crucial to undergo a complete medical assessment after any serious head injury. Sometimes, brain injuries do not show immediate symptoms, but instead, symptoms develop hours or even days later as bleeding, bruising, and inflammation occur inside the brain. The most common symptoms of brain injuries include the following:
- Loss of consciousness after a head injury
- Confusion or memory loss
- Headaches that worsen in severity
- Vision problems, including blurred vision or double vision
- Slurred speech or difficulty retrieving words
- Numbness and tingling in the extremities
- Nausea and vomiting
- Difficulty with memory and concentration
- Ringing in the ears
- Balance and coordination problems
- Changes in mood and personality
A prompt diagnosis and treatment can be the key to maximizing recovery after a serious brain injury. For example, medical providers may remove pressure from the brain by draining fluid or may induce a medical coma so the brain can rest and focus on healing.
Less serious brain injuries like mild concussions require medical intervention to relieve the symptoms and monitoring to ensure a more serious brain injury doesn’t develop.
Possible Compensation In a Georgia Brain Injury Claim
Depending on the severity of a brain injury, the damages could be a single emergency room bill and a few days of lost pay for a concussion, or a lifetime of partial or total disability for a catastrophic brain injury. Depending on the unique circumstances of the case, an injury victim could recover compensation such as:
- Past and future medical expenses and therapy costs
- Out-of-pocket expenses for adaptive equipment, travel to see specialists, and home health assistance
- Past and future income loss
- Reduced earning ability due to disability
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury compensation for permanent harm
If a loved one died from a preventable brain injury in Georgia, the wrongful death lawyers at Marc Brown Law Firm can help a close family member recover compensation and a sense of justice for their grief and anguish.
What Is the Claim Process for a Traumatic Brain Injury Case In Georgia?
A Georgia brain injury lawyer navigates your claim against the at-fault party’s appropriate insurance company, such as auto insurance after a car accident, or property insurance after a staircase accident. When you hire Marc Brown Law Firm, we handle all communication with the insurance company, document compelling evidence of liability through a skilled investigation, and carefully calculate your past and future damages to recover the maximum compensation through a settlement or in court. Call or contact a Georgia brain injury lawyer today for more information on your case.