Stockton Brain Injury Lawyer

Few injuries have the same physical, emotional, and financial impact as mild or severe traumatic brain injury. When trauma to the head is caused by the negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct of an individual, government entity, or business, the injured party has a legal right to financial compensation. Whether the damage to your brain results from a car accident, tractor-trailer collision, construction accident, or a fall on a wet floor, the consequences can include permanent disability from employment and limitations on your ability to care for your family.

If you or a loved one suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by negligent conduct, your TBI could adversely impact your mobility, cognitive functioning, and sensation. Because of the long-term consequences of a mild or severe TBI, you need an experienced legal representative to recover fair personal injury compensation on your behalf.  The Stockton brain injury lawyers at AutoAccident.com have a track record of success, extensive experience, and empathy and compassion towards those who have suffered brain trauma due to negligence. Call us anytime to set up a free case evaluation at (209) 227-1931.

If your brain is damaged when you experience a head injury, this is a “traumatic brain injury.” Generally, there are two significant categories of traumatic brain injury:

• Open (Penetrating) Head Injury: This type of injury occurs when an object penetrates the skull and enters the brain. Skull fractures that cause a piece of the skull bone to penetrate the brain constitute the most common type of open head injury.  Open head injuries frequently are caused by motor vehicle accidents or falling accidents.

• Closed Head Injury: With this type of head injury, there is no actual penetration of the skull. The injury occurs when a sudden, violent motion causes the brain to impact the hard interior of the skull.  Car accidents are common causes of head injuries and often occur when a vehicle occupant’s head strikes the steering wheel, windshield, or airbag.  Common forms of closed head injuries include focal traumatic injury, meaning the trauma occurs in one area, and diffuse axonal injury, where tissues and cells of the brain are affected.

Damage to the brain that results from a head injury can take several forms:

• Tearing of the Brain: Small tears occur when the brain is injured. The tears are microscopic and typically unobservable in an MRI or CT scan.

• Bruising (Bleeding): When the brain is injured, blood vessels can tear. This causes blood to pool within the brain and exact pressure on brain tissue.  This pressure can cause the affected brain tissue to die off, so the functioning of the brain is impaired.

• Cerebral Edema (Brain Swelling): When the body recognizes that the brain has been injured, extra blood will be routed to the brain to facilitate healing, which causes swelling. Since there is limited space within the skull, this swelling also inflicts pressure that can damage areas of the brain.  These damaged areas of the brain might cease functioning.

The video below provides a brief overview of traumatic brain injuries and types of therapy for TBIs.

There are many causes of TBIs that might arise from negligent or intentional conduct.  This type of injury can happen during a traumatic event, such as a motor vehicle accident or a slip and fall.  A series of repetitive concussions can also cause a TBI.  Repeated trauma to the head that causes TBI have been recently linked to sport injury accidents from football and boxing.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate the most common causes of a TBI include:

• Falls - 5 percent
• Motor Vehicle Accidents - 3 percent
• Struck by/Struck Against - 5 percent
• Unknown Cause - 19 percent
• Assaults - 10 percent

Beyond these general statistics, many types of negligent conduct can cause accidents resulting in a traumatic brain injury. Negligence that contributes to many accident-related head injuries includes the following:

• Defective airbag deployment
• Distracted driving
• Alcohol or drug-impaired driving
• Violating traffic safety laws (e.g., ignoring the right of way rules, tailgating, unsafe lane changes, etc.)
• Falls from scaffoldings or ladders on construction jobs
• Failure of bicyclist or motorcyclist to wear helmets
• Medical malpractice during childbirth (e.g., birth injuries, cerebral palsy)
• Improper safety practices during sports activities
• Anesthesiology errors during surgical procedures
• Physical attacks due to negligent security
• Fatigued truck drivers
• Rollover accidents
• Vehicle ejections
• Improper safety practices in nursing homes
• Defective products

These are just a few examples of conduct that can contribute to severe brain injury.  An experienced Stockton traumatic brain injury attorney can help hold an individual, government entity, or company financially accountable for a TBI when there is a failure to exercise reasonable care to prevent causing foreseeable harm. In some cases, the failure of the victim to undertake reasonable safety precautions like wearing a seat belt or helmet can reduce the recovery in a personal injury lawsuit.

According to the CDC, although most people do not anticipate being involved in an accident that causes a brain injury, TBIs constitute a significant cause of disability and account for thirty percent of all injury-related deaths in the United States.  Approximately 138 people throughout the nation suffer fatal brain injuries daily.  TBIs play a role in about 50,000 deaths, 280,000 hospitalizations, and 2.2 million emergency room visits annually.  Further, the prevalence of this type of debilitating injury appears to be on the rise because TBI-related emergency room visits increased by seventy percent, and hospitalizations rose by eleven percent over a recent ten-year period.

Tragically, severe head injuries impact the most vulnerable populations, such as children and the elderly.  The age group most likely to suffer a TBI is adults over 65. Falls are the most common cause of fatal traumatic brain injuries among seniors.  Motor vehicle collisions were the most common cause of death for people ages 5-24.

While insurance claims and lawsuits might not be your first concern if you or a loved one experiences a severe head injury caused by an intoxicated driver, the staggering cost associated with TBIs can be financially devastating.  According to the CDC, the average lifetime cost of a TBI has been estimated to range between $85,000 and $3 million.  Stockton brain injury attorney Ed Smith is prepared to investigate the facts of your situation, gather evidence, and pursue the fullest recovery, so you can afford the best medical care and highest post-injury quality of life.

In the meantime, if you need immediate help, counseling, or brain injury support, San Joaquin Delta College Disabled Support program may be of assistance. They are located at 5151 Pacific Avenue in Stockton. Their telephone number is 209-954-5330.