Phoenix Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
Attorney Representation in Phoenix, Arizona Since 1996
Traumatic Brain Injuries Caused by the Negligent Actions of Another
Arizona brain injury lawyers help victims of closed head injury and other brain injuries on a regular basis. Helping those who have suffered serious head trauma presents unique challenges even for the most experienced, top injury lawyers for brain injury victims throughout the state of Arizona.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a diagnosis that occurs after an injury to the brain that is caused by a traumatic event. Traumatic brain injuries from car accidents and falls account for the diagnosis in more than 70% of brain injury victims. Based on statistics, males sustain traumatic brain injuries more than females, although this could partly be explained by brain injuries not caused by car accidents, such as violence and contact sports. In our country, there are about 2,000,000 brain injury victims per year. Serious brain injuries are sustained in approximately 10% of the cases and 80% of the brain injuries turn out to be mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries. Athletes are also more at risk than most groups of people to sustain a traumatic brain injury. Other groups of individuals that are more at risk for incurring a traumatic brain injury include toddlers and the elderly. Individuals who live in high crime rates also sustain traumatic brain injuries more than most individuals. That is probably attributable more toward violent activities than such things as car accidents, trucking accidents or motorcycle accidents.
Traumatic brain injuries are more likely to occur after an individual has sustained multiple concussions. The brain is likely to take longer to heal once a person has sustained a previous concussion. Neurologists are just beginning to publish research about the previously ignored long term and permanent affects of concussion and mild traumatic brain injury after an auto accident or other traumatic event.
Traumatic brain injuries can occur in many different ways. We have represented many individuals who have sustained traumatic brain injuries, and these injuries occur in trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and car accidents in Arizona. Many people wrongfully believe that the head has to strike an object to suffer serious brain injury. In fact, some severe brain injury occurs when the head does not strike anything, but is moved so quickly due to external forces that the brain is damaged when moving quickly inside the skull.
Brain injury cases are difficult, and experienced Phoenix brain injury lawyers understand the challenges presented by these unique cases and unique clients. Sometimes, a person can be permanently disabled as a result of a brain injury, yet they appear to others to be functioning at a normal level unless the others knew the injury victim prior to the incident. Thus, when a jury watches someone with a permanent but only moderate cognitive impairment, the lawyer must try to find a way to explain to the jury the functional impairment and restrictions on normal activities of daily living experienced by someone with a serious brain injury.
While we have represented people suffering serious head injuries after Arizona trucking accidents, bicycle accidents, and motorcycle accidents, the reality is that serious head trauma comes from car accidents more often than any other source of permanent brain injury.
Many times individuals who suffer from a traumatic brain injury will immediately lose consciousness, but not always. For example, some may recall the unfortunate example of Natasha Richardson, who died unexpectedly after a seemingly minor skiing incident. She reportedly did not lose consciousness, yet she later died from her head injuries. Many people are surprised to learn that a person can sustain a traumatic, life-threatening brain injury and not come in contact with any object at all. However, you may be able to consider real-world examples that you are familiar with. For instance, one example of this would be "shaken baby syndrome". That is where a baby is shaken. It is not that the baby comes into contact with any object, but the brain is so fragile it cannot be shaken fiercely without sustaining injury. This often is seen in car accidents as well as in rollover car accidents, a head on collision or a t-bone type of accident. Any car accident can potentially cause a brain injury. For instance, if the motion of the car is so strong that the person inside the vehicle's body and head are moving at a fast rate of speed, it is possible that the head moving back and forth, even if it doesn't hit anything, could cause injury to the brain.
Besides losing consciousness, other indicators that someone has sustained a traumatic brain injury include dizziness, headaches, head pain, slurred speech, memory loss, convulsions, spasms, tiredness, weakness and respiratory problems. In fact, seizures can be a marker of brain injury in many cases, and those seizures may start months after the incident. The difficulty in knowing whether a loved one has sustained a traumatic brain injury is that people do get headaches when falling or from being involved in a serious automobile accident, and it does not mean they have sustained a serious, life-threatening brain injury.
Recovering from a traumatic brain injury can be overwhelming and it is often a very long process. Many traumatic brain injuries are permanent injuries. When recovering from a traumatic brain injury, the injured individual can become very frustrated and angry at the healing process. Many brain injury victims have a lack of energy, are unable to sleep, have constant mood swings, and depression. These symptoms experienced by a brain injury victim may take a while for others to recognize as being related to a traumatic brain injury.
Brain injury victims are often the last to recognize their impairments, and by then they have often lost all of their friends and all but the most supportive of family members. For this reason, someone who has suffered a permanent brain injury often needs the best Phoenix Arizona brain injury lawyer they can find to walk them through the case, give them an honest assessment of the case, and be willing to fight for their rights. If anyone you know needs to get some honest answers, please feel free to give us a call.
