A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most serious possible effects of any accident. Not only could your life be permanently disrupted, but you also face substantial treatment bills.
For a brain injury victim or their loved ones, financial compensation is available when a plaintiff can prove that someone else was to blame for the accident. Perhaps the most crucial action you can take now after a serious head injury is to get the legal help you need to maximize compensation.
Contact our brain injury lawyer in Charleston, SC at The Hartman Law Firm, LLC. Learn more about your legal rights today.
Common Causes of Brain Injuries
One moment is all it takes to change your life or that of a loved one forever. A sudden impact, violent motion, or brief loss of oxygen to the brain can result in permanent and irreversible damage.
Types of incidents that can cause brain injuries include:
- Car accidents
- Slip and falls
- Pedestrian accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Work-related accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
No matter how the brain injury occurs, it is always serious, and you need immediate medical treatment.
Types of Brain Injuries
Any type of brain injury needs careful monitoring and diagnosis from healthcare professionals. Types of TBIs all have the potential to cause long-term health effects and disruption to your life.
You may suffer the following types of brain injuries in an accident:
- Concussions: A concussion is when a bump, jolt, or sudden movement of the brain causes chemical changes. Concussions are considered to be mild brain injuries, but serious trauma could cause lingering effects in the long term.
- Diffuse axonal injuries: A violent rotational force can damage the brain’s gray matter and cause lesions in various parts of the brain. A sudden movement like whiplash in a car accident is a common cause of a diffuse axonal injury.
- Coup-contrecoup injuries: When your brain strikes an object, the trauma can damage both sides of the brain. The initial impact will harm one side, and the other one will also be injured when it strikes against the skull.
- Hematomas: The trauma can cause a broken blood vessel, which will result in bleeding in the brain. Bleeding for a prolonged period can lead to the death of brain cells that cannot be regenerated.
Living with a Brain Injury
In the short term after a brain injury, a victim needs extensive medical treatment to give them a chance at the best possible recovery. In the long term, brain injury victims may never regain certain functions that they lost.
The impacts of a brain injury include:
- The loss of movement in certain parts of your body
- An inability to work or to perform the job duties that you did before your injury
- Changes to your mood
- Difficulty concentrating
- The loss of speech
Each of these can have a far-reaching impact on your individual life, your family, and your career.
Medical Treatment for a Brain Injury
In the immediate aftermath of a TBI, a brain injury victim may need surgery to stop bleeding and relieve the pressure on the skull. The longer a brain injury goes untreated, the more likely it is that the individual suffers permanent damage.
No surgery can conclusively repair brain damage. Once brain cells and tissue die, they do not regenerate or repair themselves. However, continued medical treatment can still result in an improvement in your condition. You can still learn to live with your brain injury to the fullest extent possible, retraining yourself and learning crucial functions.
Your doctor may recommend the following for your care:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech and language therapists
- Recreational therapy
- Vocational therapy
A physiatrist may oversee your case. They would manage your overall rehabilitation process, coordinating the various types of therapy that you need.
The one certainty is that your medical costs will escalate quickly. It is crucial that you know today how much care you may need in the future, and that’s because you will only have one chance to negotiate or win compensation for your brain injury. Attorney Frank Hartman is a Charleston brain injury lawyer who knows what’s at stake for your health and financial well-being. If you work with The Hartman Law Firm, LLC, you will have a legal representative working his hardest for you.
Damages for Your Brain Injury Case
Since brain injuries tend to be more severe, and they could remain with you for the rest of your life, your case may be worth more than other types of personal injury claims. However, it is impossible to say how much your case may be worth without extensively reviewing your situation first.
You must consult with an experienced brain injury attorney to know how much you should seek and compensation. Otherwise, you may be vulnerable to accepting a settlement that does not make sense and does not fairly compensate you.
You are entitled to be paid for the following:
- Medical expenses
- The cost of care and help with your daily activities
- Medical equipment and retrofitting your home
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Embarrassment and humiliation
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
What you can control is how hard you fight to get every dollar you deserve that is available. It may require extensive negotiation, and perhaps litigation, but Frank Hartman is committed to getting you the most out of your brain injury claim.
How Much Does a Brain Injury Lawyer Cost?
You do not have to pay anything upfront to hire a brain injury lawyer. To be clear, brain injury lawyers are paid, but only if and when you win your case. You do not owe your attorney any money if, for some reason, you do not win your case.
In addition, your attorney will not send you bills while your case is pending. They are paid from the proceeds of your case, but only if you receive money.
Contact a Charleston Brain Injury Lawyer Today
Attorney Frank Hartman is a proven fighter who wakes up each morning driven to pursue justice and accountability for his clients. We take the time to listen and will walk with you at every step of your recovery, all so that we can understand what you are going through and effectively advocate for you.
Begin the legal process today when you call Frank to schedule a free initial consultation for your brain injury case. He’ll carefully review your case and explain the path forward. To speak with Frank, you can send us a message through our website or call us today at 843.300.7600.