If someone’s negligent actions led to your brain injury, you may be entitled to compensation from an insurance claim or lawsuit. At OnderLaw, our skilled personal injury attorneys have decades of experience seeking justice for accident victims and holding the at-fault party accountable for the damage and harm they caused.

Brain injuries are, unfortunately, not uncommon. One person suffers a brain injury every 23 seconds in the United States, according to the Brain Injury Alliance. Additionally, traumatic brain injury leads to approximately 50,000 deaths every year.

Depending on the severity of your injury, you might require a home health nurse, ongoing medical care, or an assistive medical device. These expenses can cause significant financial strain. You shouldn’t have to bear the financial burden caused by another person’s reckless behavior, however.

OnderLaw will create an effective legal strategy to ensure the negligent person or business covers your past and future losses. We hold ourselves to an incredibly high professional standard. We have collected over $3.5 billion on behalf of our clients, and we give every case everything we have.

We’re ready to help. Call for a free consultation with a Newport Beach traumatic brain injury lawyer.

Types of Brain Injuries

The type of brain injury someone sustains can depend on the force and severity of the impact on the head. The injury could affect the entire brain or one or multiple areas. Some heal without medical intervention, while others lead to functional impairments and long-term disabilities.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the result of a violent jolt or blow to the head that disrupts the brain’s normal functioning. There are varying degrees of a TBI, such as:

  • Concussion – The most common type of TBI. It occurs when sudden movement or momentum or the force of an impact traumatizes the brain.
  • Contusion – Bleeding on the brain, resulting from a direct blow to the head.
  • Coup-contrecoup – Contusions that develop on the area of the brain that suffered a direct impact and on the exact opposite side of the brain.
  • Diffuse axonal – Nerve tissue tears when there’s a delay in movement of the brain behind the skull. This can lead to the release of brain chemicals that cause other injuries.
  • Penetration – High-velocity object that penetrates the skull and enters into the brain. Some can cause a through-and-through injury, which means the object went completely through the skull, the brain, and exited the other side.

Acquired brain injury (ABI) occurs when something other than an external force damages the brain, such as a tumor, stroke, degenerative disease, or drowning. There are two major types of ABI:

Anoxia is the result of the brain not receiving oxygen.

  • Anoxic anoxia – The brain does not receive any oxygen.
  • Anemic anoxia – Blood doesn’t carry enough oxygen.
  • Toxic anoxia – Blood oxygen is prevented from being used because of metabolites or toxins.

Hypoxia occurs when the brain receives some oxygen but not enough.

  • Hypoxic ischemic brain injury – Significant reduction in blood pressure or blood flow that leads to lack of blood flow to the brain.

There are three levels of brain injuries:

  • Mild traumatic brain injury – Occurs when the person’s mental status changes, indicating altered brain functioning. There could be a loss of consciousness, but it does not have to happen with a mild TBI.
  • Moderate traumatic brain injury – Results from violent shaking or non-penetrating head injury. Could lead to behavioral, physical, and cognitive impairments that are temporary or permanent.
  • Severe brain injury – Damage to delicate brain tissue from a penetrating wound or violent blow to the head.

What Causes a Brain Injury?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main causes of nonfatal brain injuries are motor vehicle accidents, falls, and being struck against or by an object. However, it is possible to suffer a brain injury without anything impacting your head. If your body suffers enough force that causes your brain to move around inside your skull violently, you could end up with severe damage to the structure or parts of your brain that affect your usual functioning.

The most common causes of brain injuries in Newport Beach include:

  • Car accidents
  • Assaults
  • Falls
  • Sports and recreational activities
  • Occupational hazards
  • Medical malpractice
  • Blunt force trauma to the head

Brain injuries don’t just happen at the time of an accident. They can progress over time if there’s swelling or bleeding. Without immediate medical intervention, irreversible damage could occur that affects the victim’s everyday functioning.

Why You Should Hire OnderLaw

Most people who suffer a brain injury don’t know what to do following their injury to protect their right to compensation. It’s crucial that you hire an experienced Newport Beach traumatic brain injury attorney to assist you with your case. If you go after compensation on your own, you may end up with much less than if you seek legal representation.

Insurance companies often take advantage of unrepresented claimants. They might try to pressure you into signing away your rights or provide a lowball settlement offer that you feel tempted to accept. At OnderLaw, we know the tactics used by insurance companies and will fight for the maximum compensation you deserve. We will not allow them to deny your claim for an invalid reason or mistreat you in any way.

When you hire us, we will take over the investigation and gather evidence to help prove that someone else caused your injury and should be held liable for your losses. We will work to collect the following types of evidence:

  • Police/incident reports
  • Accident scene photos
  • Your medical records and medical bills
  • Liability insurance policies
  • Statements from witnesses
  • Video surveillance of the incident
  • Documentation of lost wages

The legal process can be complex and overwhelming. When you’re already in pain and struggling to recover from a serious brain injury, taking on a complicated legal case can feel impossible. You can depend on us to file your insurance claim and submit all the evidence we find to the insurance company.

We will be aggressive in our negotiations to get you a settlement that adequately pays for your medical treatment and other costs associated with the accident. If we’re unable to settle for an amount we believe is fair, we have the resources and experience to file a lawsuit and battle it out in court.

Compensation Available After a Brain Injury

Whether your brain injury is minor or severe, you probably require some form of medical treatment. During the recovery process, you might need to take some time off from work, attend physical therapy, undergo a surgical procedure, or seek counseling for the psychological effects of the trauma you experienced.

All the losses associated with an accident are known as damages. They fall under two subcategories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are the expenses resulting from an injury. Non-economic damages are intangible physical, emotional, and psychological losses.

The damages you could seek in an insurance claim or lawsuit include:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Property damage
  • Medical bills
  • Emotional distress
  • Out-of-pocket costs
  • Lost wages and earning capacity
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Disfigurement or disability

While economic damages are fairly straightforward to tabulate, calculating non-economic damages is not a simple task. The TBI lawyers at OnderLaw have experience reviewing non-economic damages to determine a fair monetary value. We might use some of the factors below to calculate an amount that could cover your total losses:

  • Statements from individuals who witnessed what happened
  • Type and severity of the injury
  • Emotional or mental effects
  • Length of the recovery period
  • Total costs associated with the incident
  • Insurance coverage on all available policies
  • Whether the injury caused significant impairment or disability
  • Evidence sufficiently proving fault
  • Effect of the injury on your daily routine and quality of life
  • Duration of medically necessary treatment
  • The estimated cost of future doctors’ appointments, prescriptions, and other expenses
  • Physical or mental limitations that affect the ability to work

Insurance companies will do everything they can to minimize their payout, including shifting blame onto someone other than their policyholder. Our Newport Beach TBI attorneys aren’t afraid to go up against these large companies and use our resources to level the playing field. Our goal is to ensure they don’t violate your rights and get them to provide the compensation you need to recover.

Pure Comparative Negligence Could Affect the Outcome of Your Case

California follows the pure comparative negligence rule when it comes to financial responsibility for an injury. If you contributed to the incident that led to your brain injury in any way, that could result in lower compensation. A jury will reduce your financial award by the percentage of fault you share.

For instance, if your injury resulted in $200,000 in monetary damages, but a jury determines you were 50% to blame, you would only be entitled to a maximum of $100,000 in compensation. If you did not share in the fault for the injury, you would be able to pursue the full $200,000.

Our brain injury lawyers in Newport Beach will leverage the strength of the evidence we gather to help show that the other party is responsible for the accident that caused your injuries. We’ll fight aggressively to get you the compensation you’re due.

A Newport Beach Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney at OnderLaw Will Fight By Your Side for Justice

Our lawyers understand what you’re going through. Accidents can cause significant physical limitations, financial strain, and emotional trauma. You are dealing with the ramifications of someone else’s poor decisions, and you worry about the additional pressure of handling a legal case. We will guide you through the complicated process and provide the support you need every step of the way.

At OnderLaw, our compassionate and dedicated legal team will place your interests ahead of our own and work diligently to reach your legal goals. We will communicate with you regularly and always keep you informed of the status of your case. You will always be a priority for us.

If you suffered a brain injury due to another person’s negligent actions, call us, and a Newport Beach traumatic brain injury lawyer will meet with you for a free consultation to discuss your case.