If another person’s actions contributed to your brain injury, call the San Bernardino personal injury lawyers of OnderLaw right now to discuss the incident. We might be able to help you seek compensation for the resulting expenses associated with your medical treatment. It is your right to hold the negligent party accountable for what they have done. You should not be left with out-of-pocket expenses if you weren’t partially at fault for causing your injury.

Brain injuries can cause permanent damage and lead to a range of debilitating symptoms. The long-term consequences can disrupt your routine and prevent you from doing all the things you once enjoyed. Different circumstances can result in a brain injury, such as a traumatic car crash. Without the proper medical attention, you could end up with a disability.

OnderLaw knows the struggle of recovering from a brain injury. Whether mild or severe, it can affect every aspect of your life and cause significant emotional issues. Some people develop depression or anxiety. You might require assistance completing basic tasks, such as showering or dressing. The accident you were in should never have happened. The negligent individual or company could have prevented it if they had acted more responsibly.

Call for a free consultation and talk to one of our experienced San Bernardino brain injury lawyers about your legal options.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Anyone can sustain a brain injury in a number of situations. You could fall down the stairs in a commercial building, be involved in a car accident, or use a defective product. As long as another person caused the incident, they should be financially responsible for some, if not all, of the losses you suffer.

Common causes of brain injuries include:

  • Being struck by something or trapped between two surfaces
  • Explosions
  • Slip/trip and falls
  • Healthcare professional error
  • Fall from heights
  • Malfunctioning machinery or equipment
  • Motor vehicle accidents
  • Faulty products
  • Workplace accidents

At OnderLaw, our San Bernardino brain injury lawyers know how to handle any case involving a brain injury. We can investigate the incident to determine who was at fault and gather all available evidence. We will develop a legal strategy to prove what happened and try to reach a favorable outcome.

Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) often results from a violent blow to the head. It can also occur if something jolts the body or head, causing the brain to move around, such as the sudden stopping motion during a vehicle collision. Sometimes, a TBI happens when something penetrates the skull, such as a bullet or flying shrapnel.

Different classifications of TBI indicate the severity of the injury. Multiple factors determine the type of brain injury a person has suffered, such as MRI or CT abnormalities, whether there was a loss of consciousness, and neurological symptoms experienced.

The most common types of traumatic brain injuries include:

  • Concussion – This is a mild form of TBI. It can involve a brief loss of consciousness and memory or attention issues.
  • Moderate TBI – A moderate traumatic brain injury causes a loss of consciousness for more than thirty minutes but less than 24 hours. Someone might also experience some confusion and other symptoms for as much as one week after the incident.
  • Severe TBI – A person suffering from a severe TBI could lose consciousness for longer than a day. A CT scan or brain MRI typically shows significant changes to the brain.
  • Complicated TBI – Bleeding often occurs in the brain.
  • Uncomplicated TBI – This usually results in a normal CT or MRI, even if the injury is severe.
  • Closed – A closed head injury happens when the head experiences a jolt or blow, but nothing penetrates the skull. The brain ends up swelling from the damage.
  • Open – An open TBI involves a penetrating injury. When a knife, bullet, or another sharp object enters the skull and affects the brain, it damages brain tissue.
  • Nontraumatic – A nontraumatic brain injury, also called an anoxic or hypoxic brain injury, doesn’t occur from trauma. It results from a seizure, stroke, or another event that prevents oxygen from flowing to the brain.

TBI can cause various symptoms, depending on how severe it is. The most common are:

  • Dizziness
  • Mood or behavioral changes
  • Light sensitivity
  • Seizures or convulsions
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Memory issues and confusion
  • Slurred speech
  • Agitation or restlessness
  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Vomiting and nausea
  • Blurry vision
  • Dilated pupils
  • Sleeping problems
  • Sensitivity to smells

If you were in an accident and noticed any unusual symptoms, you should immediately go to a hospital. A minor concussion can heal without much medical intervention. However, moderate and severe TBI could require surgery, rehabilitation, and other forms of treatment.

Compensation for a TBI Claim

You can file an insurance claim to recover the compensation you need to pay for your medical bills and other costs. However, the process you must follow will depend on the circumstances of the incident.

If you suffered a TBI in a car accident someone else caused, you could file a claim with the at-fault driver’s auto insurance carrier. For brain injuries resulting from an accident on another person’s property, you might be able to file a claim with the property owner’s liability insurer.

Regardless of the source of your compensation, it should cover the losses you suffered, such as:

  • Medical expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Emotional distress
  • Property damage
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Physical impairment or disfigurement

OnderLaw knows how important it is to receive the full and fair settlement available. You should not end up with any bills to pay yourself if your actions didn’t contribute to your TBI. Our San Bernardino brain injury lawyers know how to maximize the value of a person’s case. We will determine the monetary value of your claim by reviewing various factors, such as:

  • The psychological or emotional impact of the incident
  • Duration of the recovery period
  • Amount of available insurance coverage
  • Total incurred expenses
  • Type and severity of the injury
  • Whether the injury resulted in a physical or mental disability
  • Availability of evidence showing who was at fault
  • The estimated cost of medical treatment needed in the future

You can depend on us to fight hard for the maximum compensation possible. We never back down from insurance companies and always aggressively seek a settlement to compensate for past and future losses.

Proving Negligence in California/Statute of Limitations in Personal Injury Lawsuits

Negligence is the failure to provide a reasonable duty of care to another person to avoid injuring them. You must prove negligence existed when you suffered a traumatic brain injury. If there’s evidence that the at-fault party did not reasonably try to avoid the incident, you could hold them liable for your losses.

However, if you were partially at fault, you could end up with much less money than you need. Pure comparative negligence, one of the laws in California, allows a jury to reduce a person’s monetary award by the percentage of fault they share for an accident.

For example, if you suffered $100,000 in losses due to your TBI, but a jury determines you were 20 percent responsible for the incident that caused it, you could only receive up to $80,000 in compensation.

You have to comply with a specific timeframe to file a lawsuit against someone else for an injury you sustained. California has a two-year statute of limitations. This means you would have two years from the date of the incident to file your lawsuit if you want to pursue compensation for your losses. If you miss the deadline, you will lose your opportunity to hold the negligent party liable in court.

San Bernardino Accident Statistics

Many traumatic brain injuries occur in collisions involving motor vehicles. In 2019, 16,123 people died or suffered injuries in vehicle accidents in San Bernardino County. This represents a 6 percent increase from the year before and a 35 percent increase since 2010. Pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 5 percent of all victims involved in traffic accidents.

Another common cause of TBI is occupational accidents. In 2019, 79,620 nonfatal occupational injuries to the head required the worker to take time off from work. Fatal traumatic brain injuries can occur for various reasons while someone’s performing their job duties. There were 880 fatal injuries from slips, trips, and falls in 2019. Contact with equipment or objects resulted in 732 fatal injuries, and transportation incidents caused 2,122 fatal workplace injuries.

Why Do I Need a Lawyer? Why Choose OnderLaw?

The San Bernardino brain injury lawyers of OnderLaw have the knowledge, experience, and resources to represent you in any case involving TBI. We know what it takes to meet our client’s needs and help them recover from a traumatic incident. You can count on our team to work hard to try to reach your desired result.

We have a proven track record of success that our multiple awards and accolades reflect. Super Lawyers, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and other prestigious organizations have recognized us for our dedication and work ethic. OnderLaw proudly holds an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest honor received only by the top lawyers in the country.

Suffered a Brain Injury? Call OnderLaw Today

If you sustained a brain injury due to the negligent actions of another person, call OnderLaw today. One of our San Bernardino brain injury lawyers will meet with you for a free consultation to review the facts of your case and determine whether we can help. We will do whatever it takes to seek justice and get you on the road to recovery. Call now.