Rialto Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a foreign object enters the brain or when the brain comes into forceful contact with the bones of the skull. A TBI can be mild and produce a few short-lived symptoms, but the effects of a TBI are cumulative.

Multiple mild TBI’s can result in permanent brain damage. A severe TBI can be a devastating, permanent injury that impacts every aspect of a person’s life.

An injured person might be entitled to claim money damages if they can prove that someone else’s negligence contributed to their injury. A Rialto traumatic brain injury lawyer could suggest the right steps for an injured person to take to get appropriate compensation for their injury.

Common Causes and Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI can happen in many ways. Falls are the most common cause of TBI in adults, especially older adults. Motor vehicle accidents often lead to TBI. Gunshot wounds and stab wounds cause a significant percentage of the TBI treated in hospitals. Sports injuries are a common cause of TBI in children and younger adults.

In adults, mild TBI could cause headaches, nausea, confusion, sleep disorders, dizziness, and other symptoms. More severe TBI could result in those symptoms plus convulsions, agitation and disordered mood, weakness and numbness in hands and feet, and other symptoms. In children, TBI can produce irritability, decreased attention span, drowsiness, and seizures.

Monetary Damages Compensate for Losses

Negligent defendants might be liable for damages to compensate a plaintiff for the losses they suffered due to their injury. Damages could cover past and future medical expenses, lost wages, fringe benefits, rehabilitation costs, and other costs.

Damages also could include sums to compensate for pain and suffering, loss of companionship, embarrassment and humiliation, lost ability to engage in hobbies and enjoyable activities, and diminished quality of life. These are called non-economic damages.

California imposes no limit on the amount of non-economic damages a plaintiff could collect, except in medical malpractice lawsuits, where the limit is $250,000. An uninsured driver suing for damages resulting from a car accident cannot claim non-economic damages at all, unless the accident was caused by another driver who was under the influence of intoxicants.

Plaintiff’s Negligence No Bar to Damages

Plaintiffs often have a role in contributing to the accident that injured them. Some states bar negligent plaintiffs from recovering damages from other negligent parties. In contrast, California Civil Code §1714 makes each party responsible for the consequences of their actions and allows negligent plaintiffs to recover the portion of their damages which are attributable to the actions of other parties from those negligent parties.

At trial, both sides could present evidence to persuade a jury that the other side bears most of the responsibility for an accident. The jury will allocate blame between the parties, and the plaintiff will collect damages adjusted for their portion of the fault.  An experienced injury attorney could evaluate a case and estimate how much fault a jury is likely to assign to each party under the specific circumstances.

Work with a Rialto Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Recovery after a TBI can take a long time, but the law gives injured people only two years to bring a lawsuit. Bringing an experienced professional on-board early could make a big difference in the ultimate outcome of a case.

Contact a Rialto traumatic brain injury lawyer to get skilled and supportive legal representation. Schedule a consultation today.