The Missouri Brain Injury Advisory Council estimates that over 14,000 people seek treatment for traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) every year. These brain injuries are never minor in nature since they often cause accident victims to suffer from chronic headaches, dizziness, emotional changes, and various other symptoms.
If you were involved in an accident that was caused by someone else and it resulted in your traumatic brain injury, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit to seek compensation. A St. Louis traumatic brain injury lawyer could help you hold the party who caused you harm responsible for paying you damages. You need the help of a skilled personal injury lawyer to help you fight for a fair amount of compensation, so do not hesitate to reach out to us.
The Cost of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are caused by a blow or jolt to the head by an external force. This causes the brain to move inside the skull and can even interrupt the functions of the brain.
These injuries can be devastating to an individual, especially because the effects can stay with an individual for the rest of their life. TBIs can also be extremely costly, requiring many different treatments including CT scans, surgery, and even full-time care in a long-term facility.
The costs for these treatments can be impossible for an accident victim to pay on their own. By contacting a lawyer for filing a lawsuit, they may not have to. A skilled TBI lawyer in St. Louis could help those who have been injured seek compensation to cover their medical costs and personal injuries
Establishing Liability in TBI Cases
Falls are a major cause of traumatic brain injuries. A person may fall down the stairs and hit their head, or they can slip on a patch of ice during the winter months and hit their head. In these situations, the property owners or tenants may be held responsible for not upholding their legal responsibility to keep their property in safe condition.
Car accidents are another leading cause of traumatic brain injuries. After a collision, a person may hit their head on the dashboard, steering wheel, or ground. If someone else caused the accident, they may be held liable and be required to pay compensation.
A traumatic brain injury lawyer in St. Louis can review a case and determine if someone else acted negligently and caused a claimant’s injuries. If this is determined to be the case, the legal team could help accident victims file the lawsuit and fight for their rights in court.
Representation is Crucial in Dealing with Insurance Companies
Traumatic brain injury victims will likely have to deal with the defendant’s insurance company to file their claim. For example, if it was a car accident that caused the injury, the victim may have to speak to the other driver’s insurance company. If the injury was caused by a fall on someone else’s property, the insurance company that represents a homeowner may be involved.
When working with insurance companies, victims may quickly realize that insurance companies are not there to help them after an accident. Insurance companies do not want to pay out large settlements and instead, will offer a low settlement or deny the claim altogether. This can make recovering from a traumatic brain injury even more difficult.
This is one reason it is so important to speak to a St. Louis traumatic brain injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident. An attorney can not only help accident victims file their lawsuit but can prevent insurance companies from denying or lowballing a claim.
The Statute of Limitations Can Vary
While most personal injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, have a statute of limitations of five years from the date of the accident, this may not be true in all cases. For example, if the traumatic brain injury was due to medical malpractice, the statute of limitations is only two years. Elderly residents in a nursing home who suffer a traumatic injury in a fall are required to have their lawsuit on file within two years of the date of the negligent conduct that caused their fall.After these allowable time periods for filing a claim pass, any lawsuit filed in court will likely be thrown out.
Talk to a St. Louis TBI Attorney Today
The statute of limitations on a given traumatic brain injury case makes it very important for accident victims to speak to a St. Louis traumatic brain injury lawyer as soon as possible. These time periods vary for each case, and it may take time to file a claim, so pursuing legal action immediately after an accident is advisable. If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, speak to a compassionate attorney that can review your legal rights and options for recovering physically, financially, and emotionally.