The brain is responsible for so many functions of the human body that an injury to it can be life-altering and permanent. Some brain injuries are purely accidents, while others are the result of another party’s negligence. But all brain injuries require significant life changes and typically lead to a decreased quality of life. If someone has acted irresponsibly or wrongfully and caused a loved one to suffer a brain injury in Loudoun County, what recourse do you have?
Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP goes to work on behalf of brain injury victims and their families to win the maximum monetary compensation. Let our personal injury attorneys review your case and advise as to your legal options.
Types Of Brain Injuries
There are generally two types of brain injuries, according to the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. The primary difference between them is the cause:
Non-traumatic
A non-traumatic brain injury is caused by something internal to the brain. Nonetheless, it can be just as serious and damaging as a traumatic brain injury. And there are cases in which negligence of some kind may be to blame for a non-traumatic brain injury. Some common examples of these injuries include:
- Bleeding in or around the brain, known as a hemorrhage
- Not enough oxygen (hypoxic) or no oxygen (anoxic) in part of the brain
- Medical problems such as cancer, infection, or disease
- Stroke, blood clot, aneurysm, and other cardiovascular problems
Traumatic
A traumatic brain injury is caused by some external force (trauma) sustained to the head. The skull may be crushed or punctured, or the victim could simply take a powerful blow to the head without damage to the skull. In a typical traumatic brain injury, the brain moves violently and is injured by colliding with the interior of the skull.
Causes Of Brain Injuries
Many non-traumatic brain injuries are unavoidable. But some are the result of medical negligence, also called malpractice. If a brain disease could have been foreseen and effectively treated by a medical professional of reasonable skill and experience, there is a good chance the victim or the victim’s family will have a claim of medical malpractice. Ask an experienced brain injury attorney if you’re not sure whether you have a case.
Traumatic brain injuries have many different causes, including automobile accidents, truck accidents, dog bites, and slips and falls. Causes like these can typically be attributed to another person’s negligence. Medical negligence is also to blame in many of these cases.
Sometimes there are multiple parties that can be held liable for their role in causing a brain injury, not all of whom are readily evident. For example, acts of violence like shootings and stabbings account for numerous traumatic brain injuries. While the party who committed the crime can be held liable in civil court, the victim may also have a claim of negligent security if the place where the injury occurred had poor security.
Understanding why a brain injury has occurred is a necessary first step in seeking compensation. In fact, in a personal injury lawsuit, it’s the victim’s responsibility to establish how exactly the defendant was negligent or wrongful in causing the brain injury. An experienced attorney will not only investigate the causes of the injury to determine who may be held liable, and why, but will also work on proving the nature and extent of damages.
Damages In Loudoun County Brain Injury Cases
Whether your case settles outside of court or goes to trial, it’s up to you, the victim, to prove damages. And you only get one chance to do so, because once the case is settled or decided all future claims related to the same injury will be barred.
Among the damages you might claim for your brain injury case are:
- Medical expenses. These include past, present, and future costs such as hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, physical therapy, prescription drug medications, adaptive medical equipment, and more.
- Lost wages. During your recovery and treatment for your brain injury, you will lose time from work and therefore income. The defendant can be forced to pay these losses.
- Lost future earnings. A brain injury will likely preclude you from future career advancements, or may even limit your ability to work at all. Lost earning capacity and future earnings are a form of damages.
- Pain and suffering. Brain injury victims often endure excruciating pain and suffering as a result of their injuries, for which they may be compensated.
- Emotional distress. The anxiety, depression, and other mental and emotional injuries that victims face may be part of the claim.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. A brain injury will make it difficult or impossible to enjoy activities and hobbies you once loved, and victims can win damages for this loss.
One role of a brain injury attorney is to reasonably assess not only current and past damages, but future ones as well. This usually requires input from expert witnesses who can forecast, for example, future medical treatments that will be needed. Because the amount of damages is frequently contested in cases like this, you want a lawyer who knows how to demonstrate to a jury the value of your case. We have the experience it takes to do so.
Contact Our Loudoun County Brain Injury Attorney
Victims deserve justice when someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct causes them traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries. When you retain Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP, you get a partner that fights for you each step of the way. Give us a call today to talk about your brain injury case.