Long Beach Brain Injury Attorney

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Long Beach Brain Injury Attorney

People who have suffered head and brain injuries in Southern California can count on a Long Beach brain injury lawyer at Harting Simkins & Ryan if another party’s negligence is to blame. Head injuries are not only painful but often entail long-term or permanent complications. Injury victims and their loved ones need legal advice and quality representation from an experienced law firm if they wish to secure acceptable compensation for a brain injury.

One of the worst parts of the body to suffer an injury is the head. Our brains control all our conscious and unconscious processes, and it’s vital to protect the head at all times. Whenever a person suffers a head injury, any kind of brain damage has the potential of causing permanent damage, and may even leave the victim disabled in severe cases. Head injuries may also leave victims incapacitated in other ways, such as memory or sensory impairment, or other complications resulting from oxygen deprivation.

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How Do I Prove Negligence Caused My Brain Injury?

Although head injuries commonly happen on construction sites, in car accidents in Long Beach, and in slip and fall accidents, many people face these injuries in a variety of other circumstances as well. If you suffer an injury, you can only secure compensation if a court would find your injury preventable and the injury-causing hazard as “reasonably foreseeable.” While foreseeability is a common point of contention in disputes over negligence, courts expect responsible adults to conduct themselves with reasonable care. Proving negligence in court involves three things:

  • The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to act with reasonable care. Examples could include general expectations of the public, such as refraining from driving after consuming alcohol or using turn signals to indicate lane changes in traffic.
  • The defendant violated this duty in some way, such as running through a stop sign or choosing to drink and drive. This can apply to inaction as well, such as a defendant failing to apply the brakes because he or she wasn’t paying attention to the road.
  • The plaintiff’s injuries were the direct results of this breach of duty to act with reasonable care. The plaintiff must be able to prove that he or she suffered actual injuries and/or losses, and his or her Long Beach personal injury attorney may call upon witnesses to testify in support of their brain injury claim.

The plaintiff may only sue for the brain injuries and damages that were the direct results of the defendant’s actions in question. However, some injuries or illnesses are not immediately apparent, with some taking years to noticeably manifest. Plaintiffs may still file claims in most cases, as the statute of limitations (the time limit one has to file a lawsuit for an incident) starts on the date of discovery, or the date the plaintiff was able to perceive the injury or illness.

What are the Common Causes of Brain Injuries?

There are various causes of brain injuries in and around the Long Beach area. According to data available from the Mayo Clinic, We can see that traumatic brain injuries are usually caused “by a blow or other traumatic injury to the head or body.”

The degree of damage to a person’s brain will depend on various factors, including the nature of the injury and the force of the blow. The most common events that cause traumatic brain injuries include the following:

  • Falls. This can include any manner in which a person falls and strikes their head, including falls down stairs, falls down a ladder, or from a bed. This can also include falls that happen in the workplace or on another person’s property. 
  • Vehicle accidents. Vehicle accidents are another leading cause of traumatic brain injuries. This could include accidents involving vehicles, commercial trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Motorcycle accidents can be particularly serous, in which case our Long Beach motorcycle accident attorneys can help you navigate those claims.  
  • Violence. Gunshot wounds, child abuse, domestic violence, and other types of assaults are all common causes of traumatic brain injuries. 
  • Sports injuries. Any contact sport significantly increases the risk that a player will sustain a significant brain injury. 
  • Explosions. Explosions are a common cause of traumatic brain injuries. While these incidents are often thought of as military-related, the reality is that explosions can happen in the workplace or in the home (defective products, propane tanks, utility explosions, etc.). 

This is certainly not an all-inclusive list of how brain injuries occur in and around our area. You should speak to a qualified Long Beach traumatic brain injury attorney who can evaluate every aspect of your claim and help determine whether or not to move forward with a personal injury lawsuit. 

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Brain Injury?

There may be various parties that can be held liable in the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury. Much of this will depend on how the injury happened in the first place. In general, any negligent party that contributed to the brain injury occurring could be held liable for the injury victim’s damages. Some of the most common liable parties in the aftermath of a brain injury include the following:

  • Negligent drivers on the roadway
  • Grossly negligent employers 
  • Perpetrators of assault
  • Companies or manufacturers of faulty equipment 
  • Property owners who fail to remedy hazardous conditions 

What are Common Symptoms of Brain Injuries?

The signs and symptoms of a brain injury will vary widely from person to person and will ultimately depend on how severe the injury is. Some of these signs and symptoms of a brain injury are immediately apparent, while other signs and symptoms may not appear until hours or even days after a person sustains a blow to the head. 

Some of the immediate signs that a person may have sustained a brain injury are often the most visible. This can include:

  • Visible blood or an open head wound 
  • Clear fluid draining from a person’s ears
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Visible confusion 
  • Loss of coordination

However, it is not uncommon for many brain injury victims to not realize they have sustained significant damage until hours or days after a blow to the head. Underlying brain swelling and bleeding may not affect a person for some time. Some of the signs and symptoms that could indicate signs that a traumatic brain injury has occurred include the following:

  • Disorientation or confusion
  • Trouble waking up
  • Newfound loss of coordination
  • Headaches
  • Agitation, unusual behavior, or combativeness 

Anytime a person begins to exhibit signs and symptoms of a brain injury after sustaining a blow to the head, they need to seek medical care immediately. Family members who notice these signs and symptoms of a loved one should call 911. If a loved one passes away due to complications from a brain injury, consider speaking with an experienced Long Beach wrongful death lawyer about filing a claim. 

Permanent Damage from Brain Injuries

Unfortunately, even those who seek and obtain medical care after sustaining a brain injury may still not be able to make a full recovery. Our brains are very sensitive to change, and those who sustain a brain injury often suffer from long-term disabilities. This can include the following:

  • Paralysis of some or all of their body
  • Loss of fine motor skills
  • Problems with vision
  • Trouble speaking 
  • A loss of coordination
  • Bowel or bladder control problems
  • Difficulty thinking or remembering
  • Newfound mood swings or impulsiveness
  • Difficulty in social situations 

Permanent disabilities arising from traumatic brain injuries are going to result in significant expenses for the victim and their family members. These injuries often mean that a person needs to receive medical care for the rest of their lives as well as continual in-home care. It is not uncommon for the medical bills associated with traumatic brain injury expenses to rise above a million dollars in the years following the injury. 

There are various parties that face a higher risk of sustaining traumatic brain injuries. This includes the following:

  • Children, particularly newborns to four-year-olds
  • Young adults, particularly those between the ages of 15 and 24
  • Adults age 60 and over 
  • Males amongst any age group

Data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that approximately 1.5 million people sustained brain injuries each year across the United States. Out of these incidents, data indicates that approximately 85,000 victims will suffer from some sort of long-term disability and 50,000 people will ultimately lose their lives. 

Is There a Time Limit to File a Brain Injury Case in Long Beach, CA?

If you or somebody you care about has sustained a traumatic brain injury caused by another individual or entity in Long Beach, there is a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit for these claims. The California personal injury statute of limitations is two years from the date an injury occurs. This means that a brain injury victim has a two-year window with which to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent party. 

If a victim fails to file their claim within this amount of time, they will lose the ability to recover any compensation for their losses. It is vital to work with a skilled Long Beach brain injury attorney in the aftermath of sustaining a serious brain injury to ensure that these claims are filed on time. 

Brain Injury Compensation

If your Long Beach brain injury lawyer can prove the defendant’s negligence in court, you have a very good chance of winning your case. Personal injury lawsuit awards typically fall into two types: general compensation that repays all expenses resulting from the injury-causing incident, and special forms of compensation that may or may not apply. Head and serious brain injuries are notoriously damaging, and injured victims can potentially recover a great deal in damages from personal injury lawsuits.

Consult a Local Long Beach Brain Injury Attorney Today

The brain injury attorneys of Harting Simkins & Ryan, LLP wants to help those recovering from a head or traumatic brain injury in Los Angeles to maximize their recovery. If another party’s negligence led to such an injury, it’s important to hold them accountable for their actions. Injured plaintiffs may be able to recover their medical expenses, compensation for pain and suffering, and coverage for ongoing and future medical costs. Contact our office to learn more about personal injury cases, or if you would like to schedule a free consultation about your head or traumatic brain injury case.