If for any reason you receive a blow to the head, even if you believe it is minor, seek medical help immediately. The brain continues to swell after being struck, and what seems minor can soon turn deadly. After your condition is stabilized, call our respected catastrophic injury attorneys to discuss if someone else acted recklessly or carelessly, causing your injuries.
Blows to the head can cause long-lasting effects that can compromise your daily living. You may suffer from memory loss, painful headaches, confusion, anger, and personality changes that affect your ability to work and enjoy your family and friends. After someone else causes severe damage to your head, learn your legal options from a Port St. John traumatic brain injury lawyer.
To be actionable, your traumatic brain injury (TBI) must be the result of someone’s negligence. To prove this civil tort, your attorney must show the defendant had a duty to ensure you are not harmed by their actions, that they breached the duty by acting unreasonably, that their acts cause an injury, and that your injury is compensable. Once found culpable, the defendant will be responsible for compensating you according to the jury’s determination. Common causes of TBI accidents include:
A TBI can be mild or severe. The jury, with information provided by your attorney, will help determine how much you require for medical care, lost wages, emotional distress, pain and suffering, long-term suffering, and loss of the enjoyment of life.
In many cases, the first line of negotiations is with the insurance company carrying a defendant’s policy. Our Port St. John attorneys know insurance companies aim to pay out the least amount in settlements for brain injuries, hoping you are desperate enough to accept their early offer. Call us to learn how much your case may be worth.
For more than 50 years, Florida law allowed a plaintiff who was more responsible than a defendant to collect a damages award after an accident, including when TBIs were involved. The amount was determined by the percentage the defendant was found liable.
The Legislature changed this pure comparative negligence doctrine in 2023, and now a plaintiff cannot be more than 50 percent responsible, or they cannot recover any award. All damages awards are tied to the percentage of fault of the parties. For example, if a bus driver crashes into you, causing a traumatic brain injury, but you also ran a stop light, the jury might assign 80 percent responsibility to the bus driver and 20 percent to you. If the award is $1 million, it would be reduced by your 20 percent blame, to $800,000.
Our attorneys consider all factors, including your medical condition, how much you contribute to your family’s finances, residual effects of the TBI, and what your future rehabilitative care looks like. A Port St. John traumatic brain injury attorney advocates for the best results in every case.
The Florida Legislature overhauled many laws during its 2023 tort reform. They also lessened the statute of limitations for filing personal injury lawsuits. This means you should not delay before contacting a Port St. John attorney after someone else causes your traumatic brain injury. You now have just two years after the accident to file a lawsuit under Florida Statutes § 95.11.
Traumatic brain injuries can be unpredictable and manifest deadly symptoms days after an accident as the brain continues to swell. Hitting your head in any situation should lead to a trip to a medical facility or your personal physician. If your injury results from an auto accident, a police report will also be invaluable to your attorney when fashioning a lawsuit against the party who caused it.
We painstakingly gather evidence and piece together exactly what happened for you to be suffering from a concerning blow to the head. Our philosophy is to get you the most compensation the evidence supports, and we will not take a lowball insurance settlement offer. If you need help after an accident, a Port St. John traumatic brain injury lawyer is ready to represent you.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
