Did you know that more than 1 million traumatic brain injuries and deaths occur in the United States every year? These injuries are more common than you think, so it’s important to know what brain injury laws are all about and when to get a lawyer involved because of issues like personal injury and negligence.
Are you curious what incidents fall under brain injury laws? Wondering if you should be seeking legal justice for something that happened to you or a loved one? In this article, we’re covering everything you need to know about brain injury laws. This includes when and how to hire the right lawyer to help you.
What Types of Brain Injuries Are There?
There are 2 types of brain injuries you should know about: open and closed.
An open injury occurs when your skull has been fractured. This type of injury typically results from a fall or any incident in which your head hits or comes in contact with a hard object or surface and gets fractured.
A closed injury doesn’t involve a fracture. It can be more life-threatening, because it can cause your brain to swell or create dangerous blood clots inside of your head. Regardless of the type of injury, a truly serious one can lead to paralysis, and even death.
Most Common Brain Injuries
The most common brain injuries occur as the result of events like automobile accidents, sports-related collisions, and falls. These brain injuries generally involve bruising and bleeding within the brain.
Other common injuries are tearing and swelling, both of which can be incredibly serious—especially swelling as that can lead to intracranial pressure, which can impair your body’s general functions severely.
Signs of a Serious Brain Injury
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if a brain injury has occurred. This is especially true after something like a fall, when no signs of physical injury exist. Here are some things to look out for when wondering if a potential brain injury has occurred:
- Confusion around what’s just happened
- Sluggishness or tiredness
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- A massive headache
- Overall weakness or numbness
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you should seek immediate medical assistance. Even if the symptoms aren’t super severe, it’s best to go to the nearest hospital as those symptoms may not be reflective of the damage that’s occurred.
What Are Brain Injury Laws?
Generally, brain injury law is categorized as a catastrophic injury in tort law. It involves the legal process around people who have been injured because of the negligence or wrongful conduct on the part of another party.
Brain injury law is a complex legal issue because brain injuries are diverse and complicated. Many brain injury laws overlap with existing administrative laws like workers’ compensation or social security and disability.
Currently, there are also many types of proposed legislation that have been designed to prevent these types of injuries from occurring.
Why Hire a Brain Injury Lawyer?
Traumatic brain injuries are a serious issue, and they can have consequences that last a lifetime. Your level of impairment can greatly impact your ability to do your job. It can even affect functioning properly on a day-to-day basis.
Because of this, it’s important to seek legal assistance with a lawyer familiar with brain injury. This is because you will most likely need financial assistance to live the life you were accustomed to before the incident.
If you or a loved one have been injured because of someone else’s negligence or wrongful conduct, you may be entitled to legal repercussion. You’ll have 2 distinct legal theories you can pursue to plead your case: negligence theory of liability and product liability legal theory.
With negligence, your lawyer will aim to prove that someone failed to provide you with reasonable care, and that that’s what caused the injury. This theory is most often used when a person’s action or inaction caused the injury. If a product caused the injury, your main legal option is the product liability legal theory.
Final Thoughts on Brain Injury Laws
Brain injuries can turn your world upside down. If your life has been negatively affected by the actions of someone else, you should feel empowered to seek legal aid. With the help of an expert brain injury lawyer, you can learn the ins-and-outs of brain injury laws and seek the justice you deserve.
Have you or a loved one experienced a brain injury? Contact us for a free consultation!