If you suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), your medical bills could make you eligible for repayment of compensation from the negligent party’s insurance or a personal injury lawsuit. Your Long Beach lawyer from the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP taking traumatic brain injury cases can also seek damages for the other ways your injury has affected your life. These can include the TBI’s impact on your job, relationships, and mental health.
Determining Liable Parties in Your Case
Pursuing any form of damages requires proving that someone’s negligent actions led to your TBI. Some traumatic brain injury causes in which negligence is involved include:
- Slip and fall incidents
- Sports injuries
- Workplace accidents
- Motor vehicle crashes
Thus, if a commercial building fails to provide adequate lighting in a stairwell, leading you to trip and fall, they are liable. This is because they should have reasonably foreseen that a dark stairway posed a risk.
We are Not Intimidated By the Opposition
You may face pushback by insurance companies and liable parties hoping only to pay the minimum amount for your treatment. You may hear any of these excuses for not providing you with damages:
- You signed a liability waiver
- You are partly to blame for the accident
- A third party is responsible
- Your brain injury is not as severe as you claim
- You do not need the kind of treatment you request
New York has a contributory negligence law, which means that the amount of damages you can pursue is related to your level of fault in the accident (CVP §1411). For instance, if you slipped, causing a traumatic brain injury, the other side may claim that you wore the wrong shoes and were texting at the time, making you 40% at fault. In that case, you can only pursue 60% of the damages.
However, we will not just accept what an insurance company or negligent party claims your level of fault is. We can investigate your version of events and determine what your case is worth.
Evidence We Use
Our investigation into your case to gather evidence and support your claim will pull from a wide variety of sources, such as:
- Photos from the scene
- CCTV surveillance
- Witness statements
- Medical bills
- Expert testimony
- Accident reconstruction
- Background investigation
- Police reports
Following paper trails, obtaining expert analysis, and verifying information are all parts of our job that you don’t have to worry about. During this whole process, we will remain in communication with you. In other words, we research while you recover.
Helping You Receive Reimbursement for Treatment
Even diagnosing certain brain injuries can require expensive tests and specialist appointments, not to mention the cost of recovery. However, the price of receiving adequate care should not be so prohibitive that you put off getting the help you need. You can file an insurance claim or pursue a lawsuit to help defray the cost of:
- Ambulance rides
- ER visits
- Inpatient stays
- Outpatient facilities
- Imaging tests
- Prescriptions
- Pain management
- Pain and suffering
- Mental health services
- Physical and speech therapy
You could be entitled to damages to help with treatment beyond the scope of just dealing with pain. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality highlights that TBIs are known to cause emotional and behavioral changes, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD. You can pursue compensation to cover treatment and medication for these conditions, as well as other recovery options.
If an insurance company or responsible party is attempting to block you from receiving what you need for relief, our team can push for treatment on your behalf. You deserve the chance to heal on all fronts.
Damages for Job-Related Losses
If your TBI also left you out of work, either temporarily or permanently, you could qualify for damages to cover these losses as well, including:
- Income lost during recovery
- Reduced earning ability
- Occupational therapy
- Job training
- Disability
- Home healthcare
Some brain injuries impede motor function, affect concentration and memory, and even impact your ability to keep track of time. If this has happened to you, bring it up to one of the Long Beach TBI attorneys on our team.
Your Symptoms May Not Manifest Immediately
Some TBI consequences don’t appear right away. If you didn’t receive treatment right after sustaining your injury, or new complications arose after the accident it is not too late to ask for help. Furthermore, we can consult with your doctor to assess what you may need in the future and help negotiate for damages that will cover later expenses.
That being said, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit for a TBI is three years from the date of the accident that caused it (CVP §214). Some factors could affect your timeframe, so talk to one of our traumatic brain injury lawyers serving Long Beach to learn more.
Compensation for a Loved One’s Death
Unfortunately, TBIs can claim lives. In fact, over half of the deaths among New York fall victims over age 65 were caused by TBIs, according to the New York Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention. Yet, seniors are not the only ones at risk for TBI-related fatalities. Anyone who lost a loved one due to a brain injury caused by negligence can seek damages for wrongful death, such as for:
- Emergency visits
- Remaining medical bills
- Funeral costs
- Burial expenses
- Loss of income
- Loss of consortium
Contact the TBI team at the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP today to get started on your wrongful death claim.
Start By Calling Our Attorneys for a Free Consultation
At the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP, your case receives direct attention from our Long Beach lawyers familiar with traumatic brain injury cases. You will also receive clear communication every step of the way, and that starts with a free case review. Call our office now to learn how we can help you recoup damages for every aspect of your TBI at (516) 358-6900.
For a free legal consultation with a brain injury lawyer serving Long Beach, call 516-358-6900
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information and may not be applicable in your jurisdiction.
