East Meadow Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney
The brain controls every function in the human body. It controls emotions, thoughts, and many automatic processes that most people never consciously think about. Injury to the brain, as a result, can have far-reaching impacts and implications that can change the course of a victim’s life, often permanently. Even victims of so-called minor traumatic brain injury may suffer symptoms long after the initial accident. Victims with more serious injuries will almost certainly suffer ongoing symptoms for the rest of their lives.
Did you suffer a traumatic brain injury in an accident due to another party’s careless or negligent actions? Contact an East Meadow TBI lawyer at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP today at (877) 565-2993 to learn more about your legal right to compensation. Read on to learn how to recover compensation for your brain injury from our experienced East Meadow injury lawyers.
How Do Traumatic Brain Injuries Occur in East Meadow?
Typically, traumatic brain injury occurs due to sudden trauma to the brain: something hits the head, or the head hits a surface around it according to NIH. The brain, normally protected by a cushioning layer of fluid, slams into the walls of the skull, sometimes more than once. This bruising force causes severe damage to the tissue of the brain, which may take considerable time to heal. Traumatic brain injury can happen in a variety of scenarios: slip and fall accidents, construction site accidents, falling object accidents, and auto accidents.
Helmet Use and TBI
Motorcycle and bicycle riders wear helmets to help protect their heads against trauma in the event of an accident. In both motorcycle accidents and bicycle accidents, wearing a helmet considerably reduces the risk of traumatic brain injury. Even victims who do suffer a traumatic brain injury despite wearing a helmet may suffer less severe symptoms.
That does not necessarily mean, however, that a lack of helmet use in those scenarios can prevent victims from collecting the compensation they deserve. Many victims can still claim considerable compensation after a motorcycle accident or bicycle accident that results in TBI, even if they chose not to wear a helmet at the time of the accident.
The Limitations and Challenges of Life with TBI
Traumatic brain injury can impose limitations and challenges. Victims with a traumatic brain injury can have long-lingering symptoms that impact every area of their lives. Physical symptoms, including headaches, nausea, and sleep disturbances, can make it difficult to maintain normal physical functioning.
Victims may also experience:
Mental Symptoms
In addition to the long-term memory loss often portrayed in the movies, many victims with traumatic brain injury suffer severe short-term memory challenges. They may need to use labels, apps, and notes to help keep up with everything going on around them, from simple requests and conversations to appointments and dates.
Frequently, patients with traumatic brain injury struggle with focus and concentration. Lack of focus can make it very difficult to stay on task or complete simple projects, even those as small as answering an email or providing a response to a colleague. Traumatic brain injury can also interfere with problem-solving skills or make it very difficult for victims to engage in creative thinking exercises.
For many victims, these mental symptoms can make work very challenging. Victims may also have trouble engaging in many of their favorite hobbies and activities.
Emotional Symptoms
Traumatic brain injury may also cause substantial emotional symptoms. Victims may grow increasingly likely to respond out of proportion to the initial stimulus when they react emotionally: for example, a traumatic brain injury victim might react with extreme anger or rage to relatively minor irritations.
Victims may have trouble with mood swings or inappropriate emotional reactions, as well. For example, a victim might react with anger to a joke or bust out laughing in the middle of a relatively serious situation.
Lack of emotional regulation can make it very difficult for victims with traumatic brain injuries to handle their usual work responsibilities, especially when it comes to engaging with colleagues or customers. Many may struggle with inappropriate reactions and lack of impulse control, which makes them more likely to do things not generally accepted in a work setting. Poor impulse control can also make it difficult for many TBI victims to handle self-care tasks or to remain on their own, so they may need a constant caregiver to prevent those actions.
Some traumatic brain injury victims also suffer from personality changes, including changes in likes and dislikes, behaviors and attitudes, and overall outlook on life. As a result of these challenges, many victims note changes to their personal relationships, including lost friendships or strained relationships with family members. Some victims do return to semi-normal personalities as they recover, but others may notice more permanent personality shifts after traumatic brain injury.
Determining Liability in an East Meadow Traumatic Brain Injury Claim: Who Caused Your Accident?
Traumatic brain injury can result from a variety of accidents. if someone else bears liability for your injuries, they may need to provide compensation for the accident and the suffering you faced as a result. Consult an attorney as soon after your accident as possible to learn more about who bears liability for your injuries, since it may depend on how your accident occurred and what factors contributed to it.
To determine liability, an experienced East Meadow traumatic brain injury lawyer will ask questions like:
- Who bore a duty of care to you at the time of the accident? To determine liability in an accident, start by considering who bore a duty of care to you at the time of the accident. In an auto accident, including a motorcycle or bicycle accident, for example, you may note that all other drivers on the road share a duty of care for other drivers, pedestrians, and bike riders. In a construction accident, the construction company or companies operating on the site bear a strong duty of care to visitors and workers at that site.
- How did the liable party violate their duty of care to you? In an auto accident, you may clearly see that the liable party chose to drive while distracted or inebriated, or that the liable driver violated the rules of the road, leading to the accident. Sometimes, other factors may contribute to the accident. Those factors may initially prove harder to determine, but as an attorney looks into the accident, he may uncover them. Suppose, for example, that a truck driver’s company threatened to fire him if he did not exceed his federally-mandated shift. He may have continued to drive despite considerable distraction and exhaustion, leading to a collision that ultimately resulted in your TBI. In that case, the company violated its duty of care to you every bit as much as the truck driver did. An attorney can evaluate all factors that may have contributed to your accident and determine any parties who violated their duty of care to you.
- How did that violation contribute to your injuries? Violating a duty of care does not automatically entitle you to compensation. Suppose, for example, that you share the road with a driver clearly texting and driving. That driver swerves toward your lane, but you avoid a collision. No accident results, and you have no injuries. While that driver may face legal penalties for driving while distracted, he does not owe you compensation. On the other hand, if that driver crashes into you, causing a traumatic brain injury as your head slams into the steering wheel or, in the case of a motorcycle accident, into the pavement, you may have grounds for a claim based on your injuries.
How Much Compensation Should You Expect After an East Meadow TBI?
For many victims, compensation following a traumatic brain injury becomes increasingly important. You need funds to help pay your medical bills and rebuild your life. Many people may permanently lose the ability to work following a traumatic brain injury, or may spend a long time out of work while trying to heal.
How much compensation should you expect after an East Meadow TBI?
If you have questions about the compensation you deserve following a traumatic brain injury, consult an East Meadow traumatic brain injury attorney, who will help walk you through your claim and help give you a better idea of how much compensation you deserve. These factors can contribute to your claim.
Your Medical Expenses Following TBI
You suffered a severe TBI as a result of your accident. What medical expenses did you face? As a traumatic brain injury victim, you may need emergency medical care, an ambulance hurrying to take you to the hospital following your accident. You may need time in the hospital: victims with severe traumatic brain injury may, for example, spend some time in a coma before regaining consciousness.
You may also need to consider expenses like:
- Staying in a long-term care facility. Some victims with traumatic brain injury will need to stay in a long-term care facility while recovering. They may need ongoing care, including full-time supervision.
- In-home medical care and supervision. Some victims with a traumatic brain injury cannot stay alone after their injuries. Poor impulse control and decision-making skills can make it difficult for them to function normally. A full-time caregiver can help prevent big mistakes that could lead to ongoing consequences in the victim’s life or cause increased danger.
- Occupational therapy. Occupational therapy can help victims with traumatic brain injury learn hope to cope with their new limitations and current capabilities. Occupational therapists can help victims learn how to deal with short-term memory challenges or focus on a task despite distraction-related challenges. Some victims have trouble regulating emotion after traumatic brain injury. Occupational therapy can provide coping mechanisms that make it easier to deal with those challenges.
Lost Income as a Result of TBI
Your return to work after TBI may prove tricky. Many people want to get back to work as soon as possible. Not only does work provide an important source of income that will make it easier for you to stay on top of your medical bills, it can provide a much-needed sense of normalcy that will help improve your overall functionality and recovery.
Unfortunately, not every traumatic brain injury victim can quickly return to work.
Distraction can make it difficult for you to focus on the task at hand. In a desk job, that can prove frustrating and unfruitful, preventing you from taking care of the tasks on your list each day. In a factory or construction setting, that distraction could prove dangerous, both to you and to others.
Irritability or lack of emotional regulation can make it hard to deal with customers, especially if you work in a customer service position. It can interfere with relationships with coworkers or even sabotage your relationship with your boss.
Lack of impulse control, common after some traumatic brain injuries, can make it difficult for you to handle work responsibilities or avoid professional errors.
Following traumatic brain injury, your lost wages can add up. Some employers will try to take steps to get you back in the office as soon as possible. Others may need you to remain out of work until you make a full recovery to reduce hazards in the office. You can include those lost wages as part of your East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim.
Your Suffering
In addition to compensation for direct financial losses related to your traumatic brain injury, you can also pursue compensation for the suffering you experience as a result of your injuries. Contact your attorney to learn more about how to include factors like your emotional anguish, social losses if you struggle with relationships following your injuries, or activities you may have missed due to your traumatic brain injury.
East Meadow Traumatic Brain Injury FAQs
Following an East Meadow accident that results in traumatic brain injury, you may have questions about your legal rights, including your right to compensation. Take a look at some of the most commonly-asked questions following an accident that results in traumatic brain injury. If you have specific questions about your right to compensation following traumatic brain injury, consult an experienced East Meadow traumatic brain injury attorney as soon as possible.
If I wasn’t wearing a helmet can I still file a brain injury claim?
You can still file a traumatic brain injury claim after suffering injuries in a motorcycle or bicycle accident while not wearing a helmet, or if you suffered a traumatic brain injury on a construction site while not wearing a hard hat. You may, however, receive less compensation than you would if you had worn a helmet at the time of your accident. Consult an experienced traumatic brain injury attorney to learn more about your legal right to compensation and how helmet use can impact it.
How do I pay medical bills after an East Meadow brain injury accident?
You may have substantial medical bills related to your traumatic brain injury, especially if you needed a stay in the hospital or a long-term care facility. Managing those medical bills can cause a great deal of stress: even more problematic when stress can cause you even more processing difficulty. How should you manage your
medical expenses after a traumatic brain injury caused by someone else’s negligence?
As the injured party, you must make arrangements to pay all medical bills associated with your traumatic brain injury. However, you do have some options that can make it easier for you to handle those bills.
- Use your health insurance. If you carry health insurance, it can provide vital protection against high medical bills, including those you face after an accident that leads to traumatic brain injury. As you begin treatment for your injuries, especially if you require therapy or ongoing assistance, consult your insurance company to learn more about what type of coverage you have and how your accident will impact that coverage.
Make sure you ask about:
- Coverage for a stay in a long-term care facility. Some insurance policies will cover part of a stay in a long-term care facility. Your policy may, however, limit the length of a single stay or the amount of time it will pay for a stay in a long-term care facility each year. Make sure you know how much time your insurance policy will cover to make better decisions about your care.
- Assistance paying for in-home medical care. Many victims feel that they will recover better in their own homes. Others may need options once insurance coverage for a long-term care facility runs out. As a traumatic brain injury victim, you may need an in-home caregiver to assist with daily tasks, including cooking, cleaning, and even self-care. You may need a caregiver who can act as your impulse control until your brain starts to recover. Some insurance policies will cover an in-home caregiver who will help with those tasks. Your insurance policy may, however, limit the type of individual you must hire, how many hours they can work, or how long you can have such a caregiver paid for by your insurance. Consult your insurance provider to fully understand your coverage.
- Occupational therapy. Your insurance policy likely offers provision for physical and/or occupational therapy following an accident or illness that results in decreased functionality. As a traumatic brain injury victim, you may find occupational therapy extremely valuable. Occupational therapy can help you learn how to cope with many of the limitations associated with your accident. For example, your therapist may offer coping mechanisms that will make it possible for you to return to work or engage in normal learning activities sooner, or might offer strategies that will help you cope with panic attacks, forgetfulness, or a lack of emotional regulation. Your insurance policy may only cover a certain number of visits with a therapist per calendar year or per incident. Make sure you consult your provider to learn more about your available coverage.
- Policies and programs through your hospital. Many hospitals offer policies designed to help accident victims who may not have the means to pay. Consult with your care team or call the hospital where you received treatment to learn more about your payment options. We can help you do this.
- An East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim. An East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim can offer vitally-needed compensation following an accident that results in traumatic brain injury. Your East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim can help compensate you for the medical expenses, lost income, and suffering you experienced as a result of your accident. However, that does not mean that the party that caused your accident will pay your medical bills directly. Instead, in most cases, you will make arrangements to pay your medical bills with the funds from your East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim.
What is a letter of protection, and how can it help me manage my medical expenses after an East Meadow traumatic brain injury?
A letter of protection, which your attorney can submit, certifies that you suffered your traumatic brain injury in an accident due to another party’s careless actions and that you need to seek compensation through an East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim. The letter of protection further states your intention to pay your medical bills once you receive compensation through your East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim. If you find yourself struggling with medical bills after your traumatic brain injury, a letter of protection will show your intent to pay and help you continue to receive treatment while you wait for the end of your East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim.
How long after my East Meadow brain injury claim will it take before I receive a settlement?
Consult an attorney as soon after your accident as possible to learn more about the process to settle a traumatic brain injury claim. Your attorney can provide you with more advice about exactly how long you should expect it to take to settle your claim and what factors may contribute to the time it takes you to get that money in hand. Several factors can contribute to how long it takes you to settle a traumatic brain injury claim.
What do your doctors have to say about your prognosis? Some people recover better than others following traumatic brain injury. Some victims surpass all their doctors’ expectations, recovering quickly and learning early on how to compensate for any lingering challenges. Others may take more time to make a full recovery.
It may take as much as six months after the initial accident for doctors to track your progress and your prognosis. In some cases, your doctors may not have any idea, until you reach that point, how much you will ultimately recover.
Before you file a claim related to your traumatic brain injury, you may want to know how much you have the potential to recover and how much you will not. The funds you receive in compensation for your injuries often change depending on your prognosis. For example, if you permanently lose the ability to work in your current profession due to traumatic brain injury, you may receive more compensation than if you can return to work in a few weeks.
Talk to your attorney about when you should file your traumatic brain injury claim. In some cases, your attorney may recommend waiting until you have a better idea of what your recovery will look like before actually filing your claim.
How much compensation do you need to ask for? If you have serious injuries, including severe traumatic brain injury, you may accumulate substantial medical bills as you go through treatment. Brain scans, hospitalization, and ongoing occupational therapy can all add up quickly over time.
Many insurance companies, however, will try to reduce the compensation they have to pay out as much as possible. As a result, you may notice that the more you need to ask for in compensation, the more the insurance company may drag its feet in issuing that payment. Once you reach a settlement agreement, the insurance company must pay out within 30 days, or according to the agreement you reach. By drawing out negotiations, the insurance company can have more time before it has to pay.
Do you need to go to court to settle your claim? While most traumatic brain injury claims do settle out of court, others do require you to go to court to reach an agreement. Generally, by the time you go to court, you have already gone through multiple rounds of negotiation, each of which extends the time needed for you to have settlement funds in hand. You may need to wait for a court date and go through an extensive discovery process. As a result, it can take much longer to get the funds you deserve for your injuries in hand.
Will I have to go to court to settle my traumatic brain injury claim?
Some victims will need to go to court to settle traumatic brain injury claims, but in most cases, the insurance company will try to reach an agreement out of court. Taking a claim to court substantially increases legal fees and can ultimately cost the insurance company more than agreeing to the amount you ask for, especially if you have strong grounds for a claim.
I suffered a traumatic brain injury accident in an auto accident, and the other driver’s insurance company contacted me to offer a settlement. Should I take it?
Before accepting a settlement offer, even one that seems tempting on the surface, make sure you contact an experienced East Meadow traumatic brain injury attorney.
Insurance companies often try to limit their financial liability as much as possible after an accident. One common tactic includes trying to provide a quick settlement agreement immediately after the accident. That agreement may reflect only minimal funds, especially when compared to all the bills you may have to deal with and all the challenges you have to face following a traumatic brain injury.
If you accept it, you let the insurance company off the hook: they no longer owe you further compensation. While this can get funds in your hand quickly, it can also prevent you from getting the full compensation you deserve after a serious accident. Consult an experienced East Meadow traumatic brain injury attorney to learn more about your right to compensation.
Do I really need an attorney to settle an East Meadow traumatic brain injury claim?
Many people try to take on claims, including traumatic brain injury claims, on their own to cut costs and keep as much of their settlements as possible for themselves. In reality, however, many victims discover that having an attorney on their side can make the claim go much smoother and ultimately increase the compensation they receive.
Insurance companies may attempt to take advantage of you, especially when you file a claim for traumatic brain injury. They may prey on your lack of knowledge and the confusion and lack of focus that often accompany traumatic brain injury. An attorney can help cut through the noise, make sure that you understand your legal rights, and provide you with extensive representation. An attorney can even take over negotiation on your behalf, reducing the stress you have to deal with and, as a result, helping to increase your odds of a speedy recovery.
How much will a traumatic brain injury attorney cost me in East Meadow?
After your traumatic brain injury, our attorneys will start with a free consultation. In traumatic brain injury cases, we accept clients on a contingent fee basis: Instead of requiring you to make payment upfront or as he performs legal services, we will accept a percentage of your claim as compensation.
East Meadow brain injury lawyer, Andrew Finkelstein
Consult an East Meadow Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, Today
If you suffered a traumatic brain injury due to another party’s negligence, an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer can help. Contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP today, call (877) 565-2993, or start a webchat with one of our live representatives for a free case evaluation.
East Meadow Office
90 Merrick Avenue, Suite 601
East Meadow, NY 11554
(877) 565-2993
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