Serious and fatal brain injuries may seem like a rare occurrence, but head trauma and traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens more often than you might think. In 2014 alone, head injuries resulted in more than 54,000 emergency room visits, 6,581 hospitalizations and 1,233 deaths in Arizona, and in the United States, approximately 5.3 million Americans are living with a disability caused by a traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries of any kind can have catastrophic consequences for victims, potentially affecting their mobility, their quality of life, and their ability to work, communicate and maintain meaningful relationships. If a member of your family sustained a serious brain injury in a Phoenix accident due to another person’s carelessness or negligence, or if you lost a loved one to a fatal brain injury, you are not alone. Contact Personal Injury Attorneys, PLLC as soon as possible to speak with our knowledgeable Phoenix brain injury attorneys.
Expert Personal Injury Attorneys
The road to recovery for brain injury victims and their loved ones is full of challenges, with painfully slow progress that takes place over long weeks, months, or even years. Sadly, many brain injury victims are never able to make a full recovery and end up with a quality of life that is severely diminished, through no fault of their own. During this arduous recovery process, hiring an attorney and filing a personal injury claim is probably the last thing on your mind, but for many brain injury victims, that is exactly what it takes to recover fair compensation for the harm they have suffered due to someone else’s negligence. In many cases of traumatic brain injury in Phoenix, how the injury occurred and who is at fault may seem obvious, but establishing the cause of the injury and proving liability isn’t always easy.
If you or someone you love is struggling to recover after a Phoenix accident that resulted in a brain injury, you don’t have to deal with the physical, emotional and financial implications of the injury on your own. Our legal team at Personal Injury Attorneys, PLLC is well-versed in the intricacies of Arizona personal injury law and the rights of Phoenix accident victims, and we will make navigating the personal injury process as painless as possible for you. We understand the challenges brain injury victims and their family members face on a daily basis and we will work hard to get you the compensation your loved one deserves. Keep in mind that your deadline to recover damages through a personal injury lawsuit will expire after a certain period of time, at which point you will be barred from obtaining any compensation at all, so call our law firm today.
Causes of Brain Injury in Phoenix
A traumatic brain injury typically occurs because of a blow to the head, because of a fall or bodily collision with an object, or because of a penetrating wound that causes damage to brain tissue. The types of accidents that cause traumatic brain injury tend to be violent and forceful, and the effect on the injured victim can be debilitating and long-lasting, or possibly even fatal. Even mild brain injuries can result in chronic headaches, sleep disturbances and other problems that can affect victims’ daily functioning and quality of life. Because all brain injuries are different, with a wide range of possible symptoms, they can be difficult to diagnose, which is why it is imperative that you seek medical attention after any kind of accident, especially if the accident was caused by someone else. Some common causes of brain injuries in Phoenix include the following accidents.
Car Accidents
When a car or truck is struck by another motor vehicle, even with the vehicle itself protecting the driver and passengers, the resulting injuries can be serious, possibly including a head injury or traumatic brain injury. Head trauma leading to a brain injury can occur when vehicle occupants are thrown from the vehicle in a collision, or when an occupant’s head strikes a hard object, such as the windshield, window or steering wheel. Even without suffering a blow to the head, Phoenix car accident victims can sustain brain injuries just by being violently jolted back and forth in a collision.
Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrians are some of the most vulnerable individuals on Phoenix roadways due to their lack of protection from a collision, and when a car, truck, motorcycle, or any other vehicle forcibly strikes a pedestrian, the pedestrian faces a serious risk of a traumatic brain injury occurring.
Construction Accidents
Construction sites are inherently dangerous and there are countless situations in which a construction worker can sustain a head or brain injury on the job. Falls from heights, being struck by a falling object, poorly constructed scaffolding, and slip and fall accidents are all potential causes of traumatic brain injuries on Phoenix construction sites.
Premises Liability Accidents
Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common causes of traumatic brain injury in Arizona and across the country. In fact, the Brain Injury Association of America estimates that more than 40% of traumatic brain injuries are caused by falls. If you or a loved one slips, trips or falls on public or private property because of a dangerous condition, and a serious head or brain injury results, our attorneys can help you seek compensation for your losses by filing a premises liability claim against the business owner or property owner.
Elevator and Escalator Accidents
Many of us use elevators and escalators on a daily basis, giving little thought to what would happen if these transportation devices malfunctioned or failed. Elevators may seem like a safe, convenient and practical way to travel from floor to floor in a multi-story building, but some elevators are poorly designed, improperly maintained, defectively installed or flawed in some other way. Anyone involved in an elevator accident, including individuals riding the elevator and workers repairing the elevator, may be at risk for traumatic brain injury.
Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Unlike some of the more minor injuries that car accidents and other accidents can cause, like strains, sprains and bruises, brain injuries can have debilitating long-term consequences for injured victims, potentially resulting in cognitive problems, confusion, seizures, changes in mood, speech impairment, memory loss, a loss of motor function, paralysis, permanent disability, and possibly even death in some cases. Traumatic brain injuries resulting from an accident are sudden and violent, and when it comes to pursuing adequate compensation for a loved one’s brain injury, you must consider how the injury will affect the rest of his or her life and the emotional and financial well-being of your family. Brain injuries typically require extensive treatment and ongoing medical care, and this can result in costly medical bills. Add in the crippling loss of income due to your loved one’s inability to work and the emotional toll of a traumatic brain injury on your loved ones, and you are facing significant expenses and losses for which you deserve to be fairly compensated.
Seeking Compensation for a Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury is considered a catastrophic injury, like a spinal cord injury, amputation or severe burn, and the expenses associated with a brain injury in Phoenix extend far beyond the cost of a hospital visit. If your loved one suffered a brain injury in a Phoenix accident and someone else is legally responsible for causing or contributing to the accident and the injuries sustained, you have the right to pursue a personal injury claim against that person or party for compensation. Most legal disputes arising from accident injuries in Phoenix are resolved by negotiating a fair settlement outside of court, but in some situations, taking your case to court may be necessary in order to recover fair compensation. By filing a personal injury lawsuit against the person, business or government agency found at fault in the accident and alleging that their negligence or carelessness caused your loved one’s brain injury, you can hold that person or party liable, or legally responsible, for your damages. Depending on the nature of the accident and the injuries your loved one sustained, you may be able to pursue the following economic and non-economic damages in your brain injury case:
Economic Damages
- Medical expenses
- Lost income due to missed time at work
- Property damage
- Loss of the ability to earn an income
- Any other out-of-pocket expenses resulting from the accident
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
Typically, punitive damages (damages intended to punish the defendant for his or her actions) are not awarded in Phoenix personal injury cases. However, if the defendant’s actions were grossly negligent (extreme or reckless) or willful and wanton (intended to cause harm), you may be able to pursue punitive damages in addition to the compensatory damages mentioned above.
How to Prove Negligence in Your Personal Injury Case
If your loved one’s brain injury was caused by another person or party’s negligent or careless actions, you can recover damages, or financial compensation for your losses, by filing a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent person or party. Under Arizona law, your attorney must be able to prove four basic elements in order to establish negligence in a Phoenix personal injury case:
- The at-fault person or party (the defendant) owed you or your loved one a duty of care to act in a reasonable manner,
- The defendant breached his or her duty of care by failing to act in a reasonable manner,
- Your loved one’s injuries were directly caused by the defendant’s negligence, and
- Your loved one suffered compensable damages as a result.
How We Can Help
Suffering a serious brain injury is a traumatic experience for everyone involved, especially when the injury occurs because of a preventable accident caused by someone else’s negligence. We know that obtaining financial compensation from the person or party that caused your loved one’s brain injury won’t heal the injury, nor will it change the fact that your lives have been altered forever, but it can help you get your loved one the medical care he or she needs and will need in the future. It can also give you some closure, knowing that the person or party responsible for the accident has been held accountable. Brain injuries can result in lifelong challenges or possibly even death, and our attorneys have a clear understanding of what it takes to win a Phoenix brain injury case, so you and your loved ones can get the maximum amount of money you are entitled to for your losses. Because trauma to the head or brain isn’t always something you can see, it can be difficult to prove that your loved one suffered a catastrophic injury and deserves compensation, and that is why choosing the right personal injury attorney to represent your case is key.
Consult Our Phoenix Brain Injury Attorneys
Brain injuries in Phoenix and across the country occur as a result of slip and falls, car accidents and other accidents that involve a forceful blow to the victim’s head, which can have a significant effect on the normal functioning of the brain. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 275,000 people are hospitalized for traumatic brain injuries and 52,000 people die from these types of injuries every year in the United States. Brain injuries can have a dramatic impact on injured victims and their loved ones and can result in financially crippling medical expenses and other costs. If your loved one’s brain injury was the result of another person’s carelessness or negligence, our attorneys at Personal Injury Attorneys, PLLC can help you recover damages from the at-fault person or party to cover the cost of treatment, ongoing medical care and other related expenses. You only have a limited amount of time to file a personal injury lawsuit under Arizona law, so don’t wait. Contact our Phoenix brain injury attorneys today for legal help.
