What You Need to Know About Hiring a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
Have you been in an accident involving a serious brain injury? Are you wondering if you need a traumatic brain injury lawyer?
Falls and vehicle collisions are often causes of traumatic brain injury. Concussions, contusions, and penetrations can all result.
Insurance is a good place to start when you need remuneration for hospital bills and therapy expenses. Yet what happens if the money they’re offering isn’t enough?
Here’s what you need to know about finding the best traumatic brain injury attorney near you.
What Causes Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injury can happen to anyone. Yet young children under the age of four are particularly vulnerable, along with young adults between the ages of 16 and 24. Adults age 60 are also uniquely at risk.
Signs of a traumatic brain injury may include confusion, disorientation, dizziness, and headaches. You should also be on the lookout for nausea and blurry vision. Other times you may not realize you hurt your head in your accident, yet you may have these symptoms and not realize they are potentially related, memory problems, personality changes, depression, remote pain, and other symptoms. Thus, one should always have their head injury checked to be safe in the long run.
If you or someone you love can’t remember the event itself or events just before it happened, you are probably dealing with some form of brain injury. It’s critical to see a professional as soon as possible.
Traumatic brain injuries are often caused by a forceful bump or blow to the head. This could include a fall, a crash, or an object striking the head.
What Are Examples of Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Concussions happen when your brain experiences trauma from sudden impact. A person who gets one could get knocked unconscious, or they could remain conscious and feel dazed. Doctors may recommend rest from mental and physical activities in order to help a victim recover.
Contusions usually involve a bruise and bleeding on the brain. Simple treatment measures, such as ibuprofen, may be recommended. More serious contusions may need to be surgically removed.
Penetrations occur when a sharp object hits the skull and forces skin, bones, and fragments of the object into the brain. They require immediate emergency attention.
When Do I Need a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer?
Minor brain injuries can affect your brain for a short period of time. More serious complications, however, can be quite terrifying. These include seizures, fluid buildup on the brain, infections, and vertigo.
Brain injuries can really tax a person physically and emotionally. And don’t forget about the financial burden your new medical conditions are causing.
Your insurance or that of the person who caused your injury may be able to cover some of the costs of your recovery. Yet the payments you’re getting may not be enough to help with all of your needs. Ongoing treatments, prescriptions, and lost wages are just some of the new expenses you’ll have to think about.
That’s when you need to get a qualified attorney on your side so you can recover some of what you need to get back on your feet.
Look For Experience
There are lots of qualified attorneys out there, but not all of them have the expertise to represent you in a traumatic brain injury lawsuit.
When you’re considering a particular attorney, scan the website for “practice areas” and find out if “brain injury” is one of them.
Many attorneys offer free consultations, which give you a wonderful opportunity to determine whether or not they’re the right one to represent you.
Ask your prospective attorney if they have gone to trial and what their experience is with that. How often do they win these cases? What is the expected outcome for the client?
You can also ask potential attorneys to give you an example of a case similar to yours that they won. What was their strategy? The right attorney will be able to give you an example that proves they’re the right one for the job.
Look For Recommendations
You may or may not know someone who has experience with a brain injury who can recommend a qualified attorney. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions about their experience.
Was the lawyer knowledgeable and professional? Did they win their case? Were there any unexpected fees?
You can also look for prospective attorney references via Google, Facebook, AVVO, Yelp, and other areas. Make sure that what you’re reading matches up with what you would like in an attorney.
In the end, talking with the attorney to learn about them and your case is your best avenue to moving forward.
Look For the Right Attorney
All personal injury attorneys charge a flat contingency fee, which is a percentage of what you’re awarded if your case is won. Most often you will find that each law firm will charge the same percentage. A contingency fee means you pay nothing unless your case is won. When you talk with an attorney ask them what their contingency fee structure is for a settlement and for trial. Then ask what typical case expense they charge for. You can use this as a baseline for comparison.
Case expenses may often include expert witnesses, a private investigator, accident reconstruction, and more. Take the time to ask what expenses they anticipate and how they charge for them. The previously mentioned expenses are not required in every case, however, obtaining medical records is. Often the medical records will need to be reproduced creating yet another expense. Ask the attorney if they charge for “copies” or travel time, and more. Not every attorney does charge as these expenses can eat away at your compensation, thus take a moment to ask, you will be glad you did.
The exact fee for your case could vary greatly depending on the amount of research your case requires and if the case goes to trial. Going to trial may be your only option if a settlement offer is not in your best interest. All too often an attorney will accept a settlement in order to close the case and get paid. If the amount of the settlement is not adequate compensation then it should not be accepted and you should go to trial. Your attorney should always do what is in your best interest.
It’s also important to ask your lawyer to put your expected fees in writing before you hire them. The right attorney will be willing to explain any fees you don’t understand to you. Don’t hire someone who isn’t patient enough to help you make sense of the fine print in your agreement.
Getting Ahead of the Game
Sustaining a brain injury can be an overwhelming time both physically and emotionally for you and your family. The right traumatic brain injury lawyer may help you get the funds you need to get the medical and emotional assistance you deserve. With some careful planning, you could be on your way to recovery in no time.
Start getting back on your feet now and get your best life back. For more information on experienced brain injury attorneys near you, contact us at The Dawson Law Firm today.