Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Lawyers in Casper, WY Fighting for Victims Injured by Defective Products

While most people spend a lot of time thinking, the brain is probably not what they’re thinking about.

But the brain is an amazing organ, and the advancement and sophistication of the human brain is the key thing that sets humans apart from other species.

Indeed, without our brains, humans would never have been able to achieve the thousands of accomplishments that we have, ranging from the discovery of electricity and the development of the computer to agriculture and medicine, and more.

When the brain is injured, the results can be devastating.

A person who was living a normal, healthy, and productive life may all of a sudden be unable to perform even the most basic of tasks, leaving them unable to work, maintain normal social relationships, or perhaps even care for themselves.

At the office of Platte River Injury Law, our brain injury lawyer understands how severe the consequences of a brain injury can be and is passionate about providing those who have been harmed with exceptional legal representation.

For assistance from trusted traumatic brain injury attorneys near you, call our law firm today.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury often referred to as a TBI or just a brain injury, refers to an injury to the brain that disrupts the brain’s normal activity. Traumatic brain injuries may be either open or closed wounds.

A traumatic brain injury can be caused by:

• A bump, blow, or jolt to the head;
• Strong rotational forces or excessive shaking of the head (i.e. Shaken Baby Syndrome);
• The penetration of the skull and brain with an object; or
• Oxygen deprivation, especially for a prolonged period of time.

Common types of traumatic brain injuries are penetration injuries, concussions, diffuse axonal injuries, coup-contrecoup injuries, and anoxic/hypoxic brain injuries. Additional brain injuries include intraventricular hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, epidural hematoma, and cerebral contusions.

All brain injuries are serious. Even concussions, which for years people dismissed as “having their bell rung,” can have severe consequences. Therefore, you must seek immediate medical attention for all head injuries, even if you believe that you “only” suffered a concussion.

Accidents that Lead to Traumatic Brain Injuries

Because a brain injury may result any time that the brain is hit with force or harmed in another manner, a brain injury can occur in nearly any type of accident.

Some of the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries include:

• Motor vehicle accidents;
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents;
• Motorcycle accidents;
• Workplace accidents;
• Slip, trip, and fall accidents;
• Sports-related accidents;
• Assault;
• Medical malpractice;
• Defective product accidents; and
• Wrongful Death

Consequences of a Brain Injury

While some brain injuries are classified as minor and may heal on their own with rest and time, other brain injuries are classified as severe.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that a traumatic brain injury can have an effect on a wide range of functional abilities, either short- or long-term.

Some of the functions that may be impaired by a traumatic brain injury include:

• Sensation, such as sight and balance;
• Thinking, such as memory and reasoning;
• Language, such as the ability to speak, remember words, communicate ideas, or make sense of what others are saying; and
• Emotion–traumatic brain injuries are associated with emotional changes, including depression, aggression, and social inappropriateness.

Depending on the severity of the above, a person who suffers a traumatic brain injury may be unable to work and provide for themselves and their family; may be unable to maintain normal healthy relationships, both social and romantic; may be unable to communicate; and may even be unable to provide basic self-care, such as bathing or feeding oneself.

Evidence of a Brain Injury

The evidence of an open wound to the brain will be obvious. Head wounds tend to bleed extensively. Cerebrospinal fluid might leak from the open wound as well. Individuals who sustain injuries such as this after being hit by an object are in dire need of trauma care. Sadly, severe open wounds to the head and brain often result in the brain death of the victim if the person survives the incident.

Contact to the head or violent jarring of the head compresses the brain against the skull. The brain then rebounds to strike the opposite side of the skull. The collision between the brain and the skull produces different results depending on the forces applied to the head. Even seemingly minor incidents may have disastrous results.

Brain injuries manifest themselves in various ways. Not every person who sustained a closed head brain injury will experience the same symptoms. However, knowing which symptoms commonly appear after a closed head injury could help you assess the seriousness of the situation.

Symptoms of a closed brain injury include:

• Loss of consciousness after the initial injury;
• Sleep disturbances;
• Personality changes;
• Emotional changes;
• Violent mood swings;
• Memory loss;
• Language or communication problems;
• Loss of balance;
• Loss of concentration;
• Diminished sensory perception, especially with sight, smell, and sound;
• Persistent ringing in the ears;
• Headaches;
• Nausea, especially within a short period of time after the incident; and
• Disorientation.

The symptoms of a TBI might not appear for some time after the incident. However, many symptoms appear right away. That is why obtaining immediate medical attention after a head injury is essential to diagnosing and treating a brain injury.

Medical Tests Used to Diagnose TBIs

Trauma physicians use a variety of techniques to diagnose and treat brain injuries. Doctors will use CT scans, MRIs, and x-rays to find any signs of brain injury. These tests will show the physical damage to the brain.

Neurologists will use other tests to determine brain function. One of those tests is the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Using this scale, points are assessed based on the patient’s ability to open their eyes, provide verbal responses, and perform motor responses.

The higher the score, the less severe the injury–the lower the score, the more severe the brain injury is.

For example, a person who can open their eyes and blink seems oriented and able to answer questions, and can obey commands for new movements would be issued a high score, implying a less severe injury.

A person who can only demonstrate flexion and extension in response to pain, cannot speak or demonstrates incomprehensible speech, and cannot open their eyes or only does so in response to pain would have a low score and, therefore, a very serious traumatic brain injury.

How to Prove a Brain Injury

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of your involvement in an accident caused by another party’s action, you maintain the right to recover compensation.

However, you will need to prove that the other party’s negligence was the proximate cause of your TBI, as well as the extent of your TBI and your related damages.

Our brain injury lawyers can help.

TBI personal injury cases are highly complex. These cases often involve complicated legal issues relating to proof of injury and proof of damages. At the outset, the victim needs to prove the liability of the person who caused the accident as well as prove the accident caused the injuries. 

Then, the victim must prove damages. Some damages are easier to prove than others. Past medical expenses are fairly easy to prove. However, damages such as future medical expenses based on life expectancy require highly sophisticated calculations. 

We take an individualized yet systematic and disciplined approach to obtaining the evidence we need to prove your case.

The first thing that we will do is open an investigation into your accident.

We will collect all evidence that is relevant, including photos of the scene of the accident, eyewitness statements, any logs or records related to the accident and involved machines/materials (i.e. truck driver logs), experts’ opinions, police reports, and more.

From there, we can make a determination about negligence–the failure to exercise the required degree of care–and liability.

The next thing we will do is work to prove that your injury would not have occurred but for the party’s negligence. Again, the evidence that we’ve collected, as well as the opinions of accident reconstruction experts, will be crucial.

Then, we’ll need to prove the extent of your brain injury. This will require consulting your doctor, as well as other unbiased medical experts.

We may also need statements from friends and family in order to build a story around how the brain injury has changed your life and the extent of disability you are now facing.

Finally, we will work with other professionals, such as financial experts, to calculate the total value of your losses.

We will work hard to get you a settlement that compensates you for the full value of your damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, any property damage costs, pain, suffering, and more.

The value of your case depends on your unique circumstances. That is why we place great emphasis on who you are as a person after the accident and who you were before a careless person changed your life forever.

Call Our Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys Today

The role of brain injury lawyers is to help victims of serious accidents recover the damages they deserve.

When you call the office of Platte River Injury Law, our experienced traumatic brain injury attorney will offer aggressive, dedicated representation. Reach us today for your free consultation.