• $16,200,000 to the victim of a slip and fall accident with a “mild” traumatic brain injury
• $13,500,000 to the victim of an auto accident with a brain injury
• $12,300,000 to the victim of a traumatic brain injury
• $10,800,000 to the victim of a traumatic brain injury and cervical fracture
• $7,500,000 to the victim of a slip and fall in Starbucks
• $6,000,000 to a child victim of a motor vehicle collision
• $3,270,000 to the victim of a brain injury due to medical error
• $2,750,000 to the victim of a traumatic brain injury in a trucking accident
• $2,100,000 to the victim of a traumatic brain injury due to trip and fall

Our past case results cannot guarantee the results of your claim. However, when you choose Gomez Trial Attorneys as your Encinitas brain injury lawyers, you will receive all the benefits of that substantial experience as you work through your claim and try to seek the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Many victims of TBI find that when they work with us, they can substantially increase the compensation they receive for their injuries.

Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries

Many people assume that traumatic brain injuries just affect memory. The reality, however, is that traumatic brain injuries can affect much more than that.

Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury occurs when the head experiences substantial force in an accident. Generally, traumatic brain injury results when the head meets another object with substantial force—a bump, blow, or jolt—but penetrating injuries can also cause trauma to the brain, resulting in a change in normal brain function. Common accidents that result in traumatic brain injury include:

Construction accidents. On construction sites, workers must wear hard hats to help protect the head and the brain against the possibility of injury. Unfortunately, hard hats do not remove the risk of traumatic brain injury entirely. Workers must also take care to maintain and replace their hard hats regularly for those hard hats to continue to offer the high level of protection construction workers need. Objects falling from heights onto the worker’s head can cause traumatic brain injury, as can fall accidents. Many construction workers spend their shifts well above ground level each day. Without proper safety precautions, this can substantially increase the risk of injury.

Even people who do not work on the construction site can sustain a brain injury. Visitors to the construction site, or those walking by, can face many of the same hazards from falling objects that construction workers deal with every day, but without the appropriate training and knowledge of safety precautions.

In the case of construction accidents, the construction company can bear liability for any traumatic brain injuries that occur on the job site, especially if the company fails to take appropriate safety precautions to keep every member of the workforce as safe as possible. If a worker suffers injuries while on the job, including traumatic brain injury, the worker may need to make a worker’s compensation claim. The owner of the building may also bear responsibility for construction accidents if the building had unexpected hazards or the owner caused the construction workers to take unnecessary chances in some way.

Premises liability accidents. If you walk through a store and something falls on your head, it can cause serious injury, including traumatic brain injury. Likewise, slips and falls can cause severe injuries. When you hit your head as you fall, either on a nearby object or wall or on the ground, that single moment can lead to traumatic brain injury. In a slip and fall accident, typically, the premises where the slip and fall occurred bears liability if the workers should reasonably have offered warning or protections for patrons. For example, workers should quickly clean up wet floors or leave signs indicating the problem. On public premises, including restaurants and stores, owners must also provide reasonable handrails, even floors, and safe locations for patrons to travel.

Auto accidents. When most people think of serious accidents, they usually imagine auto accidents: the crunch of metal, high speeds, and substantial damage to both vehicles. In an auto accident, your head may strike the steering wheel or the back of your seat. In severe accidents, you may hit the windshield or even fly out of your car to strike another object. Your head may not even strike anything—the force of the accident can cause the head to snap and the brain within to strike the inside of the skull.

In an auto accident, the party that bears responsibility for the accident also bears responsibility for your traumatic brain injury. This might include:

• The other driver
• A mechanic who failed to properly repair a vehicle
• The vehicle manufacturer
• A bar or restaurant that overserved a drunk driver

Nursing home accidents. In a nursing home, a patient with a known fall risk must receive particular care. Unfortunately, in many nursing homes, the patient may not receive adequate care to reduce fall risk. If the patient slips and falls, resulting in a head injury, the nursing home may have liability for those injuries, including traumatic brain injury.

11 Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury

Following a serious accident, even if you think you have no injuries at the scene of the accident, you should always have yourself checked at an emergency room or urgent care facility. If you lose consciousness at any point, even for only moments, make sure you inform EMTs and treating doctors. A loss of consciousness could be the first warning sign of traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury does not refer to minor symptoms that resolve within a relatively short period of time. Instead, they only refer to the initial presentation of the injury. A “mild” traumatic brain injury may cause extremely serious symptoms that can take a long time to develop and could last for a patient’s entire life.

A more severe traumatic brain injury—which, again, refers only to the initial presentation of the injury—can also cause lasting symptoms, and they sometimes take time to develop.

Brain injury symptoms may include:

1. Sleep disturbance. Many victims of traumatic brain injury report feeling drowsy all the time or sleeping more than normal. On the other end of the spectrum, some victims suffer from insomnia, struggling to fall asleep.
2. Blurred vision. Victims of traumatic brain injury may have difficulty seeing. Vision may blur when the victim attempts to focus or remain blurred all the time.
3. Hearing problems. Following traumatic brain injury, victims often struggle with hearing problems: difficulty hearing, difficulty comprehending spoken language fully, or a ringing in the ears.
4. Dizziness. Many victims of traumatic brain injury feel dizzy all the time. They may also struggle to maintain balance even when walking across a relatively level floor or struggle when going up and down stairs.
5. Mood swings. Victims of traumatic brain injury may struggle with impulse control or the inability to control emotions. Emotions may swing wildly from one moment to the next, often without any clear explanation.
6. Memory problems. In the case of traumatic brain injury, the victim may suffer from severe memory complications. Some victims struggle to remember events from the past, while others may struggle to write new memories. A victim of traumatic brain injury may struggle to remember even what items go in what cabinets in the kitchen or where to find materials used every day.
7. Cognitive difficulties. Following a traumatic brain injury, the victim may struggle to complete normal tasks. Some victims of a traumatic brain injury never regain their former processing capability, leaving them unable to return to their former professions or complete their former job responsibilities.
8. Changes in sensory perception. Individuals with a traumatic brain injury may no longer perceive things the way they once did. This may include difficulty perceiving hot and cold, changes in pain receptors, or difficulty processing touch. The sense of taste or smell may change drastically.
9. Personality changes. After traumatic brain injury, many victims experience significant personality changes. They may note that their friends and family members no longer seem to know them or that they struggle to relate to people the way they did before the accident.
10. Problems with physical function. The brain also controls movement throughout the body. Many victims of a traumatic brain injury must relearn how to perform common tasks.
11. Difficulty with language. In some cases, victims of traumatic brain injury may struggle with spoken or written language. Other victims struggle with both. For some victims, the struggle is comprehension, while others struggle to share their thoughts.

Recovering From Traumatic Brain Injury

Victims of traumatic brain injury may find that it takes a long time to recover—and still others suffer permanent disability as a result of traumatic brain injuries. Of the 2.5 million individuals who suffer traumatic brain injuries across the United States each year, about 80,000 suffer permanent disabilities.

Seeking Compensation for Your Traumatic Brain Injury

Following a traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation for your injuries. The compensation you receive will vary based on who bears responsibility for your injuries, the severity of your injuries, and the extent of the insurance policy that covers the responsible party’s negligence. However, many victims of traumatic brain injury file for:

• Compensation for medical expenses
• Coverage for lost time at work or lost earning potential, in the event of a traumatic brain injury that prevents you from returning to your previous profession
• Compensation for pain and suffering

Working with our brain injury lawyers can help you more effectively seek the compensation you deserve for your traumatic brain injury. A brain injury attorney can provide valuable advice as you move through the claims process, negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, and prevent you from accepting a low compensation offer given by the insurance company. Many victims find that simply working with an attorney can help increase the compensation they receive after a traumatic brain injury. Others find that having a brain injury attorney reduces stress throughout the claims process. The sooner you contact an attorney, the sooner he can start working for you—and the sooner you can get the compensation you need to start moving forward with your life.

Don’t Wait. Contact One of Gomez Gomez Trial Attorneys’ Encinitas Brain Injury Lawyers Today.

If you suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, don’t wait to contact an attorney to start working on your behalf. Reach out to Gomez Trial Attorneys today at (866) 395-6792. We will start with a free consultation to better understand how your traumatic brain injury occurred and give you a better idea of how the claims process will progress.