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When the Worst Happens, You Need a New Orleans Brain Injury Lawyer

Sustaining a brain injury is one of the most frightening and uncertain medical situations a person can experience. Symptoms can range from skull fractures, confusion, convulsions, unconsciousness, and blurred vision, and in serious cases, death. The aftermath of these symptoms is often undetermined, and a brain injury can result in permanent or long-term brain damage that can affect a person physically, emotionally, and financially. Because of the severity of this type of injury and the inconclusive impact it can make on a person’s life, it is paramount to contact an experienced New Orleans brain injury lawyer.

What a Brain Injury Attorney Can Do For You

Filing claims and dealing with insurance companies can be stressful and confusing, and you may often question if you are being treated fairly and receiving the adequate compensation you need. Because of the indeterminate nature associated with brain injuries, financial compensation can be difficult to measure and insurance companies and other responsible parties will not only try to underestimate the cost of your needs but they will also be less likely to treat your case with the serious attention it deserves if you attempt to negotiate without legal representation. A knowledgeable New Orleans brain injury lawyer at Bloom Legal will assess your needs in order to file the proper claims for you and will communicate with the insurance companies and responsible parties to ensure you are treated fairly.

Traumatic Brain Injury Claims

It is estimated that nearly two million people will experience a traumatic brain injury each year. These injuries are often caused from a variety of different accidents, such as car crashes, sports injuries, and slip and fall accidents. Most of these causes stem from human negligence and can be avoided. Yet the impact of a traumatic brain injury can be life changing, and sometimes the symptoms can take months to correctly diagnose and recognize, making the aftereffects of this injury even more challenging. This is why it is important if you or someone you know has suffered a traumatic brain injury, you need to consult with an experienced New Orleans brain injury lawyer.

Symptoms of TBI vary depending upon the severity of the injury. Mild TBIs typically produce symptoms including:

• Brief loss of consciousness
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Blurred vision
• Memory and concentration deficits

Moderate to severe TBIs produce more serious symptoms, including:

• Extended loss of consciousness (including coma)
• Convulsions or seizures
• Repeated vomiting or nausea
• Fluid draining from the nose or ears
• Weakness or numbness of the extremities
• Loss of coordination
• Slurred speech

Mild TBIs can often be treated with drugs, but moderate to severe TBIs usually require surgery and extensive periods of rehabilitation, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychotherapy. The costs associated with these treatments can add up and place a severe financial strain on victims and their families. If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury, you should consider contacting a New Orleans personal injury law firm to evaluate your options for seeking compensation.

Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries Handled by Our New Orleans Brain Injury Lawyer 

Traumatic brain injuries are usually classified in one of the two following categories: 

• Closed brain injuries: these are brain injuries where the skull is intact. Force to the head, either directly or indirectly, causes the brain to move back and forth inside the skull resulting in hemorrhaging, bruising, and tearing of brain tissue.  
• Penetration injuries: these are injuries that arise from penetration of the skull caused by blunt force directly to the head. 

Within these categories, there is a broad spectrum of injuries that accident victims can suffer. Some of these injuries can be minor, requiring only minimal medical treatment, while others can result in permanent disabilities and even death. Some of the more common traumatic brain injuries include the following: 

• • Hematoma: pooling or clotting of blood in or around the brain, which can lead to a loss of consciousness or even permanent brain damage 
  • Subarachnoid hemorrhage: bleeding in the space around your brain that can lead to a coma, paralysis, and even death
  • Intracerebral hemorrhage: bleeding within your brain tissue. Intracerebral hemorrhages can be lethal and require immediate medical attention 
  • Edema: or brain swelling

• Skull fractures: broken bones in the skull
• Diffuse axonal injury: which is the tearing of the brain’s “axons”—the connective nerve fibers of the brain. These injuries are not always easy to detect but can be very serious. 

These injuries can require extensive medical treatment and possibly months of rehabilitation. If you have suffered any of these injuries due to someone else’s negligence, a New Orleans brain injury lawyer will be able to determine whether you have a compensation claim. 

Can Children Suffer From Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)? 

Unfortunately, children are also at risk of a TBI. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in children. Given this information, it is essential to closely monitor your child if they have experienced any type of head injury. Since kids cannot communicate when something is wrong as easily as an adult would, diagnosing a TBI in children is even more difficult. 

What are common causes of TBIs in Kids?

The causes of a TBI can fluctuate depending on the age of the individual. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has identified the following causes of TBIs the most common among children 0-14:

• Falls 50.2%
• Struck by or against 24.8%
• Motor Vehicle Accidents 6.8 %
• Assault 2.9%
• Unknown 15.3%

What If My Child Is Suffering From a TBI? 

If your child has suffered from an injury of any kind to the head, you should seek medical attention immediately. Children may not effectively communicate symptoms, especially infants and toddlers, as they have not yet developed the verbal or motor skills to let us know that something is wrong. Signs and symptoms can appear more dramatically or present themselves more subtly; therefore, any injury should be checked out and monitored closely. 

It is also essential that you contact a New Orleans brain injury lawyer if you believe someone else’s negligence caused the injury. An attorney can help you determine if you have a case and ensure your child receives full and fair compensation. 

Typical Questions for Your New Orleans Brain Injury Lawyer

If you’re considering hiring a New Orleans brain injury lawyer to help you resolve your case, you likely already have a set of important questions to ask them. When determining who to work with on your case, you should consider how they might approach some aspects of your claim and what role they will need you to play to be successful.

Am I entitled to compensation for my brain injury?

Whether or not you will be entitled to obtain compensation for your brain injuries will depend on the facts of your case. To get compensation, your attorney will have to prove that someone was negligent and therefore liable for your injuries. This means that someone’s actions were directly responsible for the incident that caused your brain injury. 

Negligence in brain injury cases can take many different forms, from reckless driving to unsafe premises, working conditions, or defective products. In all of these instances, someone is behind the negligent action and is therefore responsible for covering the cost of your medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.

How do you calculate the cost of your injuries and demand the right amount of compensation?

Your New Orleans brain injury lawyer will assess various factors in determining the long-term cost of treatment for your brain injury. Your attorney will review your diagnosis, prognosis, and future treatment needs, obtain cost estimates for your care and work with your personal insurance to determine what would be covered under your policy. With this information, your attorney will come up with a monetary sum that will be needed to care for your injuries over time and demand that figure from the party responsible for the accident.

Aside from medical expenses, am I entitled to recover any other compensation?

Sometimes, the negligent party acted so recklessly that additional damages may be obtained to compensate you for your injuries. Often known as non-economic damages, these are the elements of your claim that impact your day-to-day life. For example, suppose your injury left you traumatized, unable to sleep, or it significantly impacted how you enjoy your life. In that case, you may be able to argue that you are entitled to a greater sum of money.

While it’s more difficult to calculate these losses, knowing the full extent of what you’re experiencing will help your New Orleans brain injury attorney build a case for compensation. 

How will my New Orleans brain injury lawyer help if the other party accuses me of being to blame for the accident?

Usually, the party responsible for the accident won’t be the person you’re going up against in your lawsuit. Instead, it’s the person’s insurance company who will be responsible for paying out your claim. The insurance company will likely try to argue that you also played a role in the accident and resulting injury in an attempt to lessen your total damage award. 

In these instances, it’s crucial to have an experienced New Orleans brain injury lawyer on hand. You need someone who knows how to handle the types of defenses insurance companies usually make to get out of paying what’s owed.

Contact Us to Speak with a New Orleans Brain Injury Lawyer Who Cares

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a brain injury in Louisiana, contact Bloom Legal today. We can assess your case to determine what medical care you will need and what financial resources you will require to lead as healthy a life as possible. Our brain injury law firm will determine the responsible parties, whether or not you have a legal case, and if so, fight to acquire the compensation you will need to recover. A brain injury has serious consequences, and you will need concrete answers and support. Let Bloom Legal work to help you. To get started, please contact us by using our online form or calling us at 504-599-9997.