Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys in Richmond, VA
Virginia TBI Lawyers
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can have a distressing, life-long effect on those who suffer them, as well as their friends and family. If your TBI was the result of another person’s negligent behavior, you may be entitled to compensation. For more information, call a traumatic brain injury attorney in Virginia at Tronfeld West & Durrett.
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Our personal injury attorneys have over 40 years of experience helping injured Virginians recover the compensation they need and deserve. Give us a call today: 804-358-6741.
How does a traumatic brain injury occur?
These injuries occur when an object strikes — or passes through — your head so forcefully that it causes severe or permanent damage to your brain.
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading cause of TBIs between 2006 and 2010 was falls. The second leading cause was being hit by an object and a close third was car accidents.
What symptoms should I be looking for?
In many cases, you may be unaware that you are suffering from a head injury. This is because some symptoms might not show up for days or even weeks. Here are a few signs to be on the lookout for:
- You feel dizzy or lightheaded
- Headaches
- Memory loss
- Blurred vision
- Confusion
- Slurred speech
- You feel depressed
- Unexpected changes to your personality
- Numb or tingling body parts
- Partial or complete paralysis
Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Have Life-Long Effects
Nearly 5.3 million victims of TBIs are forced to live with some sort of disability as a result of their trauma, reports Brain Trauma Foundation.
Depending on the severity of the TBI (mild, moderate, or severe), you or your loved one may be facing many different effects including:
- Seizures or some other type of sensory impairment
- Partial or full paralysis, which can affect your ability to drive, feed yourself, or do any of the other daily functions that have become a part of your life
- Memory loss
- Confusion on how to do simple tasks
- Unexpected changes to your personality, which can strain your relationships with your friends and family
- Mood swings
- Anxiety
- Depression
All of these side effects can have negative effects on your ability to work and make enough money to provide for yourself, which is why it is so important to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Without proper help and guidance, you could be left without a way to pay for your injuries and other losses.
Recovering Compensation for Your Traumatic Brain Injury
Regardless of how you or your loved one sustained the brain injury, if you are able to prove that another party was at fault, you may be entitled to compensation.
To prove fault, you must establish:
- The other party had a duty to keep you from undue harm (e.g., property owners have a duty to keep their property free of hazards, drivers have a duty to operate a vehicle carefully, etc.)
- The other party breached this duty. (e.g., the at-fault party ran a red light and hit your car)
- You would not have suffered your head injury but for the negligent actions of the other driver. (e.g., you would not have suffered your TBI but for the negligent driver running the light and slamming into your car)
- You sustained actual damages from the accident (e.g., medical bills, lost wages, etc.)
If you are able to prove another party was at fault for the accident that caused your head or brain injury, you can recover compensation for both economic and noneconomic damages.
Economic damages include:
Medical bills
According to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Traumatic Brain Injury Model System, the lifetime care costs (e.g., hospital costs, in-home care costs, etc.) of a TBI can range anywhere from $85,000 to $3 million.
In addition to medical bills and potential lifetime in-home care, you may need to complete renovations on your home or vehicle to accommodate your disability.
Lost Wages
Depending on the severity of your TBI, you may need to take time off work for recovery or be unable to return to work full time or at all.
If you are unable to care for yourself, you may need a full time caretaker or one of your family members may need to quit her job or take time off work to care for you.
This inability to work may cause you and your family to change your entire lifestyle.
Noneconomic damages include:
Pain and Suffering
A TBI places stress on all members of the family. You may be able to recover compensation for the pain and suffering that you and your family members are dealing with.
Loss of Quality of Life
In addition to causing a lot of pain and suffering, your injury may have caused a loss of quality of life. If you can prove that your brain injury caused a loss of quality of life (e.g., you are depressed, you cannot do the same things you did before, etc.), you may be entitled to compensation.
How do I get started?
Fighting an insurance company while you and your family are attempting to stay on your feet can be near impossible. Do not do it alone.
A head injury attorney can help.
While we know there is no way for us to heal your pain, the attorneys at Tronfeld West & Durrett are dedicated to helping get you the compensation that fairly reflects your losses.
We are local Virginia personal injury lawyers that care about the people in our community. We care about you and your family and getting you what you need.
Call Tronfeld West & Durrett today for a free consultation. Our number is 804-358-6741. Not in the Virginia area? You can call us toll-free at 800-321-6741.