Avoid the trauma: Call a personal injury attorney for brain injury litigation
Tuesday, November 6, 2018, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
According to reports from the CDC, approximately 1.4 million people suffer a brain injury in the US.
Just like any other accident, the head injury can be superficial and curable, or it can be traumatic and permanent. The brain is the most complex of our organs. As a result, compensation lawsuits for brain injury can become complicated quickly.
Sometimes, a hard head bump is all a person needs to incur damage to their brain. While we wish that most of these would be as easily treatable and curable as other external injuries, they are rarely so.
One of the reasons for that is the nature of brain injury, and its effects are almost never the same between two individuals.
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Why is brain injury litigation always complicated?
There are times when bumps, blood clots, and open lacerations are visible in plain sight. However, it is possible for someone to incur an injury that is completely invisible.
Head injuries often lead to unseen trauma of the brain that can lead to memory loss (temporary or long-term), emotional changes, changes in personality and behavior, physical changes leading to inability to work, and cognitive impairment that results in the same.
Severe trauma to the brain is not just painful for the victim, but also on his or her family. As a result of his or her potential future unemployability, the family’s living standards, financial conditions and future options of education and employment suffer significantly.
The nature of traumatic brain injury (TBI) makes these injury litigation complex and lengthy, but the lasting trauma of the event can also make the trial unbearable for the family and friends. That is why it is imperative to work with the best lawyers in town, who can get you the compensation, you and your family deserve.
At the same time, they will ensure minimal emotional upheaval throughout the trial period. You need a reputed team of attorneys with experience in personal injury law to represent you in court. It will save your time and decrease the entire cost of the litigation by avoiding unnecessary prolonging of the trial.
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Which professions are at a higher risk of TBI?
According to the leading law offices in Los Angeles, California, people suffer from workplace-related head injuries frequently.
The employment-related accidents are frequent for the following professionals –
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Construction workers
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Utility workers
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Truckers
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Delivery drivers
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Chauffeurs and cab drivers
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Bus drivers
As per statistics from the 12th World Congress on Brain Injury hosted by the International Brain Injury Association and the CDC, over 30% of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases can lead to death.
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What are different types of compensations for personal injury?
The calculation of the compensation for a head injury lawsuit can be complicated since it involves innumerable factors.
First, let us go through the types of damages you can claim from the culpable party –
Special damages – if you have suffered an injury for which money can be a comparable substitute, it falls under the category of special damages. It is the out-of-pocket compensation that can include one or more of the following –
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Loss in wages
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Medical expenses
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Loss of earning capacity
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Property damage
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Burial and funeral costs (in the event of wrongful death)
Calculating the compensation for the lost wages and medical expenses is easy, but it is tricky to decide a number when the victim has lost his or her earning capacity in the future. Nonetheless, it is always smart to keep a detailed record of the nature of the injury, the symptoms, pain, distress, medical procedures, doctor’s appointments, and medication costs. Always remember to save the stubs (bills) of all related expenses before approaching your attorney.
General damages – these are the non-economic losses for which money can only be a rough compensation.
All kinds of general damages include the following –
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Embarrassment and humiliation
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Physical pain and trauma
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Mental anguish, shock, and emotional distress
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Loss of consortium
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Slandering of reputation
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Loss of companionship and society
Often, the general damages are 1.5 to 5 times more than the special damages. Again, it helps if the victim keeps a record of the symptoms from the day of the mishap. Make a note of the emotional distress, pain, dizziness, nausea, scarring, and headaches, in case they occur after the incident.
Even with astute calculating skills, coming close to the actual number is quite impossible for someone without enough knowledge of personal injury law. This field of law is not only sensitive for all parties involved but also extremely convoluted for the plaintiff.
To learn more about how different factors could have influenced the value of your payout, you need to contact a reliable law agency. Visit the Hershey Injury Law Los Angeles website to request a free consultation, and learn more about the damages you can expect from the accused party.
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What are the other factors that will influence the final payout?
Apart from the nature of the injury, other factors may influence the settlement value of the litigation.
Here are some of these extra factors you should consider –
Establishment of liability – in the event where there is a clear establishment of responsibility the payout is significantly more than those where the liability is disputable.
Multiple tortfeasors – sometimes, the injury is a result of the actions of multiple individuals rather than one. When each one of them has insurance coverage from different companies, the calculation process might become complicated since each one might have to pay a different amount.
The plaintiff’s characteristics – the age, likeability, occupation and prior medical conditions will also influence the final payout. Other aspects come into play as during the calculation of the compensation.
The trial venue – some of the places are conservative, and they result in a lower settlement value. In most of the cases, the trials in urban communities with a higher population, the juries often go with a higher payout than in these conservative venues. The insurance adjusters consider every factor. Hence the venue of the trial will influence the compensation value.
Egregious conduct of the defendant – the outrageous behavior of the defendant attracts punitive damages as punishment. You are less likely to add punitive compensation to the final value of your settlement, but you can use the impending possibility of punitive damage as a leverage to increase the final amount of the payment.
Damage mitigation – all claimants must seek medical attention after incurring an injury at the workplace. It shows the willingness to mitigate the damage reasonably. However, if the plaintiff has not sought medical care immediately after and their medical bills are now high as a result, then the insurance company might sight deliberation and go for a lower payout.
Once you go through the types of payouts and the factors that can influence the final compensation, directly or indirectly, you will understand the intricacy of the laws on workplace accidents and injuries.
Filing a lawsuit against your employer or the party responsible for your injury is not difficult. However, finding the right party to represent you during the trials are going to be challenging if you don’t know where to look.
The web is full of law agencies and personal injury attorneys ready to hold the flag for you, but it is your responsibility to pick the right team.
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Your friends and your family need you to make the right call!
When you or your loved one is going through the pain of an injury, financial loss and emotional trauma, it can feel impossible to think calmly and make the right decision.
It is indeed sad that work-related injuries, personal injuries, and TBI are so common in Los Angeles its the surrounding areas in CA. However, that does give you one advantage – to pick the team of personal injury attorneys who have the most experience working on similar cases in LA.
Check their profile online, find out how many experienced lawyers are there on the team and speak with them before you make a decision. Many of them offer free first consultations for interested parties.
Taking this consultation offer will enable you to judge their professionalism and find out about the potential compensation you might be looking at from the defendant.
Every law-abiding citizen of the USA deserves justice. You need to find the best legal advice money can buy to give your loved ones what they deserve.
Spending on the best legal team in LA might sound like a significant expense right now, but it seems more like an investment once you realize that it more than doubles the chance of a sure payout, and it can multiply the compensation 5-times the initial amount if you manage to document your ordeal from the beginning.
In case, you ever hurt yourself on the road or at your workplace, in the future, do give your doctor a call, but always call your attorney as well to find out what documents you need to save for making a strong case against the potential defendant in court.
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