Claiming Compensation for Your Traumatic Brain Injury

Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can come from various occurrences. Whether you were involved in a car accident, knocked heads with a flying football, or experienced high-volume explosives while deployed as a member of the armed forces, you could suffer a TBI.

Although mild head injuries heal quickly, moderate to severe ones can cause significant injuries, ranging from confusion and memory problems for several weeks to a long-term coma or lifelong cognitive issues. If you suffered a TBI and believe someone else’s negligence contributed to your injuries, work with an experienced brain injury lawyer at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., to get the compensation you deserve.

Causes of TBIs

Before you can claim compensation for your TBI, you need to determine what caused it. One of the top causes of TBIs in the United States is slip and falls, which accounted for 48% of all TBI-related ER visits in 2014. Although slip and falls often affect the elderly, people of all ages can trip on cracked sidewalks, wet store floors, or an icy road. If your TBI is connected to a slip and fall, ensure that the brain injury lawyer you work with has experience in slip and fall cases.

Another common cause of TBIs is car crashes. If you received a head injury after a car accident caused by another driver, you might be able to file a TBI claim in addition to your personal injury claim.

If your head injury occurred at work, you may need to consider going through a workers’ compensation claim. However, while in most cases you cannot sue your employer outside the compensation you receive through workers’ comp, if you believe your employer deliberately harmed you, you can work with your lawyer to file a brain injury lawsuit.

Types of Compensation

In Michigan, you can receive two types of compensation for your injuries in a TBI lawsuit: economic damages and non-economic damages. To determine how much you can ask for, your lawyer will ask you to create a record of all your past, current, and expected expenses stemming from your injury. Unlike other states, Michigan does not allow for punitive damages or damages meant to punish the defendant.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the easiest to calculate. They include any financial costs you’ve incurred because of your injury.

Although these costs differ depending on the severity of your injury, all TBI claims will include past, current, and future medical bills, like your initial ER visit, hospital stays, physical or speech therapy, and medications. Besides these medical costs, you may also have property damage and lost wages. Depending on the circumstances of your injury, your lawyer may also recommend including other damages to your case.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are more challenging to calculate since they deal with the emotional fallout of such an injury. You can include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and other similar damages. Because non-economic damages are subjective, it’s essential you work with an experienced brain injury attorney.

Working With a Brain Injury Attorney

To ensure you get the compensation you deserve from your brain injury case, you need to work with an experienced brain injury law firm. Your first step to claiming compensation is to make an initial appointment and meet with your lawyer.

Once they’ve reviewed your case, they can determine whether you have enough evidence to file a TBI lawsuit. Your lawyers will not only file a lawsuit on your behalf but also enter into negotiations with the defendant’s lawyers and insurance companies.

If they cannot reach an appropriate settlement, your lawyer will take your case to court. There, they must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused your injury. To do this, they need to show four elements of negligence:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care
• They breached that duty of care
• Their breach caused your injury
• You have demonstrable damages (like medical costs or lost wages)

These can be challenging to prove, depending on circumstances, like if there were no witnesses to the accident, there are multiple defendants, or you may have had some fault in the accident. A lawyer with extensive experience litigating and negotiating brain injury cases gives you the best chance at winning.

File Your Compensation Claim Now

At Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., our seasoned attorneys have experience fighting insurance companies, large medical product manufacturers, and trucking companies. 

Call us today at 866-MICH-LAW to schedule your free consultation. We work on a contingency basis, meaning we only get paid if we win your case. 

Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.