Have you (or your loved one) suffered a brain injury?
In the field of personal injury law, the proof and recovery of damages for a brain injury many consider to be the most difficult case of all. This is due to a variety of reasons, sometimes from the failure of the emergency room doctor to initially recognize the injury, or even for the failure of the subsequent treating physician to fully appreciate the nature and extent of the injury. To compound this problem insurance companies have become very sophisticated in the tactics that they utilize to minimize the actual impact of a brain injury on a person through the use of paid company doctors who are often experts at confusing not only the onset of the symptoms, but the actual nature and extent of the symptoms.
Brain injuries can often be very subtle and even though they may be termed “mild”, recent medical developments have shown that there really is no such thing as a “mild” brain injury. Even so-called “mild” brain injuries, such as concussions, can have prolonged and devastating effects on a person’s life, it can change their personality, their family life, their ability to work, or even perform their jobs.
Often times individuals with brain injuries are not able to remember many of the events of the accident or the onset of symptoms, they frequently even deny the existence of problems, and family members are left to wonder what has happened to their loved one. They may become angry or frustrated, lethargic, clumsy, headaches (even mild ones), sensitive to light, nauseous (even vomiting), and often times do not have any specific complaint, but only recognize a general feeling of illness, not feeling well, and/or that something is wrong. Some or all of these things are common results of what has previously been called a “mild” brain injury.
Many times, an emergency room physician or a primary care physician will only do what is called a “gross neurological exam”. While this exam may be sufficient to disclose and deal with the emergency situation (moderate, severe, or acute bleeding into the cranial cavity), such exams are not designed to diagnose and find more subtle and less obvious neurological injuries or deficits. A more detailed or so-called “fine neurological examination” needs to be done by a qualified physician in neurology to discover these more subtle neurological problems. While the gross neurological exam will often diagnose the immediate life threatening neurological problem, the more subtle, life-altering fine neurological deficits will often not be apparent with just a gross neurological examination, and medical science is learning more with its modern studies that these previously undocumented, missed, and/or ignored fine neurological deficits can have tremendously adverse consequences on a person’s quality of life. The more time that passes between the injury causing accident and the actual assessment of these injuries, the more difficult it is to prove their relationship to the motor vehicle accident, and the easier it is for the responsible insurance company to avoid paying what it owes.
Of course, a so-called “moderate” or “severe” brain injury is more obvious. If you or your loved one you have been told by a physician that you have a “moderate” or “severe” brain injury you need to take immediate action. Such injuries are devastating by their very nature, and delay in treating any brain injury, even a so-called “mild” brain injury, can result in symptoms that were otherwise treatable becoming permanent. Insurance companies love any delay in an injured victim seeking treatment, since it allows them a multitude of nefarious tactics that become available to them to employ. In a situation of a brain injury where it may become less treatable with the passage of time, it would be particularly despicable for an insurance company to cause or encourage delay, but unfortunately the legal advantage they gain by the delay can outweigh the common human decency that should prevail.
The early diagnosis, treatment, and assessment of a brain injury is crucial to the successful prosecution of the case and the recovery of fair compensation and the damages that are owed to the injured victim. If you have suffered any sort of head injury or trauma in a motor vehicle accident, you, or your loved one, needs to be seen by trained neurologists and specialists in the field of traumatic head injuries. Furthermore, you should not delay consulting with an attorney who has substantial experience in handling brain injury cases. While an inexperienced doctor can cause you to have a less successful recovery from a head trauma, it is certainly true that an inexperienced lawyer who does not recognize not only the legal issues and tactics employed to defeat your claim, but is unfamiliar with the medical aspects of the case, can have a very detrimental impact on your successful prosecution of your case. In choosing an attorney to represent you, or your loved one, concerning a brain injury, not only is it important that you retain counsel at the earliest possible moment, but you need to make sure that the lawyer you retain has sufficient expertise and not just personal injury law, but in the actual prosecution of brain injury cases.
The Cooper Law Firm has successfully handled, prosecuted, and recovered millions of dollars for people with brain injuries, and upon evaluating your individual case will be able to promptly advise you of the necessary case strategies that need to be under taken.
Call the Cooper Personal Injury Law Firm today to speak to an experienced Stockton brain injury lawyer. The consultation is FREE.