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New Jersey Brain Injury Attorneys

Nj traumatic brain injuryA traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to a person’s brain that usually results from a violent blow or jolt to their head. According to the Center’s for Disease Control, “There were approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2020 and 69,473 TBI-related deaths in 2021. This represents more than 586 TBI-related hospitalizations and 190 TBI-related deaths per day.” These injuries may result from a fall or some other type of accident.

A TBI can range from very mild to severe. Many of the accidents that lead to a TBI are due to some amount of negligence. This could include drivers that fail to slow down to avoid collisions. It may also include property owners who fail to remove tripping hazards prior to someone falling on their premises. Any person who sustains a traumatic brain injury may be able to seek some measure of justice through a civil claim. The New Jersey brain injury attorneys at Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. are here to help you. We can evaluate the unique facts of your case free of charge and let you know if you have a claim that can be pursued. You can reach out to our office anytime at 800-529-9997.

Common Causes of Brain Injuries

According to the National Institutes of Health, falls remain one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries. Older adults and those with medical conditions are the most at risk. But defects in walkways could also contribute to a fall. For example, an uneven surface, such as a raised crack in a sidewalk, may inadvertently cause someone to fall. There are a number of other common causes of TBIs.

  • Motor Vehicle Accidents: Pedestrians and cyclists lack the protection of enclosed vehicles and are very likely to sustain traumatic brain injuries if they are knocked to the ground. But many people still sustain brain injuries as passengers inside vehicles. The odds of sustaining a brain injury increase dramatically in higher-speed collisions.
  • Assaults/Violence: Many TBIs are due to assaults or other acts of violence. This could include a punch to a person’s head or being hit with a blunt object.
  • Medical Malpractice: Any error during a medical procedure, such as surgery, could cause serious trauma resulting in a brain injury. Anesthesia errors are another major cause of head injuries in medicine.
  • Construction Accidents: Construction workers face numerous hazards during the course of their jobs. They could get hit by falling objects or struck by heavy equipment. Any number of different incidents at a construction site could result in a head injury.
  • Excessive Force: Police officers regularly cause suspects to sustain brain injuries. This may result from a suspect being struck by a baton or thrown to the ground. Chokeholds that restrict a person’s breathing can also result in a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury by depriving blood flow to the brain.

Brain injuries are among the most serious and consequential injuries that a person can endure. They have far-reaching implications for a person’s physical and mental well-being. This is why it is so important that every person and property owner take measures in order to mitigate the risk of accidents that could result in brain injuries. When a brain injury is the result of negligence, there could be several liable parties.

Liability For Brain Injuries

When a person or other entity acts negligently and causes someone to sustain a traumatic brain injury, they could be held liable. Negligence is the failure to exercise a level of care that a reasonable person would under a similar set of circumstances. A person’s actions or omissions could be found negligent. There are several elements that must be demonstrated in any negligence claim.

  • Duty of Care: The defendant must have owed a legal duty of care to the plaintiff. This means that the defendant was required to act in a certain way in order to keep the plaintiff safe.
  • Breach of Duty: The defendant breached their duty by failing to act as a reasonable person would in a similar circumstance.
  • Causation: The defendant’s breach must have caused the plaintiff’s injury. This includes two different elements. (1) The plaintiff must show that the injury would not have occurred “but for” the defendant’s actions. (2) The injury was a foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s actions.
  • Damages: The plaintiff must have suffered actual harm or injury as a result of the breach. Damages may include physical injuries as well as emotional distress.

Proving all four of these elements is crucial for being successful in a negligence claim. There are a number of different entities that could face liability for any accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury. But many of these incidents involve property owners who fail to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe manner. When a property owner has actual or constructive notice that their premises are in an unsafe condition, they must take action.

How Brain Injuries Are Diagnosed

Brain injuries are not always immediately apparent. In many situations, a person might feel completely fine after a head injury. Or they might feel like they’re okay the day after. But the fact of the matter is that many head injuries can be much more serious than they initially appear. This is why it is so important for any person involved in an accident to seek medical evaluation and care as early as possible. Your healthcare provider can determine if you sustained a TBI through several different methods.

  • Physical Examination: Doctors can perform a neurological examination to assess a person’s motor and sensory skills, hearing and speech, vision, balance, and coordination.
  • Computed Tomography (CT) Scan: A CT scan is often performed to assess whether a person’s brain shows any signs of physical damage, including fractures, bleeding, and swelling.
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): An MRI can provide more detailed images than a CT scan. It can therefore be used to diagnose smaller and more subtle injuries to a person’s brain.
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG): An EEG can be used to measure brain activity and identify brain patterns associated with different types of brain injuries.
  • Blood Tests: Certain biomarkers in a person’s blood can be used to identify the presence of a brain injury. In particular, the two proteins UCH-L1 and GFAP are more likely to be in the bloodstream of someone with a head injury.
  • Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS): The GCS is a clinical tool used to assess the severity of a person’s brain injury. Healthcare providers will look at three categories, including (1) eye opening, (2) verbal response, and (3) motor response. Lower scores on the GCS scale are associated with more severe injuries.

It is important to act as early as possible after being diagnosed with a brain injury. Brain injuries can be treated and improved with medical care. The opposite tends to also be true. Many brain injuries can get worse over time if a person does not seek any kind of medical treatment. In particular, certain traumatic brain injuries make it more likely that a person could develop a neurodegenerative illness such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease.

Steps To Take After A Brain Injury

It can be difficult to know where to begin after sustaining a traumatic brain injury. These injuries can be traumatic for both victims and their families. It is common for accident victims to sustain very serious impairments that impact their ability to work. Many are left with high medical bills. It is important for any person who sustains a brain injury to take certain steps in order to preserve their rights and health.

  • Call 911: When an accident leads to an injury, it is important to contact first responders. They can document the scene and help get you care.
  • Medical Evaluation: Accident victims should seek a thorough medical evaluation as early as possible.
  • Follow Treatment Plans: It is important to follow the instructions of doctors and continue to seek follow-up care.
  • Collect Evidence: It is important to collect evidence related to the accident, including police reports, medical records, and photos.
  • Contact An Attorney: An attorney can examine all of the unique facts of your case and take steps to ensure that your rights are protected.

An attorney can help determine if you have a claim that can be pursued. They can also take steps to ensure that key pieces of evidence are being preserved. There are deadlines that must be followed if a person decides to pursue a legal claim after any accident. Failing to follow these deadlines can result in a permanent forfeiture of rights to pursue a claim. This is one of the reasons it is important to seek legal advice as early as possible.

Getting Legal Help After A Brain Injury

Team AttorneysThe New Jersey brain injury attorneys at Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. understand how difficult it can be to sustain a traumatic brain injury. These injuries impact people physically and mentally and often make it difficult for victims to keep working. Many victims are forced to give up on sports and other hobbies that bring joy to their lives.

If you or someone that you care about has sustained a traumatic brain injury, you may have legal recourse. Our legal team is dedicated to helping accident victims get the medical and financial support that they need. We understand that most of the medical bills and economic impact of treating head injuries will exist well into the future. That is why we do everything in our power to get the highest verdicts and settlements possible for our clients. Whether you just have legal questions or need any type of support, we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at 800-529-9997.

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