If you suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Central Florida because of someone else’s negligence, a Central Florida traumatic brain injury lawyer could help you seek compensation for your losses from the at-fault party. A serious wound like a traumatic brain injury could affect your life for many years. You should not have to bear the financial consequences of someone else’s negligence.
You can “Ask Dave” about your legal options if you suffered a catastrophic injury that was not your fault. Many TBIs result from motor vehicle accidents, but they can also happen on the job, in the home, and during recreational activities or athletic competitions. Dismuke Law can fight your battles for you so that you can focus on getting better.
Recoverable Damages in Central Florida Traumatic Brain Injury Claims
After establishing who is liable for your traumatic brain injury, we can pursue your claim for monetary damages. Every TBI case is different. The amount and types of compensation you could receive will depend on the unique details of your situation.
Here are some of the categories of monetary damages we may pursue for you in a TBI claim:
- Medical bills, which can include the ambulance, emergency room or trauma center, imaging services like x-rays and CAT scans, hospital, physicians, physical therapy, and prescription drugs
- Extended inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation services to learn how to perform certain tasks again, like speaking, walking, or feeding yourself
- Lost wages for the income you did not receive when you could not work because of your traumatic brain injury
- Future lost wages if you cannot earn as much money as you did before your injury because of your TBI
- Pain and suffering for the emotional distress, inconvenience, and physical discomfort of your brain injury
- Other intangible losses, like disfigurement, chronic depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and loss of enjoyment of life
Sometimes, traumatic brain injuries are fatal. If your close relative did not survive their traumatic brain injury, we could pursue a wrongful death action for additional compensation for the family.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The Mayo Clinic explains that a traumatic brain injury typically happens when a person’s head sustains a violent jolt or blow. Another cause of traumatic brain injury is when an object goes through the skull and into brain tissue. A traumatic brain injury could be mild, moderate, or severe.
Traumatic brain injuries are more common than one might think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documented over 223,000 hospitalizations for TBI in 2019 and more than 64,000 TBI-related deaths in 2020 in the United States. These numbers do not include untreated TBIs or those that only received treatment in the emergency room, urgent care, or primary care physician’s office.
A traumatic brain injury lawyer in Central Florida could handle your traumatic brain injury claim, leaving you free to focus on your health and wellness. You do not have to go through the claims process or litigation by yourself. We will be there with you every step of the way.
Potential Consequences of a TBI
The Mayo Clinic says that a person who suffers a traumatic brain injury could develop complications such as:
- An altered state of consciousness, including coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state, or brain death
- Seizures, infections, fluid buildup or blood vessel damage in the brain, frequent severe headaches, and vertigo
- Intellectual problems, such as the inability to concentrate, memory issues, and learning difficulties
- Executive functioning problems, like difficulties with decision-making, problem-solving, organization, and other essential functions
- Communication difficulties
- Behavioral, emotional, and sensory changes
Some research suggests that repeated minor TBIs or one severe TBI could increase the risk of degenerative brain diseases.
How Long You Have to File a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuit in Central Florida
The statute of limitations is a law that could devastate your ability to seek compensation from the person who caused your injuries through carelessness. At any point during the claims process, you may want to file a lawsuit to protect your right to seek monetary damages. However, if you wait too long and miss the filing deadline, Florida law can bar you from filing suit to hold the at-fault party accountable.
Under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a), you have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit for your TBI losses. If your close relative did not survive their traumatic brain injury, you only have two years to file a wrongful death lawsuit, according to Florida Statutes § 95.11(4)(d).
What Kind of Lawyer Handles Traumatic Brain Injury Cases?
A traumatic brain injury attorney in Central Florida understands how this serious injury can affect a person in the short and long term. We know how to build your case for compensation based on your economic losses, like your medical expenses and lost wages. We can also calculate your intangible losses like pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Contingency Fees in Central Florida Traumatic Brain Injury Cases
If you have ever hired a lawyer in the past for something other than a personal injury case, you might not understand how contingency fees work in these cases. If you hired a lawyer to represent you in a divorce, for example, you likely had to pay a deposit toward your legal fees and received a bill for every hour your lawyer worked on your divorce case.
Personal injury cases don’t work like that. We use a contingency-fee structure rather than an hourly billing rate method. No matter how many hours we work on your case, we only get paid a fixed percentage of your settlement or court award at the end of the matter. If you do not win, you do not owe us any attorney fees.
Getting Started with a Central Florida Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer at Dismuke Law
Our Central Florida traumatic brain injury lawyers want to help you with your TBI claim or lawsuit. Please reach out to us so that we can talk to you about your situation.