According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 1.5 million people experience a traumatic brain injury every year. While some mild concussions have no lasting impact, most injuries of this sort have lasting effects that can range from headaches and dizziness to serious long-term disability. In fact, there are over 5.3 million Americans living with serious, permanent disabilities that resulted from traumatic brain injuries.
Despite how commonly traumatic brain injuries occur, there is still so much we do not know about them. The lack of objective evidence for these injuries makes it much harder to prove traumatic injuries in personal injury lawsuits after accidents. Unfortunately, people suffering from traumatic brain injuries often appear “normal” and may show no obvious damage on traditional diagnostic tools such as regular MRIs and CT scans. Even more confusing, sometimes symptoms of these brain injuries do not appear for days or even weeks after the accident. There are still ways for experienced brain injury attorneys to prove that the damage has occurred so that you can be compensated.
Five Strategies and Tools to Prove Traumatic Brain Injuries
The following are the most common ways that traumatic brain injuries can be proven to insurance companies or a judge and jury in court.
- New Imaging Technologies and Expert Witnesses – While regular imaging technologies used in the ER may not reveal the true extent of damage, new imaging technologies developed in the last decade or so can give a clearer picture of what is going on. If you suspect that you have undergone a traumatic brain injury, you can see a specialist who can get better images and have the expertise needed to interpret them correctly. Not all doctors are able to understand and explain these types of injuries, but an expert can help.
- Before / After Witnesses – Often the biggest symptom of a traumatic brain injury is a change in behavior or ability. While you may not have lost all ability to do certain skills, you may have increased difficulty with tasks. Employers, family, friends and other people in your life can testify to the changes after the accident.
- Psychological Testing and Analysis – There are now tests and other analyses that psychologists can do to better analyze the lasting emotional and mental damages of the injury beyond just the physical. They can testify to emotional loss, pain and suffering, and impaired mental functioning.
- Other Professional Analysis – Accident reconstruction experts and forensic engineers can evaluate liability and prove fault. Other medical professionals, vocational rehab support professionals, and forensic economists can help prove damages. Proving a traumatic injury simply occurred alone is not enough. You need to be able to show its impact on your life. This helps build that part of the case.
- The Wisdom of Experience and Case Law – When you are proving a difficult case, like with traumatic brain injuries, you need extensive knowledge about insurance coverage, legal precedent, the state and federal law, and many other legal subjects. Only an experienced Chicago injury lawyer will be able to do this well. Even with the best experts testifying, a case cannot be argued without a single unifying legal strategy and the wisdom that comes with experience.
If you have been the victim of a traumatic brain injury, you should not lose compensation you deserve just because these injuries are difficult to prove. We will devote as much time and necessary possible to help our clients get the best outcome possible. Call us at Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. for a free consultation with a Chicago injury lawyer on your particular case at (312) 236-2900. As experienced accident attorneys with knowledge about these types of injuries, we are prepared to help.
