A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by a forceful bump, blow or jolt to the head or body. Some types of TBI can cause temporary or short-term problems with normal brain function, including problems with how the person thinks, understands, moves, communicates, and acts. A more serious TBI can lead to severe and permanent disability, and even death.
Some injuries are considered primary, meaning the damage is immediate. Other outcomes of TBI can be secondary, meaning they can occur gradually over the course of hours, days or appear weeks later.
When a person suffers from a TBI after a car crash or another traumatic incident, it can radically change the course of their life in an instant. It can lead to:
- Visual disturbances
- Dizziness
- Memory loss
- Problems with focus and concentration
- Emotional distress
- Loss of ability to work or perform certain tasks
- Loss of ability to enjoy your favorite activities
In a personal injury claim, brain injury cases are often complicated because they do not show up on diagnostic images and are not always taken seriously. Symptoms can be very real to the victim but cannot be confirmed by scans or medical tests available. As a result, the insurance company may claim the TBI symptoms are fake or exaggerated.
Litigation after a Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury cases are difficult cases. They are harder to settle or bring to trial because the testing for closed brain injuries is inadequate and hard to diagnose. These are not the type of case that an attorney can learn as they go. John DeGasperis, partner at Basch & Keegan, has recovered more than 10 million dollars for victims of closed head, traumatic brain injuries.
“I see TBI cases differently,” explains John. “They are not attractive; they are hard cases. Every personal injury lawyer wants the case with a broken bone over a TBI because that has medical images and specific diagnostic tests to prove the injury. Closed head injuries do not have a test to reveal the injury. You essentially must prove an invisible injury.”
John understands this struggle more than the average personal injury attorney. John’s late father was a victim of a brain injury after a stroke. He witnessed firsthand the struggle a brain injury has on the victim, and the family. His father was told there was no injury when there clearly was. He knows how family will often be the victim’s advocate and be the ones who articulate the injury.
If you or someone you love has suffered from a brain injury, John is here to help. He will listen to your story and give you his honest, expert opinion regarding your potential case.
Call John DeGasperis, Hudson Valley’s Brain Injury Attorney, today at 845-338-8884.