Jersey City Brain Injury Attorney
The brain is a delicate and complex organ. If you sustain any type of brain injury in a preventable accident in Jersey City, you may suffer the physical and psychological ramifications for many months. At Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, our Jersey City brain injury attorneys are passionate about representing brain injury survivors in personal injury lawsuits throughout New Jersey. We can stand up for your rights against any party that caused or contributed to your brain injury.
Jersey City Brain Injury Resources
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Why Hire a Brain Injury Attorney?
What is a Brain Injury?
What Are Some Different Types of Brain Injuries?
Potential Long-Term Effects of a Brain Injury
Brain Injuries Caused by Negligence
How a Jersey City Brain Injury Attorney Can Help
Building a Team of Experts for Your Case
Compensation Available In Your Case
Steps to Take After a Brain Injury
Call a Lawyer Today
Why You Need a Jersey City Brain Injury Attorney
Even with an injury as serious as one to the brain, an insurance company may try to take advantage of you to reduce your payout. Insurance companies will try many tactics to protect their bottom lines, including undervaluing how much a victim will require in future medical care.
If you hire a Jersey City personal injury attorney, you will have a trained professional advocating on your behalf. Your attorney will fight to protect your rights while also taking care of complicated legal matters, such as investigating your accident and preserving evidence. You will have the peace of mind to focus on your recovery with an attorney by your side.
What is a Brain Injury?
While each brain injury is unique, the consequences can be mild to severe and could be short-term or last a lifetime. A TBI can have far-reaching consequences, affecting not only the victim but also their family, friends, and even their career. The individual will often need ongoing medical treatment, rehabilitation, and emotional and financial support.
What Are Some Different Types of Brain Injuries?
All brain injuries are serious and deserve immediate medical attention. Even a brain injury that is classified as minor, such as a minor concussion, can have serious symptoms that interfere with your daily life until your brain has healed. Most accidents cause what are known as traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. These stem from sources of external trauma, such as a blow or bump to the skull.
Types of TBIs include:
- Concussion
- Contusion or bruising
- Penetrating injury
- Swelling (edema)
- Hemorrhaging or bleeding
- Diffuse-axonal injury
- Coup-contrecoup injury
There are also acquired brain injuries (ABIs), which stem from problems within the body. Examples include hypoxic and anoxic brain injuries, which arise from a lack of oxygen to the brain. TBIs and ABIs can cause a wide variety of debilitating symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, loss of balance, memory loss, confusion, trouble concentrating, blurred vision, sensory changes, nausea and vomiting, mood changes, nightmares, cognitive issues, and permanent disability.
Potential Long-Term Effects of a Brain Injury
Regarding the long-term effects of a TBI, location is everything. The symptoms of a left-sided and right-sided brain injury will be different, as will a frontal lobe injury.
For instance, damage to the frontal lobe can lead to risky or inappropriate behaviors.
On the other hand, a left-side injury can result in problems with logic, speech difficulties, and trouble understanding others or talking.
If the right side of the brain is affected, individuals may experience difficulty processing visual information or develop an inability to perform regular tasks even if they are familiar with them (e.g., not knowing how to brush their teeth).
Regardless of where the injury is, some of the most common long-term effects of a brain injury include the following:
- Increased sensitivity to light and sound
- Difficulty concentrating and focusing
- Difficulty with organization and planning
- Sleep disturbances
- Reduced ability to work and engage in daily activities
- Loss of independence and increased reliance on caregivers
A TBI’s emotional and psychological effects can also be as profound as the physical effects. Many individuals with a TBI struggle with mood swings, depression, anxiety, and PTSD and may require counseling to help them manage these challenges.
Not everyone who experiences a TBI will experience these exact long-term effects. The extent and duration of these effects will vary depending on the individual and the severity of their injury. However, for many individuals, the long-term effects of a TBI can be life-altering, requiring ongoing medical treatment, rehabilitation, and support. Some people may pass away due to TBI’s. In the event a loved one has died due to a brain injury, contact our wrongful death lawyers in Jersey City.
Did Negligence Cause You or a Loved One’s Brain Injury?
If you or a relative has been diagnosed with a brain injury in Jersey City and believe someone else is to blame, such as another driver for causing a car accident, you may be eligible for financial compensation from that party’s insurer. Common examples of accidents that cause TBIs in New Jersey are:
- Motor vehicle collisions
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle and bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian collisions
- Falls
- Sports impacts
- Work and construction accidents
- Struck-by objects
- Medical malpractice
- Birth injuries
- Acts of violence
To have grounds for a brain injury lawsuit, you or your attorney must prove negligence. In personal injury law, someone is negligent if that person fails to uphold the accepted level of care, resulting in injury or harm to another person.
How a Jersey City Brain Injury Attorney Can Help
One of the first and most important ways an attorney can help is by determining who is at fault for your injury. Brain injuries can be caused by various factors, including car accidents, slips and falls, sports injuries, and medical malpractice.
Once fault has been established, your attorney can begin calculating the full extent of your losses. Brain injuries can result in a wide range of costs, including medical bills, rehabilitation and therapy costs, and lost wages. Your attorney will be able to help you determine the full value of your case, considering all of your financial, physical, and emotional losses.
After this, your attorney can negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf. Insurance companies are notorious for offering low settlements to injury victims to save themselves money. However, with the help of a seasoned brain injury attorney, you can be sure that you’re receiving a fair settlement that considers all of your losses.
Building a Team of Experts for Your Case
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, seeking compensation is probably a top priority, as medical bills can be quite significant in brain injury cases. However, navigating the legal landscape of a brain injury claim can be challenging, especially without the right support. That’s why it’s so important to have medical experts on your side.
A medical expert will review your medical records, including test results, diagnostic assessments, hospital notes, and anything relevant to your injury. With this knowledge, a medical expert can explain to an insurance company or other party how the accident occurred and why you are entitled to compensation.
In many cases, insurance companies will try to argue that your injuries are not as severe as you claim or are unrelated to the accident. Medical experts can help to refute any claims made by the other side that may downplay the severity of your injuries.
A medical expert can also offer valuable insight into your rehabilitation and how the injury and the recovery process will affect your life. This will help show the insurance companies or other defendants how severe your injury is.
Compensation Available for a Brain Injury in Jersey City
If your attorney succeeds in obtaining a settlement or judgment award in your favor, you could recover compensation for the following losses:
- Medical bills (including future health care needs)
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Property damage
- Lost wages (present and future)
- Lost capacity to earn due to disability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional injuries
- Psychological or mental anguish
- Lost quality or enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages
For a comprehensive evaluation of your brain injury claim in Jersey City, contact an attorney. Every injury claim in New Jersey is unique. The value of your case will vary based on the severity of your brain injury and many other factors.
Steps to Take After a Brain Injury
The steps you should take after a brain injury depends partly on how the injury occurred. For example, if you sustained a brain injury at work, you should notify your employer as soon as possible or you could lose out on the chance to file a workers’ compensation claim and recover the benefits you’re entitled to.
In New Jersey, you should always report your injury to your employer within 14 days. You don’t automatically lose the right to benefits if you don’t report it within this timeframe, but it becomes slightly more complicated after this deadline.
If you report the injury after 14 days but within 30 days, you can still recover compensation unless your employer can show that this delay prejudiced them. If you report the injury after 30 days, but before 90 days, you can still recover compensation under some circumstances.
Ultimately, the earlier you report your injury, the better.
Additionally, make sure you speak with your employer or the insurance company before you see a doctor, as they can dictate which medical provider you see. Of course, if you need emergency medical attention, you should ensure you’re safe and healthy before worrying about this. But you should speak with your employer about this as soon as possible.
However, for all types of brain injuries – work injuries and any other type of accident – certain steps should always be taken, including the following:
- Seek medical attention
- Follow the doctor’s medical treatment plan
- Keep track of all medical expenses and treatments
- Keep notes of how the injury has affected/is affecting your life – are you unable to work? Are you unable to participate in other hobbies or activities that you could previously?
- Write down everything that led up to the injury so you don’t forget later
- Get information about witnesses
- Contact a lawyer right away
Speak to a Jersey City Brain Injury Lawyer Today
Nothing can ever make up for the pain, suffering and trauma of a serious brain injury. However, a successful claim against the person or party who caused your injury can help you and your family move forward by providing financial compensation for your related expenses. It can also hold the at-fault party accountable, giving you a sense of justice. From Jersey City motorcycle accident lawsuits to slip and fall cases, you can trust Brady Reilly & Cardoso LLC to represent you with integrity and dedication.
For more information about a potential brain injury claim, contact us at (201) 997-0030 for a free consultation in Jersey City.