Brain Injury Lawyers Serving Pompano Beach

Everyone knows brain injuries are very fragile and severe. Even the most minor TBIs are treated with extreme precaution due to the complex tissue and matter of the brain and how it can be easily affected. Brain injuries can significantly impact a person’s quality of life, and if the harm was preventable, it can be frustrating to deal with.

A person suffering from a brain injury may not be prepared for the financial and physical burden these injuries can bring to the table. Contacting a brain injury lawyer in Pompano Beach, Florida, should be one of the first steps a victim takes.

If you or a loved one has suffered from a preventable brain injury, here’s what to know about your legal right to file a claim and how to find the right lawyer for representation.

A brain injury is any harm inflicted on this fragile area of the body due to extreme force or contact. Brain injuries are broken down into two categories, mild or severe, and are also known as traumatic brain injury (TBI). The most commonly known TBI is a concussion, which approximately 3.8 people suffer from annually for various reasons.

Many safety precautions are involved even when a person suffers a mild concussion. People are managed and monitored closely to ensure no further impacts on the makeup or function of the brain. Most concussions occur from forceful incidents such as car accidents and sports-related injuries, though other scenarios can also cause concussions.

TBIs occur when the nerve cells in a person’s brain are disrupted by the incident's force or blow and experience a blackout. Minor TBIs can cause blackouts ranging from a few seconds to minutes. More severe TBIs can cause blackouts that last up to 24 hours or more.

It is possible for a person with a minor TBI to make a full recovery within at least two weeks with the help of medication or other treatments as long as the impact was not severe. Those with severe TBIs might not be as lucky and require more time spent with medical interventions and require the help of the following:

• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech therapy
• Surgery
• Life-long medical interventions

No TBI is the same, whether minor or severe. Everything is on a case-by-case basis what the individual needs and requires to heal as best as they can or live the rest of their lives due to the injury.

Concussions are not the only type of TBI a person can experience to qualify for a brain injury lawsuit. Several other brain injuries can be just as impactful, if not more, that make a person eligible to seek compensation and justice.

Any scenario can lead to a brain injury if it’s impactful enough, including violence from a gunshot wound or other forceful item.

Here are other possible brain injuries a person may experience:

• Edema - swelling of the brain
• Hematoma - a ruptured blood vessel that produces a pool of blood in the brain
• Skull Fracture - leaking fluid in the brain
• Diffuse Axonal - damage to brain cells causing them not to function properly

A person may have brain injuries that are not on this list. If you have suffered from a brain injury that you believe qualifies for a claim, have your medical records reviewed by an attorney to discuss your possibilities.

Brain injuries can be very detrimental to a person’s health if the symptoms are not diagnosed and treated quickly, but the scary thing is that sometimes it’s difficult to identify brain injuries. Some signs of a brain injury are very subtle, such as changes in behavior, that don’t quite indicate there’s something wrong going on.

Some severe TBIs have more obvious, fast-showing symptoms, while minor TBIs can be easy to miss. Knowing possible symptoms of both makes it helpful to diagnose immediately and seek treatment before anything more severe develops.

Typical symptoms of minor TBIs include:

• Headaches
• Nausea/vomiting
• Sleepiness or trouble sleeping
• Slurred speech
• Blurred vision
• Migraine/sensitivity to light or sound
• Unconcious/blackout for a short period of time
• Confusion

Typical symptoms of major TBIs include:

• Unconcious or blackout for 24 hours or more
• Migraine
• Nausea or vomiting
• Seizures
• Dilated pupils
• Numb fingers or toes
• Extreme confusion
• Easily agitated
• Slurred speech
• Blurry vision
• Odd behavior
• Coma-like sleepiness or trouble waking up

You should seek medical attention immediately if you notice any of these symptoms after an accident. The best way to be proactive for brain injuries is to treat them immediately before the symptoms worsen.

There is no one-cause-fits-all for the development of brain injuries, but these injuries are sometimes seen in similar instances where extreme force is used.

Common causes for brain injuries include:

• Car accidents
• A person’s body being forcefully shaken
• Falls
• Military Blasts
• Gunshot wounds
• Violence

Negligence, accidental or intentional, of any kind that results in a brain injury is worthy of a claim review.

Unfortunately, children are susceptible to brain injuries, and they can also happen to babies if doctors use extreme force during delivery. Children playing in playgrounds or with certain equipment can also succumb to accidents that result in brain injuries and impact them significantly.

A child who experiences a brain injury can greatly differ from an adult since children’s brains are significantly underdeveloped compared to adults' brains. It is also possible for children to suffer from life-long impacts of brain injuries as the injury itself can alter brain development in areas such as speech. For instance, babies who suffer from brain injuries at birth due to forceful delivery have been known to develop Cerebral Palsy.

It is also possible for babies and children to develop slowly if they suffer from a brain injury and have to spend time in occupational therapy to relearn certain functions.

Trying to spot a brain injury in a baby or child can be difficult, especially if the child is at an age where they cannot verbally express themselves. Sometimes the symptoms of a child’s brain injury look similar to signs in adult brain injuries, but there can be a few differences.

Here are some injuries found in babies and children that have been known to signify a brain injury:

• Consistent crying
• Inability to eat
• Change in sleep patterns
• Irritability
• Loss of interest in favorite activities

Since adults have had more time developing their brains, it’s less likely for babies and children to make full recoveries if their injury is more severe. That’s why it’s crucial to seek help immediately if you suspect your young child has suffered from extreme force to the head.

Because of their extensive, fragile nature, brain injuries can be very costly in their treatment. Unless you are dealing with a minor TBI, brain injuries can cost thousands of dollars in surgeries, ongoing medical treatment, and other interventions.

Doctor visits alone for brain injuries can be very costly since it’s a highly specialized area dealing with a sensitive matter. Because of this, a person can find themselves drowning in medical bills that they feel overwhelmed to pay.

One or more methods can treat most brain injuries. One of the most prominent treatments for severe, complex brain injuries is stopping the bleeding and swelling or repairing damaged tissue. This is usually in injuries such as hemorrhages or skull fractures.

However, surgery is not the only intervention possible. Here are some other possible treatments you or your loved one may be prescribed to treat your injury.

• Rehabilitation for motor or physical skills
• Occupational therapy
• Verbal therapy
• Counseling
• Medications

Suppose you or your family feel very overwhelmed and are struggling to pay for interventions. In that case, help is available through a Pompano Brain Injury Lawyer.

The possibility of fully recovering from your brain injury depends on the case. Many people have now seen full recoveries after a year for moderate to less severe injuries because of new advances in modern medicine.

There are a lot of factors that go into a person’s ability to make a full recovery after experiencing a brain injury. These can include:

• Age
• The severity of the accident and impact
• How quickly you seek medical help
• How the body reacts to treatment
• Availability of certain interventions

Consult with your doctor to discuss what you should expect out of your unique situation.

As mentioned, many costs are associated with brain injuries. Apart from their intense medical expenses, there can be a great price to pay for the significant impact on the quality of life these injuries can cause.

You can seek compensation to help with your expenses related to a brain injury through your health insurance and possibly a lawsuit. To optimize your chances of a successful outcome, it’s highly recommended that brain injury victims keep receipts and records of their injuries and hospital bills for their claims.

Sometimes health insurance will not give you all the help you need. Your attorney can help you seek compensation by negotiating with your insurance for more assistance, filing a lawsuit, or helping you file for disability if you meet those requirements.

Some brain injuries can cause a person to start a disability that places them out of work for a short period of time or indefinitely. If this happens to you, you have the legal right to file for disability through the Social Security Administration, which is another tricky process you will need your attorney to assist you with.

Filing for disability through the SSA is another lengthy process that can last months before you hear a reply, but the application process is also complex. On average, 63% of applicants are denied for various reasons. There’s proof you have to show that may not meet the SSA’s requirements for disability, so it’s not advisable for you to file for this assistance on your own.

An attorney can help you fill out the application and ensure all questions are answered thoroughly and correctly to reduce your chance of being denied.

While it can be complicated to think about searching for a brain injury lawyer as you or your loved one are healing from the accident, it needs to be something you do as soon as possible.

Many people find comfort in the fact that their attorney will do most of the work for them. All you have to worry about is communicating with them from time to time, so you can still have an attorney hired as you are in the hospital as long as you can give them access to your medical records and other information they may need.

There’s a lot your brain injury lawyer can do for your case other than file claims for you. Here’s why a lot of people enjoy the benefit of hiring an attorney:

• Personally collect and review evidence
• Speak on your behalf in court and mediations (so you don’t have to)
• Assist you in filing for disability or other assistance programs
• Negotiate for higher settlements with insurance or the defendant
• Work closely to meet your needs for monetary assistance and other benefits

Don’t have a trusted attorney to turn to? You shouldn’t pick just any brain injury lawyer out there. These cases are very sensitive, which means you should carefully select who you’re going to trust.

The right brain injury lawyer should show competence in this practice area and have several years of experience under their belt. When you start to consult with prospective attorneys, ask them to discuss past cases that were similar to yours and what their outcomes were like.

Other than experience, you want to make sure they are going to work diligently for your success. Browse the firm’s reviews to gauge how happy past clients have been with their services and performance to see how they would be to work with.

There is no set timeline or settlement amount you should expect your brain injury lawsuit to operate under. How quickly your case closes and how much you receive depends on several factors your attorney can better help you understand.

Typically, cases involving hospital organizations or large corporations tend to last longer since they have their own set of resources, they plan to use to protect their position. These are also cases where settlements can be negotiated for a fairer amount, when needed.

If you still have questions about your injury, the Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers team would be happy to help. We understand how complicated this process can be, especially if your loved one is in a vegetative state or has passed away from a preventable brain injury. If you are suffering from a brain injury, we would love to help you seek compensation to help cover your medical bills and hopefully bring some closure to the situation.

We are a firm that has been helping residents in multiple Florida areas, including Pompano Beach, for the last forty years (by appointment only). Our four decades in practice have given us the knowledge and resources to understand medical laws that could be clouding your case to get you the help you need. Even if your main avenue of compensation is through insurance, we can help you file your claim.

Call us to schedule a free consultation to learn more about how we can help. One of our attorneys will meet you face-to-face to discuss how our services can best help you.

Call (561) 800-8000 or leave your information in our online form to get started. We will reach out to you as soon as possible to schedule a convenient time for you to come in.

We look forward to hearing from you and serving. If you trust anyone with your brain injury claim, let it be Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers.