The brain is our most powerful organ — it’s responsible for how we think, our movement, and so much more. If someone’s negligence has resulted in this valuable organ being damaged, contact a Fresno traumatic brain injury lawyer. 

A Fresno personal injury lawyer will collect evidence, deal with insurance companies, and negotiate as needed to recover damages. This may include medical and rehabilitation expenses, mental anguish, loss of income, and other costs associated with your long-term recovery. At Kuzyk Law, we have represented TBI victims and fiercely advocated for them to receive maximum compensation for their suffering. 

Fresno Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

A traumatic brain injury can have a profound impact on your life. It can leave you with long-term disability and major rehabilitation costs. You may also suffer mood disorders, sleep disorders, and physical pain as a result of your injury. A TBI can also affect your family, as you may no longer be able to work or even live on your own for the foreseeable future. Even brain injuries that seem mild can have a catastrophic impact on your life years down the line. 

The good news is that there are plenty of treatment options available for people with TBIs to help them live relatively healthy and happy lives. You deserve the best medical care and shouldn’t have to deal with the price tag that comes with it. That’s why we encourage you to get in touch with a traumatic brain injury lawyer. A professional Fresno traumatic brain injury attorney like Kuzyk Law will research your case and work with medical experts so you’re fully prepared to recover damages from the party that caused your accident and injury. 

Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury is an injury that disrupts normal brain function in some capacity. The most common types of TBIs include concussions, coup-contrecoup injury, diffuse axonal injury, and intracranial hematomas (as well as epidural, subdural, and intracerebral hematomas). These injuries, like all TBIs, fall into one of these four categories:

  • Open Brain Injury – These TBIs occur when an object penetrates the skull and brain, sometimes causing bone fragments to enter the brain. Open head injuries are usually caused by a gunshot or knife wound. 
  • Closed Brain Injury – Closed TBIs occur when rapid movement causes the brain to shake. This can result in bruising or tearing that’s not always immediately obvious.
  • Anoxic Brain Injury – Lack of oxygen will gradually cause brain cells to die, resulting in an anoxic brain injury.
  • Toxic Brain Injury – These injuries are caused by toxic chemicals damaging or destroying brain cells. 

Depending on the severity of your injury, you may require lifelong care. You shouldn’t have to pay for medical care, rehabilitation, or any form of treatment if your injury was caused by someone else’s recklessness or negligence. 

Common Causes of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries typically occur when your head collides with a hard surface or object, though some cases involve an object penetrating the skull. Here is a list of the accidents that most frequently result in TBIs:

  • Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
  • Slipping, tripping, or falling accidents
  • Aviation accidents
  • Suffocation accidents
  • Construction accidents
  • Farming equipment accidents

If someone else’s recklessness caused the accident that injured you, seek help from a lawyer. You deserve compensation from the at-fault party for your financial losses, physical pain, and mental anguish. No matter your accident, its severity, or its complexity, Kuzyk Law has a traumatic brain injury attorney in Fresno with the expertise necessary to take on your case.

Signs You Have a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries aren’t always immediately obvious. Some injuries can actually take days or weeks to present symptoms. This is why it’s essential to seek medical care after an accident, even if you feel relatively fine. If you’ve suffered a TBI, a doctor can diagnose it and begin treatment right away, which is critical for TBIs. 

If you don’t get medical care or if a doctor somehow misses your brain injury, it’s important to know the common signs of a TBI. Traumatic brain injuries usually cause some degree of temporary dysfunction, which can manifest as issues in the following areas:

  • Cognitive – concentration difficulties, poor memory, lessened problem-solving abilities
  • Emotional – anger, mood swings, depression, anxiety
  • Behavioral – personality changes, emotional dysregulation
  • Communication – trouble with speaking, writing, and/or organizing thoughts
  • Physical – loss of smell, vision impairment, nerve damage, difficulty swallowing

The signs listed above are the more long-term issues associated with TBIs. Other more immediate symptoms of a traumatic brain injury include dizziness, headache, fatigue, convulsions, slurred speech, neck pain, nausea, dilated eye pupils, weakness in limbs, ringing in the ears, and seizures. If you experience any of these symptoms after an accident, you should go to the emergency room as soon as possible. 

Recovering Damages for a Traumatic Brain Injury

If your TBI is severe enough, the lifetime treatment costs are estimated to be between $85,000 and $3,000,000. These figures don’t even include loss of income, productivity, or mental suffering. Most of these financial costs occur in the first year after your accident, with even mild TBIs costing approximately $15,000. The costs for moderate and severe TBIs can range in the hundreds of thousands for the first year alone. This is why it’s so important to hire brain injury lawyers who can negotiate a fair settlement for you. 

Many TBIs result in lifelong disabilities, some of which require permanent and costly long-term care. Whether you’ve suffered a minor or severe TBI, here are some of the damages a brain injury attorney may recover on your behalf:

  • Past, ongoing, and future medical expenses
  • Rehabilitation and therapy costs
  • Lost wages, loss of earnings, and diminished working capacity
  • Temporary and permanent disability accommodations
  • Medical device and prescription costs
  • Pain and suffering

If you’ve suffered an accident that caused a TBI or are the caretaker for someone who has, contact an expert brain injury lawyer. At Kuzyk Law, we have the resources and expertise necessary to calculate past and future expenses to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. 

Wrongful Death From a Traumatic Brain Injury

Unfortunately, some accidents result in traumatic brain injuries that the victim cannot recover from. Sometimes the victim passes immediately, sometimes weeks or months later. In these heartbreaking scenarios, having a team of brain injury attorneys is invaluable. 

Attorneys who know the ins and outs of brain injury law can handle your case with compassion while vigorously pursuing damages for medical bills, funeral costs, burial expenses, loss of income, and loss of companionship. 

How an Expert Attorney Can Help You

Though you can theoretically file a claim on your own, hiring a Fresno traumatic brain injury lawyer drastically improves your odds of recovering damages. For the best brain and spine injury lawyer in California, look no further than Kuzyk Law. Since our founding in 1971, the expert team at Kuzyk Law has achieved successful verdicts & settlements for over 100,000 cases. Our clients know that we’ll fight for them against insurance companies and advocate for their interests every step of the way. 

Our professional attorneys will handle a long list of legal matters and paperwork so you can focus on recovering from your brain injury. Our contributions can include but are not limited to:

  • Acquiring depositions from medical experts, vocational experts, and/or economists
  • Dealing with aggressive insurance companies and other at-fault parties
  • Collecting relevant medical records
  • Gathering evidence of fault and evidence of economic damages
  • Negotiating a fair settlement for your suffering

We don’t drag out court proceedings. We know you want to receive your compensation and carry on with your life. That’s why we do everything we can to settle the case out of court while ensuring you recover the damages you deserve and nothing less. The average lifetime costs of a TBI can go into the millions — let us fight for you so you have the financial resources you need to heal.

Contact Kuzyk Law for a No-Cost Consultation

If you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident and want to recover damages for your financial, mental, and physical suffering, reach out to Kuzyk Law. Our team of traumatic brain injury attorneys has experience with cases involving all types of accidents. Whether you need a specialist slip and fall attorney or a car accident lawyer, we’ve got you covered. 

Ready to take the next step? Please contact us by completing our online form. We’ll get back in touch with you as soon as we can to set up a free consultation. This is your opportunity to ask questions and tell us about your case so we can decide how to best assist you. You’re also welcome to call us at (661) 465-6241, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Would you like to learn more about traumatic brain injuries, personal injury lawsuits, or settlements? If so, check out our informative FAQs below. If you don’t see the answer to your question, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll arrange a consultation with a knowledgeable brain injuries lawyer who can help you.

Can I settle my brain injury case out of court?

Absolutely. Brain injury cases, like most personal injury cases, are usually settled out of court in structured mediation. A very small percentage of personal injury cases end up going to court, typically after both parties are unable to reach a fair agreement out of court. It should be noted that catastrophic injuries are much more likely to go to trial. If you’re unsure about how to proceed with your case, you should consult your lawyer. They can determine the best route to maximize your compensation.

Is a concussion a traumatic brain injury?

Yes, a concussion is often considered a mild TBI. Though concussions are not as immediately life-threatening as some TBIs, their impact can be serious and cause long-term issues.

How long does it take to recover from a TBI?

Most people recover from a mild TBI in a week to three months. However, your recovery time will depend on various factors, including the severity of the injury, the length of time you were unconscious after the injury, and your access to quality medical care. If your TBI is severe, a full recovery could take years or may not even be possible.

How is the impact on my quality of life calculated?

Calculating the impact of a TBI on your quality of life is more complicated than totaling up your medical expenses. Your suffering doesn’t always come with a price tag. That’s why your attorney will use a standard formula to determine your quality of life damages. Several factors, like the severity and circumstances of your injury and accident, are taken into consideration. 

Are brain injury settlements taxable?

No. Settlements awarded through a brain injury case aren’t considered income, so they’re not taxable. The notable exception to this rule is if you receive punitive damages, which are not directly related to the expenses you incurred from the accident. These matters can get complicated, so don’t hesitate to reach out to a TBI attorney for more information.

Resources for People With TBIs

Suffering a traumatic brain injury can be life-altering, but there are resources out there that can help you. For your convenience, we’ve linked valuable resources below for people living with TBIs. 

These resources can help you find community, educational materials, and other tools to support you in your recovery. If you have any other questions or want to file a claim to recover damages for your injury, we’ll set up a consultation for you with a head injury lawyer in Fresno.

Put Your Case in the Hands of Qualified Fresno TBI Attorneys

Do you need the best brain and spine injury attorney in California? Look no further than Kuzyk Law. Contact us today and we’ll set you up with a Fresno traumatic brain injury lawyer as soon as possible. Once you’ve told us about your case, we’ll determine how to best advocate for you and recover damages for your suffering.