A Closer Look at Traumatic Brain Injuries

Extreme, excessive motion causes most TBIs, an injury that kills over 64,000 Americans every year. Many personal injuries heal, for the most part, if the victims receive prompt and proper treatment. Head injuries, however, are permanent. That is because dead brain cells do not regenerate.

These injuries usually cause lifelong cognitive and social interaction effects. Many head injury victims have trouble concentrating. The resulting personality changes, like mood swings, have severe consequences at work and in social situations. With those issues in play, the cost of ongoing medical treatment and lost wages quickly add up.

Fortunately, an experienced Baltimore City personal injury law firm like The Yost Legal Group can obtain the justice and compensation these victims deserve and need to manage their TBIs and any other adverse effects to quality of life.

What Causes TBIs?

Car wrecks are the leading cause of TBIs in Maryland. Vehicle collisions combine all three of the most common TBI causes:

• Trauma: Airbags significantly reduce the number of trauma-related head injuries, at least in low-speed collisions. However, airbags do not do much good in high-speed collisions. The effect is like putting a pillow against a brick wall and slamming into the pillow as hard as possible, leading with the forehead.
• Motion: Many people believe the brain fits snugly inside the skull, like a hand in a glove. That is not true. The brain is not much bigger than a clenched fist. The skull is like a water tank that suspends the brain in cerebrospinal fluid. The extreme motion in a car crash causes the brain to violently and repeatedly slam against the insides of the skull.
• Noise: According to many eyewitnesses, car crashes sound like explosions. These sudden, loud noises create shock waves that disrupt brain functions. This effect causes many combat-related head injuries in Southwest Asia. Many doctors call head injuries the signature wounds of the Iraq War.

Generally, motorists have a duty of reasonable care to avoid accidents when possible. If they breach this duty of care, often because they drove while impaired or drove aggressively, they are liable for the damages they cause.

Falls cause almost as many head injuries as car wrecks. Falls include two of the aforementioned TBI causes: motion and trauma. Usually, property owners have a duty of care to provide safe environments for invitees (invited commercial or social visitors). If an owner knew about or should have known about a fall or other injury hazard and failed to remedy that hazard, an experienced TBI lawyer can obtain compensation in court.

Property owners also have a responsibility to provide adequate security. For instance, if an assault occurs on their property, the property owner could be financially responsible for damages. Assaults often cause blunt force or penetrative head trauma, which can cause TBIs.

Resolving Head Injury Claims

Almost all head injury and other personal injury claims settle out of court. If liability and damages issues are clear, the insurance company usually has a duty to settle the claim within a few weeks.

Liability and/or damages questions are very common in these cases. Legal defenses include comparative fault, which shifts accident blame from one party to the other one, and the assumption of the risk, which usually involves a warning sign. As for damages, different doctors often have different opinions about the victim’s treatment needs.

Because of these disputes, most personal injury claims settle during mediation. A professional mediator ensures that both sides negotiate in good faith. They must honestly want to settle the matter, and they must be willing to make some compromises to reach an agreement.

Largely because of this court oversight and because both sides are anxious to avoid an expensive and risky trial, civil mediation is about 90% successful in Maryland.

Work with a Thorough Baltimore City TBI Attorney

Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer in Baltimore, contact the Yost Legal Group today: 1-800-967-8529. There is no time to delay and no cost to you unless we recover.