A head injury is one of the most serious accidents that a victim can sustain. It may cause long-term harm that can affect a person’s day-to-day life, requiring extensive treatment and permanent adjustments to his or her lifestyle. If a blow to the head is caused by someone else’s negligence, they should be held accountable for the damages that arise. The knowledgeable injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Robert Dixon represent Miami residents and other individuals who have suffered from head trauma as a result of another party’s careless or reckless actions. Car and motorcycle accidents, medical errors, falls, or workplace accidents can cause a closed head injury, and many times these incidents could have been avoided if proper care had been taken.
Concussions and Causes
Concussions are brain injuries resulting from a blow to the head, or the head being subject to violent jarring or shaking during an accident, often due to a slip and fall, motorcycle crash, or car accident. Concussions are not always immediately apparent following an accident, but can still result in serious and long term loss of brain function. Severe concussions involve traumatic brain injury and can result in memory loss as well as other mental impairments and sometimes paralysis. But even minor concussions can lead to loss of brain function, if only for a limited time. Victims suffering concussions may experience a variety of symptoms, including:
- Nausea
- Loss of consciousness
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Sensitivity to light or noise
- Confusion
Depending on severity, these symptoms can last for days and sometimes months, or have long-term, permanent consequences. Second Impact Syndrome can also occur if a second concussion occurs before the first one has healed, leading to swelling of the brain, and can even be fatal. If you’ve been in an accident and begin showing signs of a concussion, it is important to consult a doctor immediately to receive proper medical treatment.
Liability for Traumatic Brain Injury
Following an accident that resulted in a concussion, or other injuries, a victim may pursue a personal injury suit against the responsible party. To recover damages in such claims, a victim most often will argue that a defendant was negligent. To show negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care and that duty was breached by his or her actions. For instance, motorists owe a duty of care to act reasonably under the circumstances when behind the wheel. If a driver strikes a bicyclist because he or she failed to look when changing lanes, or made another dangerous maneuver with their car and caused an accident, they may be held liable. The plaintiff also must show that the defendant’s actions caused his or her concussion, and that damages resulted. Damages available in these types of claims include past and future medical expenses, loss of wages, and sometimes pain and suffering.
Bringing a Negligence Claim to Seek Compensation for Head Trauma
Head trauma or a traumatic brain injury involves a blow to the scalp, brain, or skull. These injuries are either closed, which means the head sustains a blunt force due to an object striking it, or penetrating, which means an object penetrates the skull to enter the brain. Head injuries may be difficult to diagnose, and symptoms could remain dormant until much later. Some symptoms to note following an accident include confusion, loss of consciousness, blurry vision or changes to pupils, drowsiness, changes in speech, or neck pain.
Some head injuries can even lead to permanent, non-reversible damage, such as changes in personality, seizure disorders, hearing and vision loss, or cognitive deficits. Following any accident involving a blow to the head, an individual should seek immediate medical attention to detect a potential closed head injury as soon as possible.
If another individual’s or entity’s negligence caused an accident that resulted in a closed head injury, the victim may be able to receive compensation by filing a personal injury claim. To establish negligence, the plaintiff must show that the defendant breached his or her duty of care and that the breach was a proximate cause of the closed head injury. In other words, the defendant must have failed to use the same level of precaution that a reasonably prudent person would have used in the same situation. The accident must have been a direct and foreseeable result of the defendant’s carelessness. For example, a passenger who hits his or her head on the dashboard of a car because the driver has to stop abruptly while tailgating another vehicle at a high speed likely can pursue legal action against the driver.
The victim must also show that reasonably quantifiable damages were incurred. Damages that may be sought in a personal injury lawsuit may provide compensation for both economic and non-economic forms of harm. Some typical examples include past and future medical costs, lost income, loss of earning capacity, property damage, and pain and suffering.
