St. George Brain Injury Lawyers

A brain injury can have a wide-ranging and long-term impact on a victim’s life. A traumatic brain injury could require months or even years of recovery to return a person to an independent and productive life. In some cases, a brain injury survivor could still be left with permanent physical and cognitive disabilities, even after completing treatment. If you were in an accident due to someone else’s negligence and suffered a brain injury, you have the right to demand financial compensation and justice.

At Swenson & Shelley, our St. George brain injury lawyers have the experience and resources to fight fiercely for your best interests. We have earned a reputation for taking on the most challenging catastrophic injury cases and recovering maximum compensation for accident victims. Accident victims deserve the relentless pursuit of justice that Swenson & Shelley can provide.

Contact Swenson & Shelley today for a free case evaluation with a St. George brain injury lawyer. We can answer all your questions and take the stress off you during this difficult time.

 

 

Can You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Brain Injury?

Depending on what happened to cause your brain injury, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking financial compensation for your losses. To pursue a personal injury claim, your injury must have been caused by someone else’s carelessness or negligence. In addition to proving that someone else was at fault, you will have to demonstrate the losses that you suffered from a car accident, such as medical expenses, lost income, and intangible losses like pain and suffering.

If you are wondering about your options for recovering financial compensation after an accident, please reach out to our brain injury lawyers in St. George today.

How a St. George Brain Injury Lawyer from Swenson & Shelley Can Help

You shouldn’t try to handle a legal claim on your own. Let a St. George brain injury lawyer from Swenson & Shelley take the stress off you by:

  • Recovering all available evidence from the accident that caused your injury
  • Working with accident reconstruction experts to identify who was at fault
  • Retaining experts in other fields, like medicine or finance, to help us build a strong and persuasive case on your behalf
  • Documenting the full extent of your injury and calculating your past, ongoing, and future expenses
  • Filing insurance claims or demands for compensation with the at-fault parties
  • Negotiating aggressively for a fair and full settlement of your brain injury claim
  • Pursuing your brain injury case at trial when litigation becomes the best path for seeking the maximum financial recovery you deserve

Our St. George Lawyers Handle All Types of Brain Injury Cases

Our St. George personal injury law firm represents people who suffered brain injuries in all types of accidents, including:

No matter how you were injured, if you believe someone else is to blame, you should learn about your legal options. Contact Swenson & Shelley today for a free case review with a personal injury attorney.

What Compensation Can You Seek for a Traumatic Brain Injury?

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury in a serious motor vehicle accident in St. George, you may be entitled to recover compensation for:

  • Medical bills, including for hospital care, surgeries, and rehabilitation services
  • Long-term care costs, such as for home health services, purchases of assistive devices, or home renovations to accommodate cognitive or physical disabilities
  • Loss of income for missed work during treatment and recovery, and loss of future earning potential if your injury permanently disables you
  • Physical pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress and trauma
  • Loss of quality of life due to physical disabilities, secondary health complications, or reduced life expectancy

Our skilled St. George brain injury attorneys will work to maximize the value of your case, pursuing full compensation for current and future losses.

What Are the Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Symptoms of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) vary with the severity of the injury. Mild TBIs can cause symptoms such as:

  • Loss of consciousness for a few seconds to a few minutes
  • Feeling dazed or confused
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue and drowsiness
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Speech problems
  • Dizziness or balance problems
  • Blurred vision
  • Ringing in the ears
  • A bad taste in the mouth
  • Sensitivity to light and sound
  • Difficulty with concentration and memory
  • Mood changes and mood swings
  • Feelings of depression or anxiety
  • Sleep issues, including difficulty falling asleep or sleeping more than normal

Moderate to severe brain injuries may cause the following symptoms:

  • Loss of consciousness lasting several minutes to several hours, or onset of coma
  • Persistent or worsening headache, nausea, and/or vomiting
  • Convulsions or seizures
  • Dilated pupils
  • Clear fluids draining from the ears or nose
  • Weakness or numbness in fingers and toes
  • Coordination issues
  • Unable to be woken up
  • Severe confusion
  • Agitation or other abnormal behavior
  • Slurred speech

What Treatment Is Available for Traumatic Brain Injury?

Mild TBIs may initially require rest and over-the-counter pain relievers for headaches. However, someone who has been diagnosed with a mild TBI must be closely watched in the days following an injury. Persistent or worsening symptoms may signal that the injury is more severe than initially thought.

Moderate to severe brain injuries will require immediate medical attention. Initial care is focused on maintaining blood and oxygen flow to the brain and preventing further damage. Treatment options may include:

  • Stabilizing the head and neck
  • Providing supplemental oxygen or blood transfusions
  • Medications, including anti-seizure drugs, diuretics to help reduce swelling, or coma-inducing drugs to reduce the brain’s need for oxygen while damage is repaired or heals
  • Surgery, including procedures to stop bleeding or remove clotted blood, repair skull fractures and remove foreign debris from the cranium, or open a window in the skull to relieve pressure on the brain from swelling

Once the person’s condition has stabilized, medical treatment often shifts to rehabilitation. The goal is to help the injured person relearn how to perform daily activities so that they can become as independent and productive as possible. Rehabilitation services can include:

  • Physical therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • Speech and language therapy
  • Neurological therapy to help with cognitive and memory impairments
  • Psychotherapy to address behavioral or emotional problems
  • Vocational therapy, aimed at helping a brain injury victim return to work

Brain Injuries’ Lasting Impacts on a Victim’s Life

A brain injury can cause a person to suffer long-term or permanent complications and physical and mental changes. Those changes could include:

  • Paralysis, or problems with motor skills or fine motor control
  • Increased risk of seizures, brain infections, and damaging fluid buildup in and around the brain
  • Chronic vertigo
  • Altered sense of balance, smell, taste, hearing, or vision
  • Reduced cognitive ability or executive functioning
  • Memory problems, including amnesia or difficulty forming new memories
  • Problems speaking or understanding spoken or written language
  • Behavioral changes, including difficulty in social situations, lack of self-control, engaging in risk-taking behaviors, or sudden verbal or physical outbursts
  • Emotional issues such as depression, anxiety, or mood swings

What Can Family Members Do to Help Brain Injury Survivors?

People with moderate to severe brain injuries will likely need support from family members. Ways that families can help survivors of catastrophic brain injuries recover and resume an active and independent life include:

  • Immediately following an accident, the family can help by looking after the person’s affairs, including watching over their home or pets, informing employers, and gathering financial and insurance information that will be needed to pay for medical care.
  • During the early stages of recovery, family members can help brain injury survivors in the hospital by helping their loved one reorient themselves (especially if they’re emerging from a coma or vegetative state) and learning exercises to help their loved one with.
  • After a person is discharged from inpatient care, family members can help by providing support as the brain injury survivor relearns motor, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional skills. The survivor may need extra support when they realize the extent of their limitations.
  • In the long term, family can help by establishing a daily structure, including their loved one in decisions, and developing strategies to help their loved one compensate for deficits so they can live as independently as possible.

Common Types of Brain Injuries Our Attorneys Help With

At Swenson & Shelley, we represent clients who have suffered brain injuries such as:

  • Concussions
  • Edema, or swelling of the brain
  • Hematoma, or pooling or clotting of blood in or around the brain
  • Skull fractures
  • Contusions, or brain bruises
  • Diffuse axonal injury, which occurs when traumatic forces cause shearing of nerve cells in the brain
  • Hemorrhage, or uncontrolled brain bleeding
  • Hypoxic/anoxic brain injury, or brain damage caused by reduced or cut-off blood and oxygen flow to the brain

How Long Do You Have to File a Brain Injury Lawsuit in Utah?

In Utah, you normally have four years from the date of a brain injury to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. If you wait to file your lawsuit until after the limitations period expires, your case can be permanently dismissed by the trial court. Although four years may seem like a long time, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible after an injury. Your attorney will want to work quickly to collect evidence before it is lost or destroyed. Your lawyer will also need to document your personal injury claims and treatment from the beginning.

Get Help from a St. George Brain Injury Attorney Now

If someone else’s negligent actions caused your injury, you shouldn’t have to be financially responsible for the fallout. Contact Swenson & Shelley today for a free, no-obligation consultation to have a personal injury lawyer go over your legal rights. Our St. George brain injury lawyer can help you pursue the compensation you need to move forward with your life.