Scranton Brain Injury Attorney

When a loved one is suffering from a brain injury, it can be especially challenging for you and your family to care for them. Brain injuries can be caused by traumatic injuries or even medical malpractice.

It takes a dedicated lawyer to handle these cases because brain injuries can be extremely difficult to prove when it comes to pointing fault. A person suffering from a brain injury may not show any external signs of injury and appear “normal” to others. In some cases, even medical professionals may not be able to determine if a brain injury has occurred.

People with brain injuries often suffer tremendous losses and life changes as a result of their injuries going undetected. Such injuries can have negative effects on a person’s ability to work, participate in daily activities, and interact with family and friends. If you need help, reach out to us right now. We want to hear your story.

What Causes Traumatic Brain Injuries?

A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, happens due to a sudden and external attack on the head. They are widely regarded as one of the most common causes of disability and early death in adults. The damage may be focal –confined to a single area – or diffuse – spread across multiple areas – and can range from a mild concussion to severe injuries.

A few of the most common traumatic brain injury causes include:

• Slips and Falls: Many people hurt themselves because they slip on a wet floor, tumble down a defective staircase, or trip on uneven roads. Sometimes, these falls may lead to traumatic brain injuries. Data from the CDC shows that one out of five falls each year causes a head injury.
• Unintentional Blunt Trauma: Blunt force trauma is often cited in cases classified as accidents, suicides, and homicides. Unintentional blunt force trauma happens when an impactful force comes out of the blue. For example, getting hit by a falling item at a construction site would constitute accidental blunt-force trauma.
• Motor Vehicle Accidents: Car accidents and truck accidents account for a large percentage of traumatic, and even fatal, brain injuries.
• Physical Assault: When an individual or a group attacks a person physically, with or without a weapon, they may inflict several traumatic brain injuries. Acts like repeated blows to the head can fracture your skull and even damage part of your brain.
• Medical Malpractice: Failure to properly monitor a patient or accidental oxygen deprivation during a medical procedure can also result in serious brain damage.
• Sports or Recreation: Sports or recreational activities are responsible for several traumatic brain injuries, especially in children.

Traumatic injuries can take away years from your life. If you believe there was foul play involved – such as negligence – you can seek damages. Consult our traumatic brain injury lawyers in Wilkes-Barre, PA, to learn how to proceed with your case.

What are the Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries?

Generally speaking, these are the types of traumatic brain injuries:

• Closed Brain Injuries: Closed brain injuries happen when there is a non-penetrating injury to the head and no break in the skull. This is usually when the brain moves forward and backward inside the skull, resulting in bruising and tearing. Closed brain injuries can be incredibly dangerous and lead to brain bleeds, pressure on the brain, and other trauma. Common causes include falls, blunt force, or car accidents where the neck is jolted forward or backward. Shaking a baby can also lead to this type of TBI.
• Penetrating Brain Injuries: A penetrating head trauma involves fractures in the skull caused by an external object. They often result from contact with a projectile element or bone fragments from the skull being driven into the brain.
• Concussion: A concussion is a traumatic injury that affects your brain function. Medically, it is defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by an immediate and transient change in mental status, level of consciousness, or more. Medical professionals classify concussions as grade 1 (mild), grade 2 (moderate), and grade 3 (severe). Because a concussion isn’t always immediately apparent, it’s best to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
• Hemorrhage: When an artery in the brain bursts, it leads to internal bleeding and swelling, commonly known as a hemorrhage. Brain hemorrhages can be life-threatening, with symptoms like nausea, changes in vision, difficulty speaking, seizures, sudden and severe headaches, and loss of consciousness.

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident, you will need a skilled Wilkes-Barre brain injury attorney on your side. The team at Scartelli Olszewski, P.C. is experienced, sympathetic, and ready to go the distance for your case. We’ll defend your rights every step of the way and fight for a satisfactory conclusion.

What Compensation Can I Expect in a Brain Injury Lawsuit?

Traumatic brain injuries can have crippling aftereffects. You might require several days, weeks, or even months of rehabilitation to find your feet again. Given the rising costs of healthcare in the U.S., this could mean steep medical bills. However, you can offset these expenses by filing a brain injury lawsuit and seeking compensation for your injuries.

There are two types of head injury damages: economic and non-economic. Of these, economic damages, sometimes known as special damages, help reimburse the victim for financial losses. On the other hand, non-economic damages deal with intangible losses that don’t come with a clear-cut price tag.

The different types of brain injury compensation are as follows:

• Medical Bills: Any healthcare costs related to the injury can be claimed under brain injury compensation. For example, you can recover damages from doctors’ visits, hospitalization, recovery, and physical/occupational therapy.
• Pain and Suffering: You can also pursue monetary damages for any lasting physical or emotional pain, such as brain damage, depression, trauma, or amnesia.
• Lost Wages: Individuals who suffer traumatic brain injuries may lose significant time at work. This, in turn, translates to multiple no-pay days. By filing a brain injury lawsuit, you can recover damages for any lost wages that resulted from your accident. Additionally, you may receive brain injury compensation for any damage to your future earning abilities.
• Wrongful Death: If a loved one suffers a fatal brain injury, you can file a wrongful death lawsuit and seek compensation for any financial damages like funeral costs, lost wages, or preliminary hospital bills. Your family can also sue the liable parties for any unique losses they face, including pain/suffering and loss of companionship.

Factors that Affect Compensation for a Brain Injury

Brain injury compensation largely depends on the severity of the trauma. In other words, someone who suffers a mild concussion in a car accident will not receive the kind of damages as someone who has been incapacitated. This is because milder injuries will only call for temporary costs, while serious head injuries will continue to plague the person for possibly the rest of their lives.

In this regard, multiple factors dictate how a brain injury lawsuit plays out. These include:

• Liability
• Number of people responsible for the injury
• Long-lasting effects of the injury on the injured party
• Mitigating circumstances

A brain injury lawsuit can be long and tiring. Fortunately, you don’t have to fight this battle alone. Talk to our brain injury lawyers in Wilkes-Barre, PA, to understand how to proceed with your case and seek your rightful damages.

When Do You Need to Contact a Scranton Brain Injury Lawyer?

No brain injury is insignificant, especially if the accident was not your fault. In case you’re struggling to pick up the pieces after a brain injury, the law can be on your side.

How to Help Your Case

The first step to building your case is to preserve evidence. For example, if you or a loved one hit your/their head in a fall, examine the situation and make note of what happened. Check for environmental factors like:

• Crumbling walkways
• Lack of lighting
• Flooring issues
• Unsafe elevators
• Poorly maintained staircases

The evidence you collect at the scene will be crucial to your TBI claim. Also, record:

• The property owner’s name
• Your footwear/clothing
• The area around where you landed
• Any defects in the surrounding area that contributed to the fall
• How you landed

But doing all this on your own can be difficult. Moreover, you might be in no shape to run around and collect proof. That’s precisely why you need a professional Wilkes-Barre brain injury attorney in your corner.

How Will the Brain Injury Attorneys at Scartelli Olszewski, P.C. Help You?

The right lawyer will work with you to understand the liability and damages that apply to your brain injury case. They will investigate, gather proof, and negotiate with the insurance companies to pursue a favorable payout. You can find those attorneys at Scartelli Olszewski, P.C.

The right Wilkes-Barre brain injury attorney can make all the difference to your case. At Scartelli Olszewski, P.C., we fight hard for your right to a fair payout. Tell our experienced team about your accident and injuries, and we’ll take it from there. With us on your side, you can rest easy. Contact us today to get started.