Little Rock Brain Injury Lawyer
A brain injury lawyer can help individuals who have experienced a brain injury caused by another person’s negligence. Brain injuries can have detrimental effects on the lives of those who have been injured as well as their loved ones. In some cases, serious signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injury may not appear for months or even years. Affected individuals and their families may be eligible to recover compensation with the help of a personal injury attorney.
If you have been injured, or if a loved one has been killed, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a Little Rock brain injury lawyer at the Johnson Firm today. You can fill out the form on this page, call us at 501-777-7777 or email us at info@johnsonfirm.law.
There is no cost to speak with us. If you choose to pursue a claim, you pay no upfront fees or expenses. Our fees are based solely on the recovery made on your behalf. If there is no recovery, you pay nothing.
Why Hire a Little Rock Brain Injury Lawyer?
A brain injury can have a significant effect on the quality of the injured individual’s life, often altering a person’s ability to interact with others. A brain injury lawyer with Johnson Firm can help you if you or your loved one has been adversely affected by a traumatic brain injury or other condition that may have developed as a result of a brain injury. The litigation process can be complex, often relying on research, medical testimony, and familiarity with Arkansas state law.
What is a Brain Injury?
Brain injuries encompass a number of complex injuries with a broad spectrum of symptoms and complications. According to the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), brain injuries, in a general sense, are defined as an alteration in brain function caused by an external force. The term “traumatic brain injury” may also be used to describe most brain injuries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as “a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury.” According to the CDC, brain injuries are a contributing factor in approximately 30 percent of deaths and cases of permanent disability in the United States.
Types of Brain Injury
According to the BIAA, types of brain injury include:
- Diffuse Axonal Injury
- Concussion
- Contusion
- Coup-contrecoup injury
- Second Impact Syndrome (Recurrent Traumatic Brain Injury)
- Penetrating injury
- Shaken baby syndrome
- Locked in syndrome
- Anoxic brain injury
According to the CDC, approximately 75 percent of traumatic brain injuries that occur each year are concussions or other mild forms of brain injury.
Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury. Other leading causes include being struck by or against an object, motor vehicle accidents and crashes, and intentional self-harm.
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Brain Injury Symptoms
People who experience a traumatic brain injury are often able to fully recover from the symptoms they experience. However, some people may experience symptoms for longer periods of time, and recovery time may be slower for certain types of people, including older adults, young children and teenagers.
Symptoms of a brain injury often affect a person’s thinking and memory, cause physical pain, produce changes in emotional behavior and mood, and have an impact on sleeping patterns. According to the CDC, particular symptoms may include:
- Difficulty thinking clearly, remember new information or concentrating
- Feeling slowed down
- Headaches
- Fuzzy or blurry vision
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness
- Sensitivity to noise or light
- Balance problems
- Feeling tired or having no energy
- Irritability
- Sadness
- Nervousness or anxiety
- Sleeping more or less than usual
- Having trouble falling asleep
Some symptoms may appear right away while other may not appear for days or weeks after the injury. In some cases, people with a brain injury may not recognize any problems associated with a potential brain injury.
The CDC also notes that a brain injury can lead to epilepsy, a condition that often causes seizures, as well as other conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders. Repeated brain injuries that occur over an extended period of time may result in neurological and cognitive deficits; repeated mild brain injuries that occur within a short period of time can potentially be fatal.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
People who experience repeated blows to the head and experience regular head or brain trauma may experience the effects of a degenerative condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE may be commonly found in some athletes, particularly those who participate in football, rugby, ice hockey, boxing, professional wrestling, soccer and other contact sports.
Researchers note that symptoms of CTE do not usually begin to manifest until about 8 to 10 years after the individual experiences repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.
Symptoms of CTE include:
- Disorientation
- Dizziness and headaches
- Memory loss
- Social instability
- Erratic behavior
- Poor judgement
In the latter stages of CTE, people may experience dementia, movement disorders, hypomimia, speech impediments, tremors, vertigo, deafness and thoughts of suicide.
How a Brain Injury Lawyer Can Help
When negligence results in injury, an injured party suffers loss in various ways. The law allows an injured party to pursue damages to recover those losses. Common types of damages recoverable in a brain injury case include:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Loss of ability to earn
- Scarring and disfigurement
The families of those who have died may be eligible to recover money for funeral expenses and the pain that comes with losing a loved one.
If the actions causing injury are malicious or so reckless that intent to harm can be inferred, the responsible party can be liable for punitive damages to punish wrongful conduct and deter similar conduct in the future.
Victims of negligence and their families are encouraged to seek the counsel of a brain injury lawyer to learn more about their rights and remedies.
