Brain Injury In Florida

With control over one’s thoughts, memory, emotions, speech, gross motor skills, breathing, and every process that regulates the human body, the brain is the most important organ in our body. Any damage to this essential organ can have a significant impact on a person’s life. Traumatic brain injuries are common, with approximately 2.8 million people suffering from them each year. In 2020, over 64,000 people die from brain injuries and another 282,000 require hospitalization.

Traumatic brain injuries affect people differently. Due to the uniqueness of TBIs, recovery periods can vary significantly and may be difficult for health care providers to predict. Given these uncertainties, it is best to follow up at a hospital emergency room or urgent care facility immediately after sustaining a head injury in an accident. Healthcare providers at the hospital will order the necessary medical examinations, tests, and imaging studies, such as X-rays and MRIs, that will determine what, if any, head injuries you sustained in your accident. Delaying treatment for a head injury can only make a bad situation worse and may potentially result in serious and permanent brain injuries and damage.

After you have sought medical treatment, your next move should be to contact an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer. The brain injury attorneys in Florida at Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A. can help you build a compensation claim against the parties responsible for your or your loved one’s injury and handle all aspects of your claim. Contact us today to learn about your legal options during a free case review.

What Is Considered a Brain Injury?

A brain injury is any injury to the brain. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) refer to damage to the brain caused by an external physical force, such as those that occur in car accidents or falls. TBIs disrupt brain function. Traumatic brain injuries range from mild to severe.

While many people think of concussions as a minor head injury, this might or might not be the case. Brain injuries – especially mild to moderate brain injuries caused by concussions – are often slow to onset in terms of how the injury affects a person’s day-to-day living. One or two mild concussions in a lifetime might not leave a person with noticeable, long-term effects. However, the opposite is very often true. Mild traumatic brain injury victims often have lingering symptoms that are difficult to detect, and that are often incorrectly diagnosed as merely the symptoms of “getting old” or being stressed. These symptoms include forgetting where you put your keys, having frequent headaches or vivid nightmares, or committing errors on simple, everyday mathematical calculations in the months following a concussion injury.

Potential Causes of Brain Injuries After a Florida Accident

Falls account for more than 47 percent of all traumatic brain injuries. Falls are more likely to cause a TBI when the victim is aged four and younger or 75 and older. Other common causes of TBIs include:

• Assaults
• Being struck by or against an object
• Bicycle accidents
• Boating accidents
• Car accidents
• Drowning accidents
• Military attacks or bomb blasts
• Motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Slips and falls
• Sporting accidents
• Truck accidents
• Violence or gunshot wounds

Brain Injury Symptoms

The Brain Injury Association of America explains that brain injuries are categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. The severity of the injury is the primary factor in predicting its impact on the individual. Symptoms for each of these categories of brain injuries follow:

Mild 

Symptoms of a mild TBI may include:

• Brief loss of consciousness or alteration of consciousness (being dazed, dizzy, or not fully aware of surroundings)
• Blurred vision
• Changes to sleep or appetite
• Concentration problems
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Lethargy
• Loss of memory
• Other sensory problems, such as sensitivity to light or altered taste
• Vomiting or nausea

A mild traumatic brain injury attorney can help you determine who is responsible for your mild TBI and how to pursue compensation to cover your medical expenses and other losses.

Moderate 

The following symptoms are associated with moderate TBIs:

• Unconsciousness up to 24 hours
• Contusions or bleeding
• Convulsions or seizures
• Dilations of one or both pupils
• Profound confusion
• Signs of brain trauma that appear on neuroimaging tests
• Weakness or tingling in the extremities

Severe 

Severe brain injuries present the same symptoms as moderate brain injuries. They may also exhibit these symptoms:

• Unconsciousness for more than 24 hours
• No sleep/wake cycle during loss of consciousness

Proving a Brain Injury

Proving a brain injury often requires the knowledge of a medical expert who can testify about the injury you sustained. You will also need to prove that another person’s negligence caused the injury and how it has impacted your life. Our brain injury law firm is especially equipped to support brain injury claims because we:

• Are familiar with and recommend new testing procedures, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), Neoroquant, and QEEG. These are advanced tests on the cutting edge.
• Successfully overcame a Daubert challenge to QEEG and know what legal arguments to advance.
• Have a network of experts who can establish your cause of action and damages, including neurologists, neuropsychologists, physical and occupational therapists, economists, and vocational experts.
• Can gather evidence to support your claim and calculate the full extent of your damages.
• Have secured several six- and seven-figure recoveries for brain injury victims.
• Are seasoned at securing financial recovery that far outweighs previous settlement offers by insurance companies.

Our Florida brain injury lawyers are ready to help you with your claim. Contact us for a free consultation.

Treatment for Brain Injuries

The treatment you receive will be based on the severity of your injury. Minor brain injuries may be treated and monitored closely at home. A doctor should be consulted so you can receive recommendations on when to resume certain activities. Doctors usually recommend rest for the first few days after the accident.

If the injury is severe, you may need emergency care to ensure that you have an adequate blood supply and enough oxygen. You may also require more intensive medical intervention, such as:

• Hospitalization
• Medication
• Surgery
• Rehabilitation
• Occupational and physical therapy
• Speech and language therapy

Our TBI lawyers are familiar with treatment for brain injuries and can make recommendations to ensure you get the care you need following a brain injury caused by a car accident, fall, or other personal injury incident.

Long-Term Effects of Brain Injuries 

At Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A., our brain injury attorneys have worked closely with brain injury victims. We understand that these injuries can sometimes forever change the lives of victims and their families. Through the years we have handled numerous brain injury cases. Some of these cases involve comatose clients who go on to make recoveries only after a team rehabilitative approach with physical therapists, psychiatrists, orthopedists, neurosurgeons, and psychologists. Other cases involve mild traumatic brain injuries that may not have been immediately diagnosed in the emergency room. We devote a great deal of time, effort, and expense to documenting the nature of the brain injury and its effects on the individual and their family. These personal injury cases are often vigorously disputed by the insurance companies, so it is vitally important to be familiar with the best experts and the best testing available to document these injuries.

Our team of brain injury lawyers has the requisite knowledge, skill, and resources to build a solid claim for you and demand fair compensation. We also know what types of long-term effects brain injuries may have so that we factor in these potential consequences in your demand for compensation.

While every TBI case is different, brain injury victims are at heightened risk of:

• Seizures
• Early onset of Alzheimer’s disease
• Significant memory loss
• Physical disability
• Depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems

Traumatic brain injuries can result in the loss of motor skills, speech impairment, loss of bladder and bowel control, and a change in personality. The person you once knew may disappear in front of your eyes.

Brain injury victims may need intensive medical treatment and therapy to have any semblance of a normal life. Brain injury specialists may be necessary to properly diagnose all conditions and long-term effects of the brain injury. Victims may be unable to work full-time or may need to change their job to accommodate their medical condition. Our head injury lawyers can guide you and represent you after a Gainesville concussion or other brain injury. Attorneys of Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A. have tried and won numerous cases before juries. We prepare every brain injury claim as if for trial.

The Unique Needs of Children Suffering Brain Injuries

When a child suffers a brain injury, it is particularly heartbreaking. A brain in development is now damaged. We will consult medical experts in the specialized needs of children. If necessary, we will help you set up a special needs trust to ensure your child is cared for throughout his or her lifetime. Applications for government benefits may seem overwhelming, but we can assist you with that process.

How Our Brain Injury Lawyers Can Help

There is nothing minor about a traumatic brain injury (TBI). For children and adults, it is significant and life-altering. If the damage occurred due to negligence, it was completely avoidable. You want to hold the responsible party accountable. You want justice. At Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A. in Gainesville, Florida, our personal injury lawyers will see that justice is served.

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers can help by:

• Meeting you and learning about all of the hardships the TBI has caused
• Thoroughly investigating your claim and identifying all potentially liable parties
• Reviewing all applicable insurance coverage and benefits to which you may be entitled
• Calculating the financial impact a traumatic brain injury will have on you or a loved one
• Consulting with experts to substantiate your claim
• Negotiating for compensation that fairly compensates you for the long-term effects of a TBI
• Assessing your case and providing legal advice about the best path forward

Potential Compensation After Sustaining a Head Trauma

If someone else’s negligence caused your brain injury, you may be able to recover compensation for the short- and long-term effects of the TBI. This may include compensation for:

• The cost of all medical bills
• Lost wages
• Reduced earning capacity
• Disability
• Loss of companionship
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress and mental anguish

Our knowledgeable brain injury lawyers can estimate the potential value of your claim based on your specific circumstances.

Contact a Florida Brain Injury Lawyer Near You Today

For over 100 years, Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, P.A. has helped injury victims recover the compensation they need following serious injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. It can be difficult to predict how a traumatic brain injury may affect someone, so we urge that you receive early detection and treatment to prevent or mitigate permanent damage and to start on your path to recovery. If we represent you, we will charge no attorneys’ fees or other costs unless and until we recover money for you. After-hours and weekend appointments are available as needed. Our Florida attorneys are willing to make home and hospital visits if you are unable to come to our law office, located in the historic Stevens-Wrench House in the Northeast Historic District, Gainesville, Florida. Contact us today for your free consultation.