Tacoma Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

A brain injury is a catastrophic injury because it can impact every area of your life. Victims may struggle with physical challenges, mood swings, and personality changes. If your brain injury was caused because someone else was negligent, we encourage you to call a Tacoma brain injury lawyer.

A qualified lawyer can help you understand your legal rights. Sometimes, that includes seeking a settlement. While money can’t change what happened, a settlement can help you and your family cover financial losses due to medical bills and missed work.

Common Causes of Brain Injuries in Tacoma, WA

According to the CDC, over 220,000 people are hospitalized annually with a traumatic brain injury (“TBI”). And, this number does not include the people who are treated in an emergency room, doctor’s office, or don’t seek treatment at all. In other words, brain injuries are very common.

A TBI can happen anytime there’s a sudden jolt to the head, or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly. Here are some of the more prevalent causes of this injury:

Falls. Falls are the leading cause of brain injuries requiring hospitalization.
Car accidents. Sudden impacts in vehicle wrecks can trigger a TBI.
Assault. Brain injuries can also be inflicted with violent acts, such as gunshot wounds.
Sports-related injuries. While any sport carries risk, brain injuries are more prevalent with contact sports.

Symptoms of a Brain Injury

At the beginning of this page, we stated that a brain injury can impact every area of your life. What symptoms you experience and for how long depends on the region(s) of your brain that were impacted.

Symptoms could include:

Headaches
Fatigue
Insomnia
Concentration and memory challenges
Sensory changes
Depression
Anxiety
Mood changes
Dizziness

We also want to acknowledge the impact to your friends and family. It can be difficult for a spouse or child to find themselves in the role of caretaker. Besides this, a brain injury can strain relationships as you face ups and downs during your recovery.

Proving Negligence in a Brain Injury Case

For an attorney to take on your case, there must be strong evidence that someone was negligent. What does this mean? Simply put, someone who was obligated to take reasonable measures to keep you safe failed.

Here’s how this might look in a brain injury case:

A driver runs a red light and t-bones another vehicle, injuring the occupants. This driver failed in their duty to keep others safe by committing a serious traffic violation.
A store owner delayed in making critical sidewalk repairs. As a result, a customer falls and is badly hurt. The store owner failed in their duty to keep their property safe, or at least warn customers of the hazard.
A youth football coach decides to have their U10 team scrimmage against a local high school team to “toughen them up.” One child is critically hurt during the practice. The coach put his youth team in an unreasonably unsafe situation. (For a deeper dive on this scenario, see our post on sports concussions and lawsuits.)

In each of the hypothetical situations above, the victims could file a claim against the negligent party.

Factors that Influence a Settlement’s Value

As brain injuries are catastrophic, they tend to produce higher settlements than other types of injuries. However, there are many factors that can impact the final amount, including:

Severity of your injury
Your ability to return to work
Your lifestyle prior to your injury
Evidence of negligence
Insurance policy limits
Your role in your injury (e.g., if you were partly to blame)

No matter what, we recommend that you work with an experienced brain injury attorney. A qualified attorney can help identify all potential sources of income and ensure your best interests are protected throughout the process.

Besides this, there are times when negotiations don’t yield a fair offer. In these situations, we’ll be prepared to file a lawsuit and argue your case before a jury or judge.

Start the Conversation – Call Us Today

Each case is different, which is why it’s important that you reach out to a Tacoma brain injury lawyer from our team as soon as possible. There’s never a charge to do so .In fact, we only charge a fee if we’re able to win you a settlement.

Please call us today to see if we can help you.