Attorneys for Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
Traumatic brain injuries are caused by a variety of accidents whether it is a car or motor vehicle accident, bicycle accident, truck or commercial vehicle accident, falling down, or any type of blunt force to the head or neck area. The personal injury attorneys at Willis, Willis and Rizzi have seen statistics from various sources that indicate approximately 80% of traumatic brain injuries go undiagnosed in emergency rooms. The reason that so many traumatic brain injuries (TBI) go undiagnosed is because emergency room doctors have a simple decision making process when faced with injuries: they can either fix the injury (like a broken bone or cut) and send you home, or the patient needs to be admitted for more intensive care.
Traumatic brain injuries are very different types of injuries that emergency room doctors can’t fix immediately, and adding to the complexity they are difficult to diagnose at all. Often, doctors will ask if a patient was unconscious after being in an accident. The problem is many people don’t realize they were unconscious at all unless they start asking questions. For example, if you ask an accident victim how they got out of the vehicle, they may not remember. They only remember talking to the police officer on the side of the road. Doctors don’t do a great job of identifying concussions; more often they are looking for injuries of a more serious nature such as major brain damage in the form of brain bleeds or swelling and will run a CAT scan. If the CAT scan imagery doesn’t show any damage generally the doctor will send you home, when in fact you could still have a traumatic brain injury.
Medical science has learned a lot about brain injuries in this century from recent conflicts such as the Gulf War and Afghanistan conflict from the frequent use of improvised explosive devices (IED). The medical field is advancing with the types of testing that can be done to detect traumatic brain damage such as 3D MRI imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) which will show “hot spots” in the brain. Patients with traumatic brain damage present with a wide variety of symptoms such as headaches, light sensitivity, brain fog, etc. and these newer imaging techniques can help identify what areas of the brain have been injured. Additionally, there are new therapies available, such as vision therapy and occupational therapy to help individuals with traumatic damage to the brain.
When To Speak to An Attorney About a Traumatic Brain Injury
If you feel you may have suffered traumatic brain damage it is always best to consult a personal injury attorney sooner rather than later. Many times, immediately after an accident you may be focused on dealing with your more obvious injuries such as a broken bone or cuts. But after these injuries are healed you still may not feel right. You may be experiencing headaches, vision problems, forgetfulness, lethargy, and many other symptoms which might be the result of a concussion and traumatic brain damage.
At Willis, Willis & Rizzi we can advocate on your behalf to help get you the treatment you need. Traumatic brain injuries and concussions are best handled by specialist doctors that have more extensive training and experience in dealing with injuries to the brain. We have great relationships with the doctors and medical providers who know how to deal with a concussion. We understand the medicine involved with traumatic brain injuries. We understand when a client is not getting the treatment they should be getting. Let the team at Willis, Willis and Rizzi handle the legal aspects of your case, while you focus on recovering from your injuries.
At our firm, our approach is different. We do not take on mass volumes of personal injury cases. Our approach is more qualitative than quantitative, working with only those cases who we feel are a good fit for our firm and for whom we can really help. By taking a more thoughtful, qualitative approach and exploring all the aspects of a case, we can increase the overall value when it comes to any damages relative to the case.
We understand what you are going through, and because of our approach to personal injury law, we have the time and resources to monitor the situation and ensure you are getting the care that you need to get better, as well as providing the legal expertise you need to help you get your life back.
Contact us today at 330-535-2000 or fill out the request form and we can discuss traumatic brain damage cases.
