Portland Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Professional TBI Attorneys Serving Portland, Oregon

Portland Traumatic Brain Injury AttorneyWhen a client comes to Mayor Law in Portland seeking legal representation for a Traumatic Brain Injury, we understand the impact on the whole family – emotional stress, financial drain, and changed family priorities.  All this is happening while you are trying to understand how to get the best medical treatment, whether for yourself or a loved one. Traumatic Brain Injury is a complex and lifetime challenge requiring you to partner with an experienced attorney, one who understands the medical issues, cost of treatment, future costs of care and rehabilitation, and the impact to the entire family’s financial future. Travis Mayor is a Portland traumatic brain injury attorney who has the resources, knowledge, and experience to be your legal advocate, so you can focus on your recovery. Our goal is to maximize the compensation you need to restore your life, now and in the future, while buffering you from a complex and sometimes insensitive legal process. Call today to discuss the details of your injuries. There is no obligation and consultations are always free.

Car Accidents and Falls Account for 50% of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Cases

According to the CDC, accidents resulting in traumatic brain injury (TBI) are responsible for over 50,000 deaths and nearly 275,000 hospitalizations per year in the United States. The incidence of trips to the ER for TBI related injury has jumped by 29% over the last few years as increased awareness creates an abundance of caution. Current estimates indicate that 3.2 million people are permanently disabled as a result of traumatic brain injuries. Motor vehicle crashes and falls are responsible for almost half of these brain injuries.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Causes and Symptoms

The brain is very complex and most susceptible to injury as a result of severe impact (such as a head-on car crash or fall) or abrupt movements (such as a side impact car crash). A brain injury or head injury can be caused by the impact of an accident or the subsequent movement of passengers within the vehicle, and finally, movement of the internal organs within the head or spine. These injuries can lead to costly and very involved recovery plans, no matter how mild the brain injury or head injury might be. Typical types of accidents that most frequently result in traumatic brain injuries include 35% from falling accidents, 17% from car accidents, 16% from being struck by an object, 11% from violent personal assaults, and the remainder 21% from other causes.

Unlike other types of injuries, severe brain trauma might not be obvious at the time of the accident. Symptoms such as becoming sleepy, behaving abnormally, blurred vision, nausea or developing a severe headache are indications of potential brain trauma or concussion brain injury, and might not appear for several days or weeks. Many problems can even develop much later in life, such as Alzheimer’s disease, where an earlier severe TBI injury can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer by as much as 60% [1].

Children Are Most At Risk for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Traumatic brain injury in children 0-4 and 15-19 is the leading cause of disability and death in children and teens in the US [2]. Each year approximately 564,000 children visit a hospital emergency department for a TBI related injury. Of these, approximately 62,000 sustain brain injuries requiring hospitalization and follow-on medical treatment. Injury causes are similar to adults in that car accidents and falls are a substantial contributor, but you can also add sports injuries and physical abuse to the list. What makes brain injury different in children is the brain is continuing to develop. TBI injury in children may impair normal development. This is much different than “repairing” or re-teaching an adult brain to function normally. A brain injury could prevent the child from developing the ability to speak or impair motor skills, coordination development, and memory function. The development impairment of these cognitive skills may affect the development of other skills and escalate into diminished capabilities if left untreated.

Sports-Related Injuries Contribute 21% of TBI in Children and Teens

Sports-related activities contribute about 21% of all traumatic brain injuries among children and teens in the US. While significant progress has been made in legislating and educating children on the mandatory use of protective headgear, helmets, and pads, the injury numbers have continued to rise.

While it is widely recognized that participating in recreational sports has some inherent risk of injury this does not relieve the sports organizations from their obligations to provide and manage the activities in a safe manner with functional equipment. In spite of reasonable safety precautions you might take, you are always vulnerable to the reckless and negligent actions of others. For example, NCAA agreed in July of 2014 to settle a class-action head injury lawsuit by creating a $70 million fund to diagnose thousands of current and former college athletes to determine if they suffered brain trauma playing football, hockey, soccer and other contact sports. This will potentially lead to new rules being implemented regarding head injuries and in a similar manner as the $765M NFL football concussion brain injury settlement, create a compensation fund.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Compensation

Seeking compensation for a mild, moderate or severe brain injury is a complex and lengthy process that will involve aggressive legal representation from the at-fault party’s insurance company. Their goal is to minimize your compensation. You need to seek legal representation from an experienced Portland traumatic brain injury lawyer who specializes in cases involving brain injuries. The cost of recovery is something most people completely underestimate. Because brain injuries do not heal like other injuries, a course of treatment is dependent on what functionality is lost (speech, memory, etc.) and what symptoms are created (mood change, depression, slowness of thinking, confusion, etc.) This is where an experienced Oregon traumatic brain injury lawyer can help you obtain the best financial settlement — one that provides you with the financial resources needed to get you on the path toward recovery. Your Portland traumatic brain injury attorney will help you determine potential future expenses by analyzing the following areas:

  • Present and future medical expenses – doctors, hospital, medications.
  • Rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy.
  • Medications, medical devices, pain management.
  • Impairment, scarring, or disfigurement.
  • Therapy – psychological distress, anxiety, depression.
  • Modifications to accommodate physical limitations.
  • Personal care and assistance. Assistance to perform daily functions.
  • Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, impact to family.
  • Lost income and impaired earning capacity.

Traumatic Brain Injury Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Doctors categorize traumatic brain injuries into 3 general categories based upon the severity of the injury – mild, moderate TBI, or severe TBI. Most traumatic brain injuries are mild in nature, with symptoms persisting for weeks or months, In about 15% of mild TBI cases, the symptoms last for a year or more. Moderate brain injuries occur when the injury results in a loss of consciousness for 20 minutes to 6 hours, and severe brain trauma cases are characterized by a loss of consciousness for more than 6 hours.  For moderate to severe brain injury, recovery may take months or years depending on the specifics of each case. Unfortunately, the most severe brain trauma cases may result in permanent brain damage, with symptoms persisting for a lifetime. Currently, the CDC estimates at least 3.2 million Americans are disabled with permanent brain damage as a result of traumatic brain injuries, and that 52,000 die each year.

Medical science has advanced our understanding of treatment options, but we still have limited knowledge about the brains capacity to heal following an injury. Brain injuries do not heal like other injuries. They are not like a broken bone that heals and functionality is restored. With a traumatic brain injury (TBI) the brain may heal, but the functionality controlled by the brain may be permanently affected. Once the patient is stabilized and no longer in need of acute medical care, the rehabilitation process can focus on achieving specific outcomes such as regaining speech, muscle coordination, sexual function, and changes in the senses. There are no “quick fixes” that can restore the brains functionality, only professional rehabilitation programs. Because the success of any rehabilitation program is different for each individual, predicting current and future expenses needed to restore an individual to pre-accident functionality is difficult and requires a traumatic brain injury attorney in Portland.

According to the CDC, the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries are:

  • Falls 35%;
  • Motor vehicle accidents 17%;
  • Struck by/against — Concussion Brain Injury 16%;
  • Assaults 11%;
  • Unknown/other 21%.

While most of the headline-grabbing news has to do with sports injuries and concussion brain injury, instead of falls and motor vehicle accidents, these stories are effective in illustrating how the brain, head, and health of an individual can be affected over the long term, and may not appear until years after the injuries are sustained. Compare a football player with protective gear being hit by a 250lb player running 15mph, to a driver with no protective headgear, being hit by a 6000lb. SUV at 65mph. Basically, the force (kinetic energy) absorbed by the driver and vehicle is 456 times greater than the football hit, but both can be deadly to the head and brain.

Increased incidence of traumatic brain injury among our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan has also captured news headlines. Some estimates place TBI injuries related to blast injuries from IEDs at 10 and 20% of Iraq veterans, or 150,000 and 300,000 service members.

Cost of caring for individuals with traumatic brain injuries varies substantially based on such factors as the severity of the injury (mild, moderate, and severe) and the age and health of the individual affected. Several studies developed by the CDC have projected average medical costs as follows:

  • Mild brain injury — $85,000;
  • Moderate brain injury – $941,000;
  • Severe brain injury — $3,000,000+.

No settlement will be able to “undo the damage and suffering” caused by a traumatic brain injury, but you can obtain a settlement that will help you financially recover from your injuries and assist with future medical, care, and living expenses. The settlement process is never a quick or simple negotiation. Insurance carriers and their lawyers are skilled and experienced in tactics designed to limit their liability and minimize their costs. They are good at representing the at-fault party and their shareholders. On your side are laws, the legal system, and your legal team with the focused objective of obtaining a fair and reasonable settlement from the at-fault party’s insurance and personal assets that cover your recovery costs from your accident caused injuries. By law every driver in Oregon is required to maintain the following types of insurance:

  • Bodily injury and property damage liability
  • Personal injury protection (PIP)
  • Uninsured motorist

There are required minimum amounts, but most policy limits can be much higher. In addition, other insurance policies such as homeowners insurance, “umbrella policies”, and corporate liability policies may be used depending on specific circumstances of the accident. The best way to understand potential insurance coverage is to talk to a personal injury lawyer and review the facts of the case.

You can read more about understanding car accident insurance coverage in our FAQs.

There is no simple answer to this complex question. The answer depends on many factors such as:

  • Complexity of the accident – a simple fender bender where the fault is clear, versus a hit-and-run with serious injuries;
  • Type of damage – property only, versus bodily injury or wrongful death;
  • Settlement process – negotiate with an insurance adjuster, versus pursue arbitration or litigation with a jury trial;
  • Financial settlement goal – pay for damage to my car, versus recover lost wages and future expenses for medical treatments;
  • Personal Risk – none, my insurance will cover the damages, versus the guy that hit me is underinsured;
  • Negotiation approach – I have the time and knowledge to negotiate, versus a team of legal professionals who have extensive experience in dealing with insurance companies and their legal teams;
  • Monetary value needed to recover – small, less than $10,000, versus million dollar settlements.

Our recommendation is to always speak with an experienced Personal Injury Attorney to evaluate your specific case factors, your situation, and the appropriateness of retaining a lawyer. Remember, when you deal directly with an insurance company, you are dealing with a large, corporate entity, specifically staffed with lawyers and specialists trained in techniques to minimize the value of your claims. They utilize many techniques that are very effective in reducing the value of their offers to you. You can read about numerous examples of case results were settlement offers increased by a factor of ten or more when clients have legal representation.  Do not give up your only leverage in dealing with an insurance company; you’re right to legal representation and due process.  We provide an initial free consultation and personal injury case evaluation for all potential clients and will give you an honest assessment of the case including a potential value and strategy to win your case.

Getting Results For Accident Victims with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Travis MayorThe goal of our Portland traumatic brain injury attorney is to help severely injured victims restore their lives. Portland personal injury lawyer Travis Mayor will help you by reducing the hassles and inconveniences of your case, while maximizing your financial compensation.  Travis Mayor has recovered millions of dollars for his catastrophic injury clients and is ready to help you today.  For every client, Travis offers personal service with proven results.

Sources:

[1] “Traumatic Brain Injury And Risk Of Dementia In Older Veterans”, published in the Neurology Journal, July 22, 2014.

[2] According to the US Centers for Disease Control.