Virginia Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

If at any time after a car accident, you experience any of these symptoms, immediately contact your doctor or call 911. This list is not intended to diagnose illness, but to inform you of the common medical complaints from brain injuries.

• Loss of consciousness
• Dizziness
• Headache/migraines
• Cognitive decline
• Memory loss
• Nausea
• Sleep disturbances
• Sensitivity to lights/sound
• Increase of floaters or flashes in vision
• Changes in behavior or activity level

This is not a complete list of symptoms. There are many more symptoms of brain injuries that may not be well-documented or easily diagnosed.

One important point to understand: symptoms of traumatic brain injuries are not always present or obvious immediately after an accident. Certain symptoms might not develop until days or weeks later. Or, you might not even realize you’ve developed cognitive deficits until you try to go back to work and suddenly can’t do the things you’ve always done.

Carefully monitor your symptoms over the following weeks and months. Don’t settle your personal injury claim until you’ve seen a traumatic brain injury specialist and have either completely recovered or reached maximum medical improvement.

Here are six important steps to follow: 

Seek Medical Treatment Immediately 

Your health and wellbeing should come first. If you are experiencing symptoms of a brain injury, contact your doctor or call 911. Timely treatment of your injuries is important to your health and important for your car accident claim. 

Report Your Accident and Injuries to Your Insurance Companies 

If you are not at fault for an accident, your car and health insurance policies are supposed to cover you within your policy limits. In simple car accident claims, your insurance company will seek compensation from the at-fault driver’s insurance policy (if they have one). 

Plan to Manage Your Medical Bills While You Wait for a Settlement 

In complex accident cases, particularly traumatic brain injury cases, the victim’s medical bills arrive before they’re finished negotiating with the insurance company. If health insurance doesn’t fully cover the costs, then you may have to pay out of pocket while waiting for your settlement check. Many smart drivers purchase additional coverage under their own auto policy that can pay for medical bills immediately after an accident or in case the at-fault driver doesn’t have enough insurance. This might include personal injury protection (PIP), medical payments coverage (Med-Pay), uninsured motorist coverage (UM), and underinsured motorist coverage (UIM). 

Consult with an Attorney Before You Give Recorded Statements to the Other Insurance Company 

A recorded statement is a summary of the accident, your injuries, and your general condition after an accident. In property-damage-only cases, a recorded statement is a simple statement recalling the details of your accident. However, when an accident involves injuries, a simple statement like “I felt okay after the accident” can be used against you later in your case. 

Carefully Collect All Your Medical Records While You Treat 

Early in the process, the insurance company will request access to your medical records to evaluate your claim. In most situations, you SHOULD NOT allow the insurance company unrestricted access to your most sensitive data. If you have reported symptoms like migraines before your car accident, the insurance company may claim your brain injury was pre-existing. Consult with a personal injury attorney before you grant anyone access to your medical records. 

Keep a Diary to Document Your Brain Injury Symptoms Over Time 

Many traumatic brain injury symptoms get worse over time. Periodic headaches could transition to migraines, or cognition could decline to the point where it affects a victim’s employment. A simple diary of symptoms (coupled with medical records from your doctor) can help your attorney negotiate with the insurance company. 

The effects of a brain injury can be subtle. An experienced attorney can help you prove what you’ve lost, and persuasively explain why you deserve significant compensation. 

Here are just a few concrete examples of what your attorney can do on your behalf: 

• Prove liability in the underlying accident case. (In other words, prove to the insurance company that the car accident, slip and fall, etc. that caused your head injury was someone else’s fault, and that person is responsible for paying for your damages.) 
• Making sure you get examined and treated by the right specialists. 
• Making sure you stay on top of your treatment protocols and gather the medical evidence you need. 
• Making sure you don’t fall for the insurance company’s traps, like giving a recorded statement or settling your claim before you know whether your brain injury symptoms are permanent. 
• Interview friends, family members, colleagues, and other people close to you who can explain to a jury just how seriously your brain injury has impacted your life, and how much your quality of life has diminished. 
• Identify all sources of money (insurance policies, personal assets, etc.) from all liable parties that apply to your TBI case. 
• Calculate and argue for a truly fair settlement from the responsible parties. 
• Negotiate with medical providers after the case is over to reduce your bills, get rid of liens, and put as much money back into your pocket as possible. 

The unsatisfying answer to this question is that it depends. Traumatic brain injuries affect each person differently. 

Most brain injury victims who have a mild TBI do fully recover from their symptoms after a period of a few months. However, a significant percentage of TBI victims have symptoms that persist for months, years, or even the rest of their lives. If concussion-like symptoms persist, you may be diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. 

The “severity” of your initial TBI doesn’t necessarily determine whether you’ll develop post-concussion syndrome. Some people who lost consciousness for a few hours make complete recoveries. Some people who never lost consciousness develop permanent impairments. 

It’s critically important that you seek medical attention, follow up with treatment protocols, and document all your symptoms. The more detailed your record-keeping is, the better your chances of proving your case to a skeptical insurance company. 

Yes. In fact, a huge percentage of mild traumatic brain injuries go undiagnosed initially, particularly if you didn’t lose consciousness after the crash. 

For the most part, ER doctors aren’t especially concerned about diagnosing brain injuries. They are trained to deal with more urgent problems like broken bones and severe pain, and get your condition to “stable.” (That doesn’t mean brain injuries are less important than broken bones, of course. The long-term consequences of a mild TBI can still be devastating.) 

In the days and weeks following your head injury, pay close attention for any of the signs and symptoms listed above.  

Even better, have someone close to you observe you carefully for at least a few weeks. They should look for signs like mood swings, changes in your personality, forgetfulness, etc. Depending on the nature of your brain injury, you might not be able to tell how much you’ve been affected—but a loved one probably can. 

Yes. 

Your brain sits inside your skull, but it’s not held firmly in place. Instead, it’s surrounded by fluid, which provides shock absorption and protection. 

When your head is violently jolted, your brain can slam into the inside of the skull—that’s the root cause of the TBI. Actually hitting your head is not required here.  

For example, people who are in violent rear-end collisions often suffer whiplash, an injury that occurs when the head and neck whip violently back and forth. Many whiplash sufferers are later diagnosed with a TBI, even if their head never hit the dash.