Brentwood Brain Injury Attorneys
If you are someone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury, or the loved one of a TBI patient, you need an attorney with extensive experience handling these types of claims.
Brain injury lawsuits can be particularly challenging because of the hidden nature of the injury.
After an accident, a head injury patient may appear normal to others but suffer from a post-concussive syndrome that does not show up on an MRI or a CT scan.
Victims of “mild” traumatic brain injuries and their families know all too well that the consequences of lasting brain injuries are anything but mild. Our firm knows how to handle such cases.
Contact our brain injury attorneys today at (310) 774-0078 to discuss your case in a free consultation.
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Why Hire Our Brain Injury Lawyers in Los Angeles?
- 40+ years of experience
- Free consultations
- Hundreds of millions recovered
- Award-winning counsel
We apply a multi-pronged approach to the challenge of maximizing compensation in TBI cases. Performing a detailed investigation of the accident using seasoned investigators, accident reconstructionists, and other experts is the first step. If liability is not proven, then you are not entitled to be compensated no matter how seriously you are injured.
In addition to working with doctors, life care planners, economists, and expert witnesses to document your damage, we spend a great deal of time and energy gathering testimony from your close friends, families, co-workers, and neighbors to strengthen your claim. Time and again, our thorough, in-depth approach maximizes our clients’ recoveries.
Brain Injury Cases We Have Handled
- $2.7 million settlement – Joseph v. Lovejoy
- $2.5 million settlement – Jane Doe v. Roe Co.
- $2 million settlement – Harwood v. Custom Foods
- $2 million settlement – Doe v. Roe Manufacturing Co.
- $1.5 million settlement – Fairweather v. In N’ Out Burgers
- $1.44 million settlement – Hebb v. Temecula Unified School District
- $1 million settlement – Brownstein v. Seacrest Inc.
- $1 million settlement – Doe v. Roe GYN
- $857,806 jury verdict – Saenz v. Garcia
- $750,000 jury verdict – Beltran v. Enriquez
- $508,000 jury verdict – Vigeant v. Linens N’ Things
- Confidential settlement – Richardson v. Marathon LeTourneau
What Are the Various Types of Brain Injury?
There are several different types of brain injuries, including:
- Penetrating injury
- Diffuse axonal injury
- Concussion
- Contusion
- Coup-contrecoup injury
- Second impact syndrome
- Shaken baby syndrome
- Anoxic brain injury
- Open head injury
- Mild traumatic brain injuries
- Hypoxic brain injury
- Brain hemorrhage
- Brain stem injury
- Temporal lobe injury
- Frontal lobe injury
- Occipital lobe injury
- Post-concussive syndrome
Each type of brain injury has particular short-term and long-term consequences, but thanks to aggressive, state-of-the-art medical treatment and therapy can improve outcomes for many patients. Since 1977, our lawyers have been helping brain injury victims and their families find and gain access to needed treatment and practical assistance.
Signs of Brain Hemorrhaging
Brain hemorrhages, sometimes called cerebral hemorrhages, account for approximately 13% of strokes nationwide. The most common cause of brain hemorrhaging in individuals under 50 is blunt head trauma, which can often be associated with motor vehicle accidents or falls. Other common causes of a brain hemorrhage include high blood pressure, the rupture of a brain aneurysm, brain tumors, and liver disease.
Common symptoms and signs of a brain hemorrhage include:
- Sudden and severe headache
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Changes in vision
- Weakness in limbs
- Loss of motor skills
- Swelling of the brain (cerebral edema)
- Loss of consciousness/coma
Unfortunately, the signs of a brain hemorrhage can often be confused with other medical issues, including other forms of brain injuries. It takes a knowledgeable, experienced medical expert to properly evaluate and treat these cases. Unfortunately, sometimes even the best medical attention cannot save a person’s life if the brain hemorrhage and associated swelling are too extensive or advanced.
Brain Stem Injury Can Lead to Lasting Impacts on Vital Functions
Located below the cerebellum at the back of the brain, the brain stem connects the spinal cord to the rest of the brain. In addition to acting as a connector for all brain signals, the brain stem is responsible for basic attention, heart rate, and consciousness. Damage to this area can lead to permanent impairment of sensory or motor functions including paralysis, coma, or in the most serious cases, a permanent vegetative state.
Signs of a mild or moderate brain stem injury include:
- Memory loss
- Loss of strength or coordination
- Vertigo
- Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- Decreased breathing
- Sleeping issues
If you or a loved one is suffering from these or other brain injury symptoms, Biren Law Group is ready to help.
Common Signs of Frontal Lobe Injury
Frontal lobe injuries can happen in many ways. The most common is trauma to the front of the head. Oxygen deprivation is another common cause. Brain damage may also be caused by a phenomenon called contrecoup; where the brain ricochets off of one part of the skull and then impacts another portion of the skull.
You could be suffering from a frontal lobe injury if you’re experiencing:
- Inability to multi-task
- Inability to organize or perform basic work functions
- Limited abstract thinking
- No attention span
- Loss of sense of humor
- Loss of drive
- Difficulty complying with rules
- Personality changes
- Mood swings
- Simple motor function loss
If you have noticed any of the above signs or symptoms after an injury, seek help with a neurologist who specializes in dealing with frontal lobe injuries. Neuropsychologists are able to test to see if you have suffered a traumatic brain injury to these areas of your brain and can provide more specialized treatment.
Symptoms of Parietal Lobe Injuries
The parietal lobe governs sensory ability, mathematical and reading ability, and visual-spatial processing. Damage to this area of the brain can cause an injured individual to be dependent on others for proper care and daily living. There are many devastating symptoms and health problems that can manifest after a parietal lobe injury.
Brain damage to this area of the brain can lead to the following:
- Loss of hand/eye coordination
- Inability to control visual movement
- Inability to recall or comprehend words
- Loss of mathematical ability
- Loss of awareness of body parts
- Loss of sensory input
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury that affects the parietal lobe, you need skilled medical and legal assistance to ensure you are taken care of.
Understanding Temporal Lobe Injuries
The temporal lobe is divided into two sections, the left temporal lobe, and the right temporal lobe, and includes the amygdala, hippocampus, and olfactory cortex.
The main functions of the left temporal lobe include:
- Memory
- Language
- Reading comprehension
- Emotional stability
- And sensory input
The right temporal lobe regulates functions relating to:
- Speech
- Comprehending music
- Experiencing extreme emotions
- And remembering songs, music, or art
A wide variety of accidents, such as car accidents or workplace accidents can cause temporal lobe injuries. Temporal lobe injury symptoms can include:
- Difficulty or inability to recognize common words
- Decreased or inhibited speech perception
- Long-term or short-term memory loss
- Inability to recognize faces, art, music, or other similar things
Severe temporal lobe injuries can cause seizures and even lead to extreme changes in a person’s personality and sexual behavior. The symptoms of a damaged temporal lobe can vary for each individual that’s why we recommend speaking with a brain injury lawyer at Biren Law Group.
What Happens When the Occipital Lobe is Damaged?
Unlike other parts of the brain that juggle many functions of the body and mind, the occipital lobe’s function specializes in vision. When there is occipital lobe damage, the symptoms will in turn be directly related to your visual function. However, symptoms are not limited to just losing one’s vision.
Most occipital lobe injuries involve some variation of visual impairment, such as:
- Partial loss of visual field, called a visual field cut
- Reading and writing impairments
- Hallucinations
- Inability to identify different colors (color agnosia)
- Inability to identify the movement of objects (object agnosia)
Our attorneys can help you obtain the resources you need to get your brain injury treated and receive the proper care you deserve.
Brain Damage Caused by Oxygen Deprivation
When the brain is injured because of a lack of oxygen, medical professionals describe the condition as cerebral hypoxia (inadequate oxygen) or anoxia (no oxygen). These types of brain injuries can occur in a variety of ways and often lead to devastating symptoms and long-term challenges for injury victims.
Common incidents that lead to hypoxic and anoxic brain injuries include:
- Swimming pool accidents: We have successfully represented clients whose family members drowned or nearly drowned in swimming pools due to a failure to supervise, inadequate security, or other negligent acts.
- Industrial accidents: We have represented numerous victims of industrial accidents who suffered cerebral hypoxia or anoxia when colorless, odorless gases like argon or carbon monoxide displaced the oxygen in their workspace.
- Strangulation: Defectively designed clothing, toys, cribs, and other furniture can all pose a risk of brain injury or death by strangulation, especially to children.
- Birth injuries: When doctors fail to diagnose or properly respond to fetal distress, they put the baby at risk of cerebral palsy and other permanent brain injuries due to a lack of oxygen. Our firm has the skills to take on these complex cases.
When an individual sustains a brain injury due to lack of oxygen, it can be a very difficult and challenging condition to treat. You need to make sure that you or your loved one get the care, support, and treatment you need during this time.
Understanding the Impact of Concussions
News commentators often mention that football players and other athletes “are recovering” or “have recovered” following a head injury that resulted in a concussion. However, repeated concussions—or even just one concussion—can have devastating effects despite the improvement of initial symptoms. Full recovery may never occur.
As seen in recent news stories, athletes often do not feel the full impact of concussions until years later when their cognitive and physical capabilities markedly deteriorate and become disabling. Common complaints and symptoms of athletes who have suffered concussions include inability to focus or concentrate, irritability, cognitive decline, and depression. It has recently been medically established that multiple concussions can even hasten dementia in injury victims later in life.
As more and more information about sports-related brain injuries comes to light, the NFL and school sports authorities have taken notice. The NFL has adopted new standards regarding how players are allowed to tackle, for example.
Anyone who suspects that they have sustained a concussion should never ignore the symptoms or problems that follow but rather consult with a qualified doctor who is knowledgeable about concussions.
Post-Concussion Syndrome
Post-concussive syndrome, or post-concussion syndrome, is one of the least understood aspects of mild traumatic brain injuries. If you were diagnosed with a concussion and are still experiencing symptoms weeks later, you are likely suffering from PCS. In most cases, the symptoms of a concussion ease as the brain heals. Other times, the symptoms can persist for weeks or months afterward. This condition is called post-concussion syndrome.
Common symptoms of post-concussive syndrome include:
- Headache
- Memory loss
- Difficulty multi-tasking
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Trouble sleeping
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
Symptoms of a concussion usually resolve within 3-6 months. Other times these symptoms can last much longer; even for life. Only lawyers are experienced in handling these cases and know how to persuade juries that these symptoms are residual effects of a mild closed-head injury and, therefore, the victim is entitled to compensation for them.
Common Causes of Brain Injuries
Brain injuries and other catastrophic injuries can be caused by a wide variety of accidents, including:
- Car accidents
- Falls
- Workplace accidents
- Truck accidents
- Recreational accidents
- Sports injuries
- Medical mistakes
While the causes may vary, brain injuries do have one strikingly similar commonality: horrific side effects and changes that wreak havoc on those who have been injured. Biren Law Group understands brain injuries and can help you obtain maximum compensation for your losses.
Loss of Consciousness Caused by Head Trauma
There is a great deal of misunderstanding when it comes to determining whether loss of consciousness is required for a brain injury to occur. It is very common for insurance companies—and the doctors hired by them—to try to defeat claims by contending that if a patient did not lose consciousness, then they did not suffer a traumatic brain injury.
While there may be debate on whether or not loss of consciousness must occur for a brain injury to happen, there is no medical dispute that loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or more is a sign of traumatic brain injury. Essentially, if loss of consciousness occurs for that long, an individual likely suffered a TBI.
The directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control released a joint report several years back that distinguished loss of consciousness of 30 minutes or more as one of the main characteristics of severe traumatic brain injury. This is one way doctors can differentiate between severe TBI and mild TBI. However, using loss of consciousness as evidence in court is not that simple. A skilled advocate must know how to craft a claim that is rock solid and withstands attacks from insurance companies.
Based on our work representing brain injury victims at the Biren Law Group, we know that the current medical literature makes it clear that a person who suffers a closed head injury may have sustained a traumatic brain injury, regardless of whether they lose consciousness or not. Still, loss of consciousness serves as an important factor when evaluating the extent of a brain injury.
Understanding the Severity of a Traumatic Brain Injury
In most cases, traumatic brain injuries fall into three different categories: mild, moderate, and severe. Even head injuries that are deemed as “mild” will result in serious health challenges and difficulties.
Common symptoms of a TBI may include:
- Cognitive problems such as impaired memory, lack of concentration, poor attention span, slowed learning, difficulty reasoning, and other issues.
- Emotional and behavioral problems such as depression, irritability, aggression, and other behavioral changes.
- Physical problems such as fatigue, headaches, loss of coordination, sensory loss, sleep disturbance, coma, hemorrhage, and seizures.
Seizures Caused by Brain Injuries
Brain injuries or other incidents that lead to seizures are extremely serious and can involve permanent disability or death. Other times, seizures can be more focal, less dramatic, but just as harmful or disabling. Whether your seizures are caused by a brain injury or any other issue connected to the negligence of another person, be sure to seek legal counsel right away.
What Causes Seizures?
Seizures are caused by a malfunction in the brain. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) will occasionally cause the onset of seizures similar to those of epileptics, who are born with the problem. Sometimes, the first indications of the onset of a seizure disorder are staring spells, where the person appears to temporarily zone out. These episodes can actually be focal point seizures, which can later develop into grand mal seizures. Because focal point seizures are difficult to recognize, family members should be on the lookout for this type of behavior and, if it occurs, make sure that the person’s doctor is made aware of the development.
Additionally, seizures can occur due to electric shock from defective equipment or even medical malpractice during childbirth. Seizures may develop weeks, months, or even years after the initial incident or accident.
What are the Symptoms of Seizures?
The following are common symptoms of seizures:
- Clenching of teeth
- Rapid, fluttering eye movements
- Sudden mood changes
- Muscle spasms
- Blacking out and confusion
How Seizures Can Affect a Victim’s Life
The onset of seizures can have serious consequences on a victim’s life. If you have a grand mal seizure, your doctor is required to report that fact to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and it is likely that your license will be suspended—at least until the seizures are controlled with medication. However, seizure medications can have adverse effects too, especially for women who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant.
What Options Are There For Treatment?
After a serious head injury, a patient is likely to find effective treatment, therapies, and rehabilitation in a hospital, in a rehabilitation facility, through outpatient treatment, in support groups, and in therapeutic settings. For best results, we recommend that you start your care with a doctor who specializes in your particular type of head injury.
Because these types of treatment can be extremely costly, it is urgent for brain injury victims to retain the help of a skilled brain injury lawyer in Los Angeles who can determine which legal strategies can help the victim recover compensation for such therapy and treatment processes.
What Will The Recovery Process Be Like?
Depending on the severity of your brain injury, the recovery process can be lengthy or short. In most cases, you will need rest so that your body can recover. Studies show that a majority of the recovery progress occurs within the first six months of the injury. In severe cases, it may be difficult and impossible for a person to recover completely.
As a result, the human body will find alternate ways to cope with the changes, and the person may learn other ways to compensate and become more functional. It is important to speak with a knowledgeable physician regarding your recovery process, since these processes range on a case-by-case basis.
Will Life Ever Seem Normal Again?
If you have a mild case, you may feel much better after two to three months, after five to six months or after a year. However, people who have suffered moderate or severe brain injuries, or even some who have sustained mild brain injuries, will suffer the consequences of their injuries for the rest of their life.
Nevertheless, through cognitive behavioral therapy, the victim can learn compensatory strategies so that he or she can function as well as possible given the limitations caused by the brain injury.
Don’t Wait to Get Help with Your Case
Speak with one of our Los Angeles brain injury lawyers for information on how we can help maximize damages in a TBI case. Ask about our past successes, including verdicts and settlements that have given our clients a new lease on life. Ask questions you may have regarding brain injury treatment and rehabilitation and related topics.
Our law firm is dedicated to helping people with brain injuries recover maximum financial compensation for the harm they have experienced. Since 1977, we’ve won more than half a billion dollars for our clients. If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, you can count on the Biren Law Group.
Discuss your case with a brain injury attorney in Brentwood by calling the Biren Law Group to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
