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The legal implications of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in North Carolina include holding the person who caused the injury legally responsible for your damages. By doing so, the liable parties will also have financial responsibility for the harm caused by your TBI.
However, recognizing someone’s legal responsibility for your brain injury is only the first step. You must then secure the compensation that the liable parties owe you. Trust a North Carolina brain injury lawyer from our firm to fight for the money your injury entitles you to receive.
Ways to Seek Compensation for a Traumatic Brain Injury in North Carolina
Your options for seeking compensation will depend on how the TBI happened. Potential ways to obtain compensation for your injury include:
- An auto insurance claim: If your brain injury resulted from a traffic accident, a North Carolina car accident lawyer from our team could file an auto insurance claim on your behalf. If you have already filed the claim but want help negotiating a fair settlement, we could take over today.
- A workers’ compensation claim: When work accidents cause brain injuries, a workers’ compensation claim can be a relatively straightforward method of covering medical costs and lost income. If you want a North Carolina workers’ compensation attorney to fight for the compensation you deserve, turn to us.
- A premises liability claim: When property owners fail to maintain safe premises, they become liable for any brain injuries that occur because of their negligence. The property owner may have an insurance policy that pays for certain losses related to your TBI.
- A lawsuit: Our team has filed lawsuits on behalf of many clients with traumatic brain injuries. Lawsuits can become necessary when insurance companies don’t offer a fair settlement.
We develop a personalized legal strategy for each client we represent. Once we have evaluated all relevant information related to your TBI, we will advise the proper course of action for your case.
What Is the Legal Standard for Liability in a TBI Case?
Negligence is usually the standard for establishing liability for a TBI. Someone is negligent when they:
- Owe a duty of care to others: A duty of care requires someone to act reasonably. For a motorist, this means following the speed limit and driving defensively. For a dog owner, this means keeping an aggressive animal confined or on-leash. The duty of care is unique to every given circumstance.
- Breach the duty of care: When someone acts in an unreasonable manner that endangers others, they breach their duty of care. A motorist speeding through a neighborhood or an owner who allows an aggressive dog to be free in a public area has breached their duty of care.
When negligence contributes to harm—such as a traumatic brain injury—the negligent party becomes financially responsible for the victim’s damages.
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Circumstances Where Negligence Can Lead to a Brain Injury
As North Carolina personal injury attorneys, we understand how a brain injury can arise from virtually any circumstance. Here are some everyday situations that lead to TBIs.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) cites motor vehicle accidents as one of the leading events that can cause a non-penetrating brain injury. Such injuries, which result from a sudden jolt or bump to the head, can occur during:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Public transportation accidents
These accidents can result from driver negligence, motor vehicle defects, or other hazards.
Animal Attacks
When an aggressive animal attacks a human, the person might fall to the ground and hit their head. The pet owner is usually liable when their animal causes someone to sustain a severe brain injury.
Workplace Accidents
Work-related brain injuries can result from:
- Falls
- Falling items
- Physical assaults
- Forceful contact with an item at head level
The North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) explains that employers with more than three employees must have workers’ compensation insurance. In addition, some cases allow an injured employee to file a lawsuit against an employer or liable third parties.
Criminal Assaults
Being struck in the head during a criminal assault poses a clear risk of traumatic brain injury. You may be able to sue:
- The individual who assaulted you
- The owner of an establishment that had inadequate security
- Any other party who allowed or contributed to the assault
Criminal charges against your assailant might reassure you, but the criminal justice system will not cover the financial aspects of an assault. However, our team will work to ensure you receive fair compensation for medical bills, lost income, trauma, and any other effects of a criminal act.
Medical Errors
When medical professionals violate their duties of care to patients, TBIs are one of the many harmful outcomes that can result. A medical professional and their employer might both be liable if malpractice caused you to suffer a traumatic brain injury.
The Financial Implications of a Traumatic Brain Injury
A brain injury can have financial implications for multiple people, including:
- The individual with the brain injury: Brain injury sufferers often sustain economic (e.g., medical bills) and noneconomic damages (e.g., pain and suffering).
- Those whose loved one becomes disabled or dies because of a TBI: If a loved one suffers a severe TBI, you might have to quit your job to aid in caregiving, could suffer psychologically, and might lose quality of life because of the injury. In the worst case, your family member might die from the injury.
- The individual who caused the brain injury: They should have to pay the financial cost of their victims’ damages.
- Any others who have legal responsibility for the TBI: For instance, did an employer’s employee cause a brain injury? If so, the employer may share financial responsibility for victims’ damages.
As brain injury lawyers serving North Carolina, our concern lies with victims of negligence. If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury because of another person’s negligence, we will fight for a settlement or verdict covering your damages.
Specific Damages You May Suffer Because of a TBI
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes how symptoms of a TBI can be short-term or life-long. Because TBI symptoms can vary so significantly, we will identify your unique damages.
Pain and Suffering
Because the brain is our body’s hub of operations, an injury affecting our brain can cause:
- Physical pain
- Psychological distress
- Emotional anguish
- Lost quality of life
- Difficulty sleeping
- Substance abuse
- Suicidality
- Serious behavioral problems
The event that produced your injury, like an auto accident, also may cause pain and suffering. Such symptoms can be debilitating, and we will seek compensation reflecting the severity of your injury.
Healthcare and Mental Health Treatment Expenses
Our team will demand the liable parties cover all medical bills related to your brain injury. We will also consider any mental health treatment, rehabilitation, and other health-related services you need for a brain injury.
Lost Income and Diminished Earning Capacity
When a brain injury prevents you from working as you usually do, you may suffer:
- Lost income
- Decreased earning power
- Lost benefits
- Missed bonuses and promotions
- Lost progress toward career goals
Our team works with economists and experts in various professional fields to identify the professional cost of your traumatic brain injury.
Should I Hire a North Carolina Brain Injury Lawyer to Fight for My Financial Recovery?
It is your decision whether to hire a North Carolina brain injury lawyer to seek compensation for medical bills and other damages. If you hire a lawyer, you might do so because:
- You have never suffered a serious brain injury and are uncertain of how to proceed.
- You want our firm’s financial support, as we will cover the upfront cost of your claim or lawsuit.
- We have ample experience representing brain injury victims, and there is genuinely no imitation for experience.
- Your brain injury prevents you from engaging in strenuous psychological or physical activity, both of which your case may demand.
Whenever someone is down with an injury, we encourage them to accept any help. Thus, our team offers its assistance during this challenging time in your life.
Services a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Will Perform on Your Behalf
Our team will take the burden of your case off your hands, assisting you by:
- Establishing liability for your TBI: Our team will determine who is financially responsible for the harm your injury has caused. Those parties may also be responsible for the event that led to the injury, such as a car accident.
- Documenting your damages: We will obtain documentation of your damages, which may include imaging of the injuries, medical bills, expert testimony, and evidence of lost income.
- Calculating a fair settlement (and fighting for it): Once we know the financial cost of your brain injury, we will negotiate a settlement with liable parties.
- Taking your case to court, if necessary: If liable parties refuse our settlement demands, we will continue fighting in court.
Our firm handles every detail of clients’ cases. From the moment we take over your case, you can rest knowing that we have taken full responsibility for your financial recovery.
Can I Afford to Hire a North Carolina TBI Lawyer?
Any person with a traumatic brain injury in North Carolina can afford to hire our firm. Our contingency fee structure ensures this, as it:
- Compels our firm to cover the entire cost of your case, including the fees of any experts we hire to contribute to your claim or lawsuit.
- Requires you to pay no upfront fee or out-of-pocket costs to our team.
- Only allows us to collect an attorney’s fee if we secure compensation for you.
Because we cover the entire upfront cost of your case, even those in dire financial circumstances can afford our services. Because our fee is part of your monetary recovery, we have a great incentive to secure you as much compensation as possible.
Will I Need to Sue to Secure the Compensation I Seek?
You may not need to file a lawsuit to secure fair compensation for your brain injury. We will work hard to secure the settlement you deserve. However, the liable parties must agree to pay you fairly. Otherwise, going to trial may be the right decision.
What if I Choose Not to Hire a TBI Lawyer?
If you do not hire a TBI lawyer, you could risk:
- Causing permanent health problems because you failed to prioritize recovery.
- Worsening any pain and suffering you may already be experiencing.
- Presenting a weaker case than you could have with a lawyer’s help.
- Causing lifelong financial stress if you fail to secure the compensation you deserve.
You have one opportunity to seek compensation for a TBI. Let us help you present the most convincing case we possibly can.
Call Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC Today for Your Free Consultation
Allow our team of dedicated attorneys to fight for justice for you. Our firm has received many accolades for our service, and we have helped many clients with TBIs get the compensation they deserve.
Call Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC today for your free, no-obligation consultation.
