Orange County Brain Injury Lawyer

Traumatic brain injuries, which are commonly referred to as TBI, impair a person’s cognitive abilities or physical functioning. Most people cannot ever fully recover from a traumatic brain injury. They may have problems moving, regulating their emotions, or trusting their senses. Some victims experience changes in personality. These permanent changes cause significant and expensive changes in a person’s life, from hospital and medical bills, to home health assistance, or moving into an assisted care facility.

If you or your family is facing these changes because of someone else’s illegal or reckless behavior, you may consult an Orange County brain injury attorney to determine the best way to hold that person responsible before the law.

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TBIs are caused by an external physical force, such as being struck in the head or hitting one’s head on a hard surface. TBI does not refer to brain injuries that are hereditary, degenerative, or caused by birth trauma, drugs, alcohol or other toxic substances, or diseases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 5.3 million Americans who have suffered a traumatic brain injury need help performing daily tasks.

Traumatic brain injuries are characterized by the following symptoms:

• Loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less.

• Memory loss, particularly of events that happened right before or after the injury.

• Altered mental state at the time of the accident, such as feeling disoriented or confused.
• Short-term amnesia, but not amnesia that lasts for longer than 24 hours.

Because TBI’s are very common in vehicle accidents, assault cases and slip-and-fall cases, there is a high number of cases in Orange County. If you suffered a brain injury after a car accident, call our Irvine brain injury lawyers for assistance with your claim.

Types of Brain Injuries and Their Causes

• Mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) are often caused by sports or other recreation. Football concussions are among the most common MBTIs. However, repeated blows to the head or a more severe head injury can become more serious.

• Shaking can be a source of a TBI, as in shaken baby syndrome.

• Concussion – a direct blow to the head.

• Penetration injury – a TBI that results from impact from a bullet, knife or other sharp object that pushes hair, skin and bone fragments into the brain.

• Closed-head brain injuries (CHBI) happen when a person’s head is impacted from an outside force (like a wall or a rock) but the skull does not fracture or displace. CHBIs are a problem because the brain swells but has no place to expand, which causes brain tissues to compress and further complications. CHBIs are one of the least commonly detected brain injuries, but one of the most ominous since a bruised brain may never completely recover.

• Acquired brain injuries (ABI) occur when the brain is deprived of air. While many ABIs are not the result of negligence, such as birth complications, epilepsy or seizures, some ABIs may be sports related. For example, defective SCUBA equipment can deprive the brain of oxygen. Instances such as these may involve negligence that caused the injury.

How Many People Suffer Traumatic Brain Injury Each Year?

According to the Brain Injury Association of California, over 1.7 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury each year in the United states – leading to:

52,000 deaths

275,000 hospitalizations

1.4 million visits to the emergency room

What are the leading causes of Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States?

• Falls (28%)
• Motor vehicle accidents (20%)
• Blow to the head (19%)
• Assaults (11%)

Who are the people at highest risk for Traumatic Brain Injury?

• Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to sustain a TBI
• Ages 0 to 4 years of age and 15 to 19 years of age
• Certain military duties

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury, you may be able to receive some compensation from a brain injury lawsuit. Our team has extensive experience with the complex and drawn-out lawsuits that often occur after a brain injury. Our Orange County brain injury lawyers have secured record verdicts in intricate national litigation over medical and scientific issues.

Panish, Shea & Boyle attorneys have been recognized for excellence among our consumer and trial attorney peers. We have been honored as Most Influential Attorneys and Best Lawyers in America and given an award for Trial Lawyer of the Year. Our expertise and finesse brings the best to each case.

Call today at (877) 800-1700 for a free case evaluation. We serve clients in Newport Beach, Irvine, and throughout Southern California.