How to Seek Compensation for a Brain Injury After a Car Accident in Texas

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and other forms of head trauma are among the most common types of catastrophic injury in motor vehicle crashes. Indeed, according to the Brain Injury Association of America, car accidents are currently the leading cause of TBIs for individuals of all ages, and these injuries can range from mild TBIs in the form of concussions to moderate and severe TBIs that can leave a person incapacitated or can result in death. Among car accident victims who sustain TBIs and survive, the economic costs are often staggering. According to data from Perelman School of Medicine’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania, about 500,000 people are permanently disabled every year due to TBIs, and the costs of treating and providing rehabilitation for these injuries totals about $30 billion every year.

If you sustained a TBI in a motor vehicle accident caused by another driver’s negligence or due to a defective vehicle component, how can you seek compensation? Our Texas auto accident attorney can explain in more detail below.

Gathering As Much Evidence As You Can 

In order to seek compensation after a TBI in a car accident, you will need to gather as much evidence as you can. In a serious brain injury case, it simply may not be possible to gather photos and video at the scene of the crash, or to obtain witness names and contact details. If you are able to do so, you should since this information can assist your car accident lawyer in building your case.

Yet even if your injury is too severe to gather evidence at the scene of the crash, your attorney can take steps to obtain witness information and other evidence in the days and weeks that follow. It is critical for you to obtain a medical assessment as quickly as possible after the crash since waiting can result in the brain injury worsening.

Proving Your Losses to Obtain Economic and Noneconomic Compensatory Damages

With the evidence you and your lawyer are able to gather, along with detailed medical records, you will be able to prove to the court that you are owed both economic and noneconomic compensatory damages to compensate you for your losses.

Under Texas law, economic damages are “for actual economic or pecuniary loss,” which means lost wages due to your inability to work, hospital bills, treatment costs, rehabilitation costs, costs associated with medical equipment for your care, and related costs. Noneconomic damages are designed to compensate you for subjective losses that do not have an objective dollar figure, such as “physical pain and suffering, mental or emotional pain or anguish, loss of consortium, disfigurement, physical impairment, loss of companionship and society, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, injury to reputation,” and any other nonpecuniary loss. 

Contact a Texas Auto Injury Attorney for Assistance with Your Brain Injury Lawsuit

Did you experience a TBI in a recent car crash, or was a loved one seriously injured or killed after sustaining a TBI in a collision? One of the experienced Texas car accident lawyers at John Reed, Attorney at Law can help you to seek compensation. Contact us today for assistance with your car accident insurance claim or lawsuit.

Sources:

biausa.org/professionals/research/tbi-model-systems/a-comparison-of-brain-injuries-from-vehicle-crashes-violence-and-falls

med.upenn.edu/cbir/silentepidemic.html

statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?tab=1&code=CP&chapter=CP.41&artSec=41.001