New Orleans Head and Brain Injury Lawyers
Brain and head injuries can be quite complex. The human brain is a very delicate and intricate organ, and a fall, a car or motorcycle accident, or any impact to the head can leave long-lasting impacts on one's life.
Brain and head injuries - the quick answers
- A direct trauma to the skull can cause a range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and emotions.
- Many head injuries show no symptoms at first, and some only surface after a prolonged period.
- Some of the most serious injuries, like diffuse axonal injury, do not appear on a CT scan - which is exactly why insurers dispute them.
- Caring for a brain-injured person creates numerous expenses, some of which you may not even realize at first.
- You must connect the injury to someone's negligence - proving the defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in causing the harm.
- Louisiana has a strict deadline: personal injury claims generally must be brought within two years of the accident.
- The consultation is free, and if we take your case you pay no fee unless we win.
Hurt your head? We're on your side.
Head injuries and resulting brain damage can cause a range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and emotions. Whether major or minor, direct trauma to the skull may result in traumatic brain injury. A fall, a car or motorcycle accident, or any impact to the head can leave long-lasting impacts on one's life.
Sometimes an accident is just that: an unavoidable, unpredictable incident. All too often, though, accidents are due to someone else's negligence. If you or a loved one has been brain-injured because of someone else's neglect, a competent attorney can help you receive financial compensation to cover the numerous expenses involved. To discuss any aspect of your head or brain injury case in a free consultation, call 504-483-3400 or contact us.
- Connect your injury to the negligence that caused it
- Line up the neurology and imaging that documents a brain injury
- Prove the defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in the harm
- Answer the insurer's argument that an "invisible" injury is not real
- Account for lifelong medical care, therapy, and lost wages
- Preserve your receipts and medical records to build the case
- Handle personal injury and wrongful death claims alike
- Protect you against Louisiana's two-year filing deadline
What to do after a head injury
Most head and brain injuries show no symptoms at first, and some only surface after a prolonged period. What you do in the days after the accident protects both your health and your claim.
See a doctor as soon as possible
Make every effort to visit a hospital or medical professional (including chiropractors, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, or even your family doctor) as soon as you can. Even if you do not believe your injuries are serious, confirm there are no hidden ones.
Do not wait for symptoms
Neck injuries, different levels of brain injury, back injuries, soft tissue injuries, and internal damage often show no symptoms, and some only show symptoms after a prolonged period. A clear check now can catch what you cannot feel yet.
Get care even without health insurance
If someone else can be held legally liable for your injuries, they are ultimately responsible for your expenses, including medical care. That means you may be able to obtain high-quality medical care without paying upfront, so tend to your injuries either way.
Keep every receipt and record
If you are considering seeking compensation, keep all receipts for expenses related to your injury, as well as all your medical records. Your lawyer will need these to base the case on.
Provide detailed, accurate information
Your prime role when you file a suit is to provide detailed, accurate information to your attorney. He or she will handle the rest of the case, so you can focus on recovery.
Consult a qualified lawyer quickly
Louisiana's filing deadline is two years. Even if you feel you are not ready to file a suit, consult a qualified lawyer as soon as possible so that you will know your options.
A brain injury does not have to show on a scan to change a life.
Some of the most serious traumatic brain injuries produce microscopic changes that do not appear on a CT scan and are scattered throughout the brain. The person feels the difference in their thinking, their language, and their emotions long before an insurer will admit it exists. That gap is exactly where these cases are won or lost.
Important Louisiana laws and programs
Louisiana has specific rules, deadlines, and programs that shape a head or brain injury claim. These are the ones that matter most.
Two Years to File
Personal injury claims in Louisiana must be brought within two years from the accident, under the state's statute of limitations. Failing to comply with this deadline generally prevents a victim from ever bringing a claim based on the accident unless an exception applies.
Proving Liability
Even after proving negligence, you must connect the injuries to the conduct. The plaintiff must show that the defendant's actions directly resulted in their TBI - that the conduct was a substantial factor in causing the harm and that the injuries were foreseeable in the circumstances.
Comparative Fault
If the plaintiff also acted carelessly in the time leading up to the accident, such as speeding on a motorcycle, they may still be able to recover a reduced award of compensation. Seek legal counsel as soon as possible so an injury attorney can craft a strong strategy.
Louisiana Youth Concussion Act (2011, No. 314)
A proactive movement to educate families and institutions on protecting Louisiana's youth. It sets concussion education requirements for professionals who work with youth athletes, requires removal from competition after a concussion, and establishes a uniform return-to-play protocol statewide.
THSCI Trust Fund Program
The Traumatic Head and Spinal Cord Injury program provides flexible, individualized services to Louisiana citizens who survive traumatic head or spinal cord injuries, helping them return to a reasonable level of functioning and independent living. It is designed as a program of last resort.
Who Qualifies for THSCI
A person must meet the definition for Traumatic Head or Spinal Cord Injury, be a Louisiana resident domiciled in the state at the time of injury, have a reasonable expectation of functional improvement, exhaust all other Medicare and Medicaid sources, and participate in an Individualized Service Plan.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts - call us and we'll tell you where you actually stand.
Why brain injury cases are different
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability among children and adults across the United States. The numbers below come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and show why these injuries are treated so seriously.
They are also a reminder of what is at stake: a brain that has just undergone a traumatic injury is especially sensitive, and the consequences can last a lifetime.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Incidence and Distribution, 2014. Introduction to Brain Injury - Facts and Stats, February 2000.
Types of head and brain injuries
Head injuries range from a simple crack in the skull to microscopic damage scattered throughout the brain that never shows up on a scan. Summarized below are different types of sequelae that develop from TBIs.
The label matters, because it drives the imaging, the neurology, and ultimately what an insurer can and cannot dispute.
The injuries insurers call invisible
Not every brain injury announces itself on a scan. Diffuse injuries produce microscopic changes that do not appear on CT and are scattered throughout the brain - which is precisely the kind of injury an insurer will argue is not there at all.
Understanding the mechanism is how you answer that argument. These are the injuries that highway-speed and impact trauma most often produce:
When the injury does not show on a CT scan
TBIs can produce microscopic changes that do not appear on CT scans and are scattered throughout the brain. This category, called diffuse brain injury, may occur with or without an associated mass lesion - and diffuse axonal injury, the gradual loss of the long nerve extensions that let brain cells communicate, can leave a patient with severe disabilities while showing very little on early imaging.
Another diffuse injury is ischemia, or insufficient blood supply to parts of the brain. A brain that has just undergone a traumatic injury is especially sensitive to slight reductions in blood flow, and changes in blood pressure during the first few days after a head injury can have an adverse effect. None of that fits neatly into a single dramatic image.
That is why these cases turn on the right neurology and imaging - CT and MRI read by people who know what they are looking at - rather than a single picture. The insurer will treat an injury it cannot see on a scan as an injury that is not there. The medicine says otherwise.
Compensation in a brain injury case
Numerous expenses occur while caring for a brain-injured person, some of which you may not even realize at first. A qualified brain injury lawyer will help you get compensation for these expenses and others related to your injury.
Financial compensation awarded in a court of law is aimed at covering the costs below - and because brain injuries are long-tailed, the lifelong care is usually far larger than the bills you have already received.
Economic damages
- Hospitalization and emergency care
- Medical care throughout the person's life
- Caregivers at home
- Rehabilitation
- Counseling and psychiatric care
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Expenses not covered by existing health insurance
- Travel expenses for medical care
- Funeral expenses
Non-economic damages
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Cognitive, behavioral, and emotional changes
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disability and loss of independence
- Support services for the injured person's family
- Pain and suffering experienced by the family
- Wrongful death and survival damages
What actually changes when a lawyer steps in
Many people worry that they will have to spend hours in court if they file a personal injury or wrongful death suit. In reality, the lawyer takes care of most of that. Your prime role is to provide detailed, accurate information; your attorney handles the rest.
We build the case around the medicine. A qualified brain injury lawyer lines up the neurology, the imaging, and the records that document an injury an insurer would rather call invisible - and connects that injury to the negligence that caused it.
We account for the full cost. Numerous expenses occur while caring for a brain-injured person, some of which you may not even realize at first: lifelong medical care, caregivers at home, rehabilitation, counseling, lost wages, and the support your family needs. We make sure the demand reflects a lifetime, not a single hospital stay.
And we carry the process. From preserving your receipts and medical records to proving that the defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in the harm, we handle the work so your job is simply to recover and to tell us what happened.
Mistakes that can hurt your claim
Brain injury cases are often weakened before anyone files, because the injury is easy to underestimate and Louisiana's filing deadline is two years.
None of the mistakes below are fatal on their own, but each one gives an insurer room to argue that a serious injury is not serious at all.
- Skipping medical care because you do not feel seriously hurt
- Assuming a normal CT scan means there is no brain injury
- Waiting to see a doctor while symptoms surface over weeks
- Not seeking care because you lack health insurance
- Losing the receipts and medical records the case is built on
- Letting Louisiana's two-year deadline slip past
- Trying to prove liability without connecting the conduct to the injury
- Waiting to consult a lawyer until you feel "ready" to file
Understanding a head and brain injury claim
Head injuries and resulting brain damage can cause a range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and emotions. Here is how these injuries are classified, how liability is proven, and what a claim actually involves.
The types of injury, and why the label matters
Summarized here are the different types of sequelae that develop from TBIs. A hematoma is a blood clot within the brain or on its surface; an epidural hematoma collects between the dura mater and the inside of the skull, while a subdural hematoma collects between the dura mater and the arachnoid layer that sits directly on the surface of the brain. A cerebral contusion is bruising of brain tissue, comparable under a microscope to bruises elsewhere in the body, most commonly at the base of the front parts of the brain.
An intracerebral hemorrhage is bleeding within the brain tissue, often related to contusions, and its size and location help determine whether it can be removed surgically. A subarachnoid hemorrhage is bleeding into the subarachnoid space, appearing as diffuse blood spread thinly over the surface of the brain; most cases associated with head trauma are mild, though severe cases can lead to hydrocephalus.
The injuries a scan can miss
TBIs can produce microscopic changes that do not appear on CT scans and are scattered throughout the brain. This category, called diffuse brain injury, may occur with or without an associated mass lesion. Diffuse axonal injury refers to impaired function and gradual loss of axons, the long extensions of nerve cells that let them communicate; if enough axons are harmed, that ability may be lost or greatly impaired, possibly leaving a patient with severe disabilities.
Another diffuse injury is ischemia, or insufficient blood supply to certain parts of the brain. This matters because a brain that has just undergone a traumatic injury is especially sensitive to slight reductions in blood flow, and changes in blood pressure during the first few days after a head injury can also have an adverse effect. Finally, skull fractures - linear cracks, or depressed fractures in which part of the bone presses into the brain - can accompany a TBI and damage the underlying brain, nerves, or arteries.
"A brain injury does not have to show on a scan to change how a person thinks, speaks, and feels."
Proving liability
Even if we can prove negligence in a court of law, it is still necessary to connect the injuries to the conduct in question. In addition to showing that the defendant failed to act with proper care and that the plaintiff was injured, the plaintiff must also show that the defendant's actions directly resulted in their TBI.
Generally, a brain injury attorney in Louisiana will need to help a victim show that the defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in causing the harm and that the plaintiff's injuries were foreseeable in the circumstances. If the plaintiff also acted carelessly in the time leading up to the accident, such as speeding on a motorcycle, they may still be able to recover a reduced award of compensation - but they should seek legal counsel as soon as possible so an injury attorney can craft a strong strategy.
What kinds of lawsuits are available
You can file two types of lawsuits in a brain injury case: personal injury and wrongful death. A personal injury case generally requires that the injured person file the suit, but in some cases the family may be able to file if you are not able to do so. The family of a brain injury victim who died from the injury can file a wrongful death suit; compensation generally covers lost wages, hospitalization, and funeral expenses, and a financial award for pain and suffering experienced by the family may also be included.
Do not wait to find out where you stand
Personal injury claims in Louisiana must be brought within two years from the accident, under the state's statute of limitations. This is another reason it is imperative to consult an attorney as soon as possible, because failing to comply with this deadline generally prevents a victim from ever bringing a claim based on the accident unless an exception applies.
To discuss any aspect of your head or brain injury case in a free consultation, call 504-483-3400 or contact us. Even if you feel you are not ready to file a suit, consult a qualified lawyer as soon as possible so that you will know your options.
Related reading
More from our blog on brain injuries, accidents, and the claims process: What To Know About Traumatic Brain Injury Cases, Common Types Of Motorcycle Accidents, Should You Settle Or Go To Court?, What To Expect During Your Consultation, Do I Have To Go To Court For A Personal Injury Claim?, Tips For Taking Good Photos After An Accident, What You Should Do In A Rideshare Accident, How To Get A Car Accident Report, Who Can Be Held Liable For A Truck Accident?, Who Is At Fault In A Rear-End Collision?, Louisiana Hit-And-Run Laws, How A Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help Your Case, What Damages Can You Claim After A Car Accident?, Benefits Of Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer, Why You Need A Motorcycle or Truck Accident Attorney, and Do I Need A Personal Injury Attorney?
Head and brain injury FAQ
When should I see a doctor?
After your accident, make every effort to visit a hospital or medical professional (including chiropractors, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, or even your family doctor) as soon as possible. Even if you do not believe your injuries are serious enough to warrant medical attention, you should try to confirm there are no hidden injuries. Examples include neck injuries, different levels of brain injury (including traumatic), back injuries, soft tissue injuries, and internal damage. Most of these injuries will show no symptoms, and some will only show symptoms after a prolonged period.
What if I do not have health insurance?
Even if you are not covered by a health insurance provider, you should go to see a medical professional after the injury occurs. If someone else can take legal liability for the injuries you sustained, they will ultimately be responsible for your expenses. This includes medical expenses, meaning you may be able to obtain high-quality medical care without paying upfront. Overall, it is a good idea to tend to your injuries after any sort of injury or accident.
Why seek legal advice?
Sometimes an accident is just that: an unavoidable, unpredictable incident. Unfortunately, all too often accidents are due to someone else's negligence. Careless driving and the failure of employers to adequately provide for the safety of their employees are two examples of negligent behavior that can lead to a TBI. If you or a loved one has been brain-injured due to someone's neglect, a competent attorney can help you receive financial compensation to cover the numerous expenses involved, some of which you may not even realize at first.
What types of lawsuits are available for me?
You can file two types of lawsuits in a brain injury case: personal injury and wrongful death. A personal injury case generally requires that the person who has received the injury file the suit, but in some cases your family may be able to file suit if you are not able to do so. The family of a brain injury victim who died from the injury can file a wrongful death suit. Compensation in such a case will generally cover lost wages, hospitalization, and funeral expenses. A financial award for pain and suffering experienced by the family may also be included.
How long do I have to file in Louisiana?
Personal injury claims in Louisiana must be brought within two years from the accident, according to the state's statute of limitations. This is another reason why it is imperative to consult an attorney as soon as possible. Failing to comply with this deadline generally prevents a victim from ever bringing a claim based on the accident unless an exception applies.
Can a brain injury be real if it does not show on a scan?
Yes. TBIs can produce microscopic changes that do not appear on CT scans and are scattered throughout the brain. This category, called diffuse brain injury, includes diffuse axonal injury, the gradual loss of the axons that let nerve cells communicate, which can leave a patient with severe disabilities. Insufficient blood supply, or ischemia, is another diffuse injury. Because these injuries can be missed by a single image, the right neurology and imaging matter enormously.
Is there any Louisiana program that helps head injury survivors?
Yes. The Traumatic Head and Spinal Cord Injury (THSCI) Trust Fund Program provides services in a flexible, individualized manner to Louisiana citizens who survive traumatic head or spinal cord injuries, helping them return to a reasonable level of functioning and independent living. It is designed as a program of last resort, so a person must seek assistance from all available resources, and exhaust other Medicare and Medicaid sources, before the trust fund can provide financial assistance or services.
A brain injury deserves more than a headache settlement.
Tell us what happened. Your consultation is free, there's no obligation, and you pay nothing unless we win.