Your brain plays a critical role in everything from motor control to problem-solving abilities. If you’ve sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Chicago, the impact on your quality of life may be severe.
The impact on your finances could also be significant. Paying for TBI treatment may prove challenging. Covering the cost of treatment might be particularly difficult if a TBI prevents you from working and earning a paycheck.
Did your injuries result from someone else’s negligence? If so, you may be entitled to compensation. Securing money for your losses can help you address at least some of the burdens you face after such an injury.
Talk to a Chicago traumatic brain injury lawyer for more information about your options. A member of our team at Wallace Miller can answer your questions and offer the dedicated representation you need. Get in touch today to learn more.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Johns Hopkins Medicine explains that TBI is a general term referring to many types of injuries. All TBIs involve some form of harm to the brain. TBIs often result from blows to the head or a sudden accident. An injury may qualify as a TBI if it negatively impacts brain functioning to any degree.
What Are the Consequences of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The consequences someone may experience as a result of a TBI can vary depending on the severity of their injury. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the consequences of TBIs may fall under these classifications:
- Cognitive issues – Memory problems, shortened attention span, difficulty solving problems, judgment issues, and more.
- Motor issues – Paralysis, weakness, balance difficulties, general coordination problems, and other problems.
- Sensory issues – Vision changes, hearing changes, or any other such changes to the senses.
- Communication/language issues – Difficulty speaking, difficulty understanding others’ speech, limited vocabulary, and difficulty putting words into sentences that make logical sense, among other problems.
- Functional issues – Difficulties attending to common tasks like getting dressed, preparing food, paying bills, and managing other daily life tasks.
- Social issues – Difficulties forming, cultivating, and maintaining social relationships.
- Regulatory issues – Sleep changes, eating changes, loss of bowel/bladder control, and other problems.
- Personality/psychiatric issues – Depression, anxiety, increased aggressiveness or irritability, and other mood difficulties.
The consequences of a TBI can require medical treatment and may have a long-term negative impact on your quality of life.
Important Information About Traumatic Brain Injuries in Children
The Mayo Clinic points out that young children may struggle to explain certain TBI symptoms to adults. If your child recently sustained a blow to the head, potential signs of a TBI include:
- Eating habits changes
- Nursing habits changes
- Inconsolable crying
- Inability to pay attention as before
- Sleep habits changes
- Depressed mood
- Seizures
- Decreased interest in favorite toys or activities
Bring your child to a doctor right away if you notice any of these symptoms. Early treatment could have a major impact on the long-term effects of a TBI.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TBIs may fall into one of these two categories:
- Penetrating TBI – This form of TBI involves damage to brain tissue. For example, a person might sustain this type of TBI if a motor vehicle accident caused part of a vehicle to pierce their skull.
- Non-penetrating TBI – A non-penetrating TBI occurs when nothing pierces the skull, but the force of an impact causes the brain to move inside the skull.
A person may sustain both types of TBI at one time. This could occur if someone sustains a TBI as a result of standing near an explosion, for example. The force of the explosion can cause a non-penetrating TBI. An explosion may also result in a penetrating TBI if shrapnel pierces the skull.
Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries
TBIs have many potential causes. Examples include:
- Motor vehicle wrecks
- Bicycle crashes
- Pedestrian accidents
- Falls from heights
- Accidents resulting from product defects
- Workplace accidents
Some TBIs result from negligence. For example, you may sustain a TBI if a negligent motorist causes a wreck.
Seeking compensation for a TBI often requires proving that a negligent party caused your injuries. You may need to investigate in order to gather evidence proving negligence. A Chicago brain injury lawyer can help by conducting an investigation on your behalf.
Traumatic Brain Injury Risk Factors
Various factors can increase a person’s chances of sustaining a TBI. Examples of such risk factors include:
- Participating in contact sports
- Having a job that requires working from heights
- Serving in the military
- Age, as younger children and older adults are most at risk of sustaining TBIs
Personal choices can also affect someone’s risk of sustaining a TBI. For example, perhaps you ride a motorcycle. Wearing a helmet at all times when doing so is vital. Wearing a helmet can help guard against a TBI if you’re involved in a collision.
Seeking Compensation for Traumatic Brain Injuries in Chicago
Losses resulting from a TBI may include the following:
- Economic losses – A loss qualifies as economic if it has an exact dollar value. Examples of economic losses are medical bills and lost wages.
- Non-economic losses – A non-economic loss doesn’t have an objective dollar value. Pain and suffering is a common example of a non-economic loss resulting from a TBI.
You may pursue compensation for these losses by filing a claim with the insurer of the liable party. Filing a lawsuit may also be an option if the liable party doesn’t have insurance.
If you file a lawsuit and go to court, a jury may award punitive damages as well as compensation for your economic and non-economic losses. Punitive damages don’t compensate you for specific losses. Juries award punitive damages to punish defendants for wrongdoing that was intentional or recklessly indifferent to the safety and rights of others. Punitive damages are meant to deter the liable party and others from engaging in similar negligence in the future.
The compensation you’re entitled to could include money for losses you haven’t technically sustained yet. For example, a TBI may leave you in need of lifelong medical care. Your lawyer will need to include the cost of any future losses you’ll sustain when they seek compensation for you. Your brain injury lawyer can also assign a value to your non-economic losses.
Important Information About Work-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries in Illinois
According to the laws of Illinois and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC), most employers in the state have to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance offers benefits to employees who’ve sustained work-related injuries.
If you sustained a TBI at work, you can file a workers’ comp claim to seek benefits. Workers’ comp benefits cover economic losses like medical bills and lost wages. They don’t cover pain and suffering or other non-economic losses.
There’s no requirement to prove negligence when filing a workers’ comp claim. However, you might be able to file a third-party claim if another party’s negligence caused your injuries. For example, maybe you fell from a ladder and sustained a TBI while working. Perhaps your fall resulted from a defect in the manufacture of the ladder. You could also file a product liability claim against the manufacturer.
How a Chicago Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Can Help
The process of seeking compensation for a TBI can be complex. If a TBI has affected your cognition, you may also struggle to complete the tasks involved in the claims process.
Pursuing compensation on your own isn’t a requirement. You should enlist the help of a Chicago traumatic brain injury lawyer.
An attorney can help you by:
- Reviewing your case
- Determining whether you’re eligible for compensation
- Identifying liable parties
- Gathering evidence of negligence
- Documenting your losses
- Assessing the value of your claim
- Completing and filing claim paperwork
- Negotiating with the insurance company for a fair settlement
The insurance company’s goal will usually be to settle your case for the lowest payout possible. A brain injury lawyer can evaluate an insurer’s settlement offers to determine whether they’re fair.
An insurance company might be unwilling to offer an appropriate settlement. Your attorney can represent you at trial to pursue the money you need.
How Long Do You Have to Sue for Traumatic Brain Injuries in Illinois?
Under Illinois law, the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits in Illinois is two years. You have two years from the date you sustained or learned of a TBI to take legal action. Per the IWCC, you have three years to file a workers’ compensation claim.
Don’t delay in taking legal action. You’ll be unable to secure compensation if you miss these deadlines. Guard against waiving your right to compensation by meeting with a brain injury lawyer soon.
Contact a Chicago Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
At Wallace Miller, our Chicago traumatic brain injury lawyers understand a TBI can dramatically affect your life. While we can’t change the past, we can help secure your future by fighting for the compensation you’re entitled to. Learn more by contacting us online or calling us at (312) 261-6193 for a free case review.