Suffering a head injury can lead to devastating consequences, but these injuries are all too common. Around1.7 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. TBIs cause 50,000 deaths a year, accounting for around a third of all traumatic deaths.
If you’ve suffered a head injury, you may be out of work and unable to function like you used to. Even worse, perhaps someone you love died from a head injury.
When you suffer such a terrible injury or loss due to someone else’s negligence, you can sue. Though a financial settlement won’t bring you back to full health, it can help pay your medical bills. When your attorney reaches a settlement for a head injury, it helps your family while you’re out of work.
To sue for a head injury in Texas, you need an expert head injury lawyer. At Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., we believe in holding negligent people who cause injuries accountable. We offer aggressive, skilled representation for head injury victims.
Here are some other things you should know about our law firm:
- We are committed to helping people who have been injured or wronged;
- We have offices in Texas and New Mexico and are licensed in both states;
- We have significant experience negotiating with insurance companies and arguing cases in front of a jury; and
- We seek the maximum compensation available for our clients.
If you’d like more information on head injuries and how personal injury attorneys can help, call us or read on for more information. We’ll discuss the following areas of head injury law:
- Head injury accident types
- Symptoms of brain injuries
- Can I sue for my head or brain injury?
- Who’s liable for my brain injury?
- What damages are available for a head or brain injury claim in Texas?
Read all these details about head injury lawsuits, and then contact us when you’re ready to discuss your case.
Head Injury Accident Types
You can sustain a brain injury almost anywhere, but these injuries commonly occur on sports fields, in car accidents, and in certain occupations. Here are a few places where you might experience a traumatic brain injury:
- Oil field work injury,
- Industrial work injury,
- Semi-truck accident,
- Serious car accident,
- Motorcycle accident,
- Pedestrian accident,
- Bicycle accident,
- Slip and fall accident,
- Sports injury,
- Military service, or
- Criminal assault.
No matter where you are when you suffer a head injury, you should seek medical attention. Brain injuries can quickly become life-threatening. After that, you should contact a skilled head injury lawyer to evaluate whether you have a brain injury settlement case.
Symptoms of Brain Injuries
Sometimes brain injuries are apparent, such as when an employee is knocked unconscious by a piece of falling equipment. Other times, brain injuries can cause more subtle symptoms that may take days or weeks to appear. Any of these symptoms can indicate a brain injury:
- Severe headache,
- Convulsions or seizure,
- Fluids draining from the nose or ears,
- Nausea or vomiting,
- Sensitivity to light or sound,
- Dizziness,
- Fatigue and difficulty sleeping,
- Blurred vision,
- Confusion, and
- Slurred speech.
If you experience any of these symptoms following an accident, quickly seek medical attention. Each time you seek medical help for your TBI, save all paperwork for a potential personal injury case.
Can I Sue for My Head or Brain Injury?
When you suffer a brain injury, you may face expensive medical bills and long term disability. A traumatic brain injury can impact your interactions with your family and your ability to function independently. This type of injury can lead to dramatic physical and financial consequences.
If you suffered a head injury due to someone’s negligence, you may consider a personal injury lawsuit. While a lawsuit can’t heal your brain injury, it can ease some of your financial burdens.
Our personal injury lawyers will attempt to reach a head injury settlement, such as a concussion settlement, with the defendant’s insurance. If the insurance company doesn’t agree to a settlement for a head injury, we’ll take your TBI case to trial.
Texas Statute of Limitations
You should file your personal injury lawsuit within Texas’s statute of limitations. This means that there’s a designated time period for filing personal injury lawsuits. After the time limit is up, the court won’t accept your case.
To avoid Texas’s statute of limitations, call an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as you experience an accident. An attorney can make sure that you stay within the statute of limitations while giving you enough time to receive a thorough evaluation from medical professionals.
In other words, you want to make sure that doctors have fully determined your injuries and the medical treatment you’ll need before you sue. This medical assessment is important in calculating your requested settlement amount.
Personal injury statute of limitations
In Texas, you generally have two years from the date of an injury to file a personal injury claim (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code, Title 2 section 16.003).
Government statute of limitations
When suing a government entity or state employee, you have only six months to put the government employee or state entity on notice that you intend to file a lawsuit. Sometimes, local city charters shorten this time frame. You can’t file a lawsuit against the State of Texas before completing this step.
Worker’s compensation statute of limitations
When you’re injured at work, the statute of limitations changes. If you’re filing a worker’s compensation claim, you have one year from the date of the injury to file your claim. Also, you must report your injury to your employer within 30 days of the accident. The timeframes might be extended for delayed onset brain injury symptoms, but it’s best to inform your employer of an accident right away.
These timelines do not govern the completion of your lawsuit. You just have to file your lawsuit and inform any parties, like the person you’re suing and insurance companies, within the date specified by the statute of limitations. If your lawsuit takes longer to settle, that doesn’t invalidate your claim.
Who’s Liable for My Traumatic Brain Injury?
The person or business whose negligence led to your injury is liable. Like other personal injury lawsuits, you must prove that the defendant’s negligence caused your brain injury.
In Texas, negligence requires four elements.
Duty of Care
The defendant had a duty to act reasonably to prevent injury. For instance, when you’re driving, you have a duty to pay attention to the roadway.
Breach of Duty
The defendant did not act reasonably to prevent your injury. In the driving example, if the defendant was texting while driving, that would breach the duty to pay attention to the road. A reasonable person would understand that texting lessens a driver’s ability to drive safely.
Caused Injury
The defendant’s breach of duty caused your injury. If the defendant’s action was unrelated to how you became injured, then the defendant is not liable for your injury. However, if the texting defendant crashed into your car, causing you to suffer a traumatic brain injury, that action would meet this requirement.
In Texas, negligence law allows you to recover even if you were partially responsible for your accident. For instance, if a texting driver hit you, in part, because you didn’t use a blinker, both parties share fault for the accident.
If the other party is 50% or more responsible for your accident, then you can sue for their portion of negligence. This means that if the texting driver was 60% responsible for your accident, you can potentially recover 60% of your damages from that person.
Damages Resulted
You must have suffered an injury that can be compensated in court. For instance, if you suffered a bruise that did not require medical treatment, then you may not be eligible for damages. In other words, your injury must be substantial enough for a court case. A traumatic brain injury clears this legal hurdle.
What Damages Are Available for a Head or Brain Injury Claim in Texas?
Damages, or expenses that can be reimbursed in a personal injury suit, come in three forms.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include all the concrete, easily calculated expenses from your accident. These include medical costs, property repairs, and lost wages. The court will also consider future wages lost if a traumatic brain injury permanently leaves someone unable to work. Keep all receipts, invoices, and pay stubs related to expenses or lost wages from your accident.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include the emotional costs from your accident. These damages aren’t as easy to calculate because they require assigning a value to conditions like pain and suffering or loss of sleep. Any emotional damage that relates to your physical injury may be eligible for compensation as non-economic damages.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are payments required by the court for a defendant’s terrible behavior. For instance, if the texting driver hit you and then fled the scene of the accident, the court might award punitive damages. These damages are awarded less frequently than economic and non-economic damages. Texas puts restrictions on punitive damages. A court can award punitive damages up to the larger of these amounts:
- Two times the amount of economic damages plus the amount of non-economic damages up to $750,000 or
- $200,000.
Call a Head Injury Lawyer Today
Suffering a brain injury can change so much in your life, but you still have the power to make the responsible party pay. If you need a head injury lawyer who will fight for your right to payment, give us a call.
We’ll discuss your case and let you know if we can help. When you meet with us, we ask you to bring a few things.
Your Honest Story
Write down your version of events as soon after your accident as possible. Bring your written story with you when you meet us. It helps your case if you tell us the whole, honest story right from the start.
Medical Bills and Records
We try to determine whether your case is likely to produce a significant settlement for a head injury based on your damages. When you bring bills and other financial records, it helps us calculate your potential damages.
Evidence from Your Accident
If you have photos, witness statements, police reports, or other evidence from your accident, bring those. Evidence helps us determine how strong of a case you have, which allows us to calculate damages accurately.
Your Questions
Bring your questions to us. Just as we want your honest story, we’re ready to give honest answers to your legal questions. We won’t make empty promises just to get a client. Ask us anything, and we’ll do our best to give you an accurate answer.
We show our clients skills, compassion, and integrity and seek maximum awards for injuries. Contact us to find out how we can help you and your family.
Daisy Chaparro
Daisy Chaparro was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. A graduate from El Dorado High School in 2008 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy from St. Mary’s University in 2012. Daisy then obtained her Juris Doctorate (magna cum laude) from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2015.
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