DC Attorney’s Role in a Traumatic Brain Injury Claim

Traumatic brain injuries can be devastating not only to the individual who suffered the injury, but to their family and friends as well. Traumatic brain injuries can occur through a variety of ways, however if somebody has been injured as a direct result of the negligence of another, it is vital to seek counsel from an experienced DC traumatic brain injury lawyer who is familiar with the system to help you create the best possible defense.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)

The most common types of damages in a DC TBI case are medical expenses that are incurred for treatment to help alleviate the symptoms of the injured person. Typically, medical expenses constitute the largest portion of damages claim.

Depending upon the nature and extent of the injuries sustained, non-economic damages such as pain, suffering, inconvenience and other more subjective complaints can also be very significant in traumatic brain injury cases. Likewise, there is ineligibility of reimbursement of lost time from work or loss of earning potential in TBI cases.

Approach to Damage Assessment

Assessing damages in a traumatic brain injury case is a very complex procedure. The manner in which damages are assessed really depends upon the nature and extent of the injuries sustained by the client as well as the client’s age, the client’s overall well-being, the client’s recovery to date and additionally, there’s reliance upon expert medical opinion concerning the likelihood of recovery and the overall recovery expected by the injured person.

The manner in which the damages are evaluated or assessed in DC traumatic brain injury cases really is an evolution of an examination of both the injured person and the medical documentation concerning that individual’s injuries and treatment.

Unique Damages in TBI Cases

In DC traumatic brain injury cases, the assessment and the presentation of the damages is fairly unique and sophisticated in the sense that a plaintiff will likely present as a normally functioning person. Therefore, it is difficult sometimes for a jury to appreciate the traumatic brain injury that has been sustained and how that TBI is affecting the injured person.

The manner in which the evidence is collected is typically the same in a TBI case, but the manner in which the evidence is presented to a jury is somewhat unique because juries don’t always fully appreciate the nature and extent of a traumatic brain injury.

Client and Attorney Collaboration for Damage Assessment

A DC traumatic brain injury attorney’s role in these claims cannot be underestimated. The attorney-client relationship in a TBI case is important and its important for the attorney and the client to have an open dialogue in order to discuss the nature and the extent of the injury sustained by the client and how the client is progressing in his or her recovery. Clients and attorneys work together in a number of ways to assess damages. First, the client should be able to work with the attorney to inform the attorney of many different issues or ways the TBI has affected his or her every day way of life.

Likewise, the attorney can work with expert witnesses such as a neuropsychologist, who will likely have done cognitive testing on the injured person to determine, what, if any deficits there are and also evaluate the likelihood of recovery of the cognitive deficits. The attorney – client relationship is important because it should afford both the client and the attorney an open dialogue to be able to discuss these issues.  If the attorney and the client are not able to discuss these issues or don’t have a good working relationship, than it can be very difficult to fully appreciate the nature and the extent of injuries sustained by the client.

Availability to the Client

If any client has a question, there are attorneys available to answer their questions either by telephone or through email. Likewise, here at Price Benowitz, we work with a team of highly skilled and trained paralegals, who are also ready, willing and able to answer any questions that a client may have. There may be some issues that a paralegal would defer to the attorney about; however, any questions submitted by a client will certainly be returned by the attorney, if necessary, in a timely manner.

Generally speaking, in a TBI case the attorney’s responsibilities are to efficiently and effectively advance a claim on behalf of his or her client in order to receive the maximum recovery available.

What a DC TBI Attorney Does Behind the Scenes

Generally speaking, the attorneys are constantly reviewing, not only all of the insurance documents and internal documents regarding any particular claim, but also all of the pertinent medical records of a client in order to advance a claim and anticipate any issues that may come up later on.

A DC traumatic brain injury lawyer is constantly collecting medical records and bills at the same time the active treatment of the client along with any relevant prior medical records and is constantly organizing them and evaluating them in an effort to advance the client’s claim.  Sometimes, records that seem unrelated to the incident may become relevant through a defense raised by the other party later on. It is always better to have this information as soon as possible and anticipate what, if any, defense may be raised.