Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

At RK&L, we understand that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can completely transform your life in an instant. Our dedicated traumatic brain injury lawyers have helped countless individuals and families throughout Buffalo and Western New York navigate the complex legal challenges following these life-altering injuries.

Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case and explore your legal options.

When you or a loved one suffers a TBI due to someone else's negligence, you deserve an advocate who truly understands the medical, emotional, and financial implications of your injury. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers combine thorough legal knowledge with genuine compassion to help you secure the compensation you need for recovery and long-term care.

Financial Compensation You May Be Entitled To After a Traumatic Brain Injury Caused by Someone Else

At RK&L, we fight to secure all forms of compensation that traumatic brain injury victims deserve when another party's negligence has caused harm.

• Medical Expenses: Recovery for all past and future healthcare costs, including emergency treatment, hospitalization, surgery, medication, rehabilitation therapies, and ongoing care needs.
• Lost Income: Compensation for wages lost during recovery and reduced earning capacity if your traumatic brain injury affects your ability to work in the same capacity as before.
• Pain and Suffering: Monetary acknowledgment of the physical pain and emotional distress experienced due to your traumatic brain injury and its effects on your daily life.
• Cognitive Rehabilitation: Coverage for specialized therapy programs designed to help traumatic brain injury victims recover lost cognitive functions and develop new coping strategies.
• Home Modifications: Funds to cover necessary changes to your living environment to accommodate new limitations resulting from your traumatic brain injury.
• Assistive Technology: Compensation for devices that may improve independence and quality of life for traumatic brain injury survivors, including communication aids and mobility equipment.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Recognition of how your traumatic brain injury has diminished your ability to participate in activities you once enjoyed and your overall quality of life.
• Emotional Distress: Damages addressing psychological impacts such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, or personality changes common after traumatic brain injuries.
• Family Impact: Compensation for how your traumatic brain injury affects your relationships, including loss of consortium claims for spouses.
• Catastrophic Injury Considerations: Enhanced compensation reflecting the severe, life-altering nature of many traumatic brain injuries that result in permanent disability.

Every traumatic brain injury case is unique, and our dedicated attorneys work diligently to identify all potential sources of compensation to support your recovery and future needs.

How a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Can Maximize Your Compensation

At RK&L, our traumatic brain injury lawyers employ proven strategies to secure the full compensation you deserve for your life-altering injury.

• Thorough Case Investigation: Our traumatic brain injury lawyers meticulously gather and preserve all evidence related to your traumatic brain injury, including accident reports, witness statements, surveillance footage, and expert testimony to build an ironclad case.
• Medical Documentation: Our traumatic brain injury lawyers work with neurologists and healthcare providers to fully document your injury's extent, ensuring all symptoms—even subtle cognitive or emotional changes—are properly assessed and recorded.
• Future Needs Calculation: Our traumatic brain injury lawyers collaborate with life-care planners to accurately project the lifetime costs of your traumatic brain injury, including ongoing treatments, therapies, medications, and potential home modifications.
• Liability Establishment: Our catastrophic injury lawyer team identifies all potentially responsible parties in your traumatic brain injury case, whether it involves a negligent driver, unsafe property condition, defective product, or workplace hazard.
• Insurance Negotiation: Our traumatic brain injury attorney will leverage our experience with catastrophic injury cases to counter insurance companies' attempts to undervalue traumatic brain injury claims or deny legitimate symptoms.
• Compelling Demonstration: Our lawyers use medical illustrations, expert testimony, and day-in-the-life videos to effectively communicate how the traumatic brain injury has impacted every aspect of your life.
• Trial Preparation: Even while pursuing settlement, our TBI lawyer will build your traumatic brain injury case as if heading to trial, which often results in more substantial offers from opposing parties.
• Timing Strategy: Our traumatic brain injury lawyers know when to negotiate and when to litigate your traumatic brain injury claim, avoiding premature settlements before the full extent of your injuries is known.
• Fee Structure: Our traumatic brain injury lawyers work on a contingency basis—we only get paid when you receive compensation, aligning our interests with maximizing your recovery.
• Resource Network: Our personal injury lawyers will maintain relationships with medical professionals, rehabilitation specialists, and financial advisors who can support both your legal case and your long-term recovery from a traumatic brain injury.

Don't trust your traumatic brain injury case to just any attorney. Our dedicated catastrophic injury lawyers have the knowledge, resources, and determination to pursue maximum compensation while you focus on healing.

What Are Traumatic Brain Injuries?

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are injuries that occur when sudden trauma damages the brain, typically caused by a violent blow or jolt to the head or body, or when an object penetrates the skull and enters brain tissue. These injuries disrupt normal brain function and can range from mild concussions with temporary symptoms to severe injuries resulting in long-term complications or death.

The effects of TBIs vary widely depending on severity, location, and individual factors, potentially causing physical symptoms (headaches, dizziness, fatigue), cognitive issues (memory problems, difficulty concentrating, confusion), sensory disruptions (vision or hearing changes), and emotional/behavioral changes (mood swings, depression, personality alterations). Recovery time ranges from days for mild cases to years for severe injuries, with some patients requiring lifelong care and rehabilitation.

Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

At RK&L, our traumatic brain injury lawyers have represented clients whose brain injuries resulted from various preventable incidents where another party's negligence played a role.

• Motor Vehicle Accidents: Car crashes, motorcycle collisions, and truck accidents frequently cause traumatic brain injuries through direct head impact or violent shaking of the brain inside the skull during sudden deceleration.
• Falls: Slip and fall accidents, especially from heights or on hard surfaces, are leading causes of traumatic brain injuries, particularly among older adults and construction workers.
• Workplace Incidents: Construction sites, industrial settings, and even office environments can present hazards that lead to traumatic brain injuries through falling objects, equipment malfunctions, or unsafe conditions.
• Sports Impacts: Contact sports and recreational activities create traumatic brain injury risks through collisions, falls, and equipment failures, with concussions often going undiagnosed or improperly treated.
• Acts of Violence: Physical assaults, domestic violence, and other intentional harm represent a significant cause of traumatic brain injuries, potentially leading to both criminal and civil cases.
• Explosive Blasts: Military personnel and civilians exposed to explosions can suffer traumatic brain injuries from the pressure wave, even without direct impact to the head.
• Medical Negligence: Improper monitoring during surgery, anesthesia errors, or failure to diagnose conditions like strokes or tumors can result in preventable traumatic brain injuries.
• Defective Products: Malfunctioning safety equipment, vehicle parts, or consumer products can directly cause traumatic brain injuries or fail to prevent them when they should have provided protection.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents: Collisions with vehicles often result in catastrophic injuries, including severe traumatic brain injuries, due to the vulnerable nature of pedestrians and cyclists.
• Birth Trauma: Improper use of delivery tools, delayed C-sections, or failure to monitor fetal distress can cause traumatic brain injuries to newborns with lifelong consequences.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury from any of these causes, our experienced catastrophic injury lawyers can help determine if negligence played a role and pursue the compensation you deserve.

The Costs of Living with a TBI

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers understand that the financial burden of a TBI extends far beyond initial medical bills, often creating significant long-term economic challenges for victims and their families.

• Immediate Medical Care: Emergency services, intensive care, neurosurgery, and acute hospitalization for traumatic brain injuries can quickly generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, often exceeding insurance coverage limits.
• Rehabilitation Services: Ongoing physical, occupational, speech, and cognitive therapy may be required for months or years after a traumatic brain injury, with specialized rehabilitation programs costing upwards of $1,000 per day.
• Long-Term Medical Needs: Many traumatic brain injury survivors require lifelong medications, medical equipment, and regular specialist appointments, creating substantial ongoing expenses that insurance may not fully cover.
• Home Modifications: Adapting living spaces for mobility challenges after a traumatic brain injury often necessitates expensive renovations like wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, and bathroom modifications that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
• Specialized Transportation: Vehicles may need costly adaptations to accommodate physical limitations resulting from a traumatic brain injury, with modified vans potentially costing $60,000 or more above the base vehicle price.
• Assistive Technology: Communication devices, memory aids, and other specialized equipment for traumatic brain injury patients improve quality of life but come with significant costs rarely covered by standard insurance.
• Lost Income: The lifetime earnings loss for a traumatic brain injury survivor can reach millions of dollars when accounting for reduced work capacity, career limitations, and early retirement necessitated by cognitive or physical impairments.
• Caregiver Expenses: Family members often reduce work hours or leave jobs entirely to provide care for traumatic brain injury survivors, creating both direct care costs and additional lost household income.
• Psychological Treatment: Therapy and counseling for depression, anxiety, and PTSD commonly experienced after traumatic brain injuries represent ongoing expenses that may continue indefinitely.
• Quality of Life Services: Activities and services that improve daily living for traumatic brain injury survivors, such as recreational therapy or support groups, add additional expenses rarely covered by insurance.

Our catastrophic injury lawyers work diligently to ensure all these costs—both current and future—are fully accounted for when pursuing compensation for traumatic brain injury victims, providing financial security during this challenging life transition.

Signs You May Have a Traumatic Brain Injury

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers at RK&L want you to be aware that brain injuries can sometimes have subtle or delayed symptoms that are easily overlooked in the aftermath of an accident.

• Loss of Consciousness: Even brief blackouts or "getting your bell rung" after a head impact can indicate a traumatic brain injury that requires immediate medical evaluation.
• Persistent Headache: Headaches that develop after an accident and don't improve with time may signal an underlying traumatic brain injury, particularly when accompanied by pressure sensations in the head.
• Confusion or Disorientation: Feeling mentally "foggy," having difficulty concentrating, or experiencing unusual confusion about common tasks can be symptoms of a traumatic brain injury affecting cognitive function.
• Memory Problems: Trouble forming new memories, forgetting recent conversations, or experiencing gaps in your recollection of the accident itself may indicate a traumatic brain injury has affected your memory centers.
• Balance Issues: Dizziness, vertigo, or difficulty maintaining your balance after head trauma suggests your traumatic brain injury may be affecting areas of the brain responsible for equilibrium.
• Sleep Disturbances: Unusual difficulty falling asleep, sleeping more than normal, or changes in sleep patterns often occur with traumatic brain injuries as brain function and chemistry are disrupted.
• Mood Changes: Unexplained irritability, depression, anxiety, or emotional volatility following an accident can be neurological symptoms of a traumatic brain injury rather than just psychological responses.
• Sensory Abnormalities: Blurred vision, ringing in the ears, changes in taste or smell, or increased sensitivity to light or sound may indicate a traumatic brain injury affecting sensory processing.
• Nausea or Vomiting: Persistent queasiness, especially when combined with headache or dizziness, can signal pressure changes within the skull due to a traumatic brain injury.
• Speech Problems: Slurred speech, word-finding difficulties, or trouble following conversations may reveal a traumatic brain injury affecting language centers of the brain.

If you've experienced any of these symptoms following an accident, seek immediate medical attention and then contact our catastrophic injury lawyers to understand your legal options and protect your right to compensation.

What To Do if You Have a Traumatic Brain Injury Caused By Someone Else

Our traumatic brain injury lawyers recommend taking these crucial steps to protect both your health and legal rights if you've suffered a brain injury due to another's negligence.

• Seek Immediate Medical Attention: Never delay getting evaluated after any head impact, as prompt diagnosis of a traumatic brain injury can significantly improve your medical outcome and establish critical documentation for your legal case.
• Contact a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer: Reach out to RK&L's catastrophic injury lawyers promptly, ideally before speaking with insurance representatives, to ensure your legal rights are protected throughout the recovery process.
• Follow Treatment Plans: Adhering to your doctor's recommendations for traumatic brain injury recovery not only supports your health but also demonstrates to insurance companies that you're taking your injury seriously.
• Document Everything: Keep detailed records of all traumatic brain injury symptoms, medical visits, treatments, medications, and how your injury affects daily activities, as this documentation strengthens your compensation claim.
• Avoid Insurance Adjusters: Decline to give recorded statements or sign documents from insurance companies without consulting a traumatic brain injury lawyer first, as these companies often try to minimize legitimate brain injury claims.
• Preserve Evidence: Save all items related to your accident (damaged personal property, bloodstained clothing, etc.) and take photos of visible injuries or accident scenes that may help establish how your traumatic brain injury occurred.
• Track Expenses: Maintain thorough records of all costs related to your traumatic brain injury, including medical bills, medication receipts, transportation to appointments, and any necessary home modifications.
• Limit Social Media: Refrain from posting about your accident or traumatic brain injury on social platforms, as insurance companies routinely monitor these accounts looking for ways to undermine your personal injury claim.
• Obtain Witness Information: Collect contact details from anyone who witnessed your accident, as their testimony may prove invaluable in establishing liability for your traumatic brain injury.
• Consult a Specialist: Work with doctors who have specific training in traumatic brain injuries, as they can provide more accurate diagnoses, effective treatment plans, and credible medical testimony if needed.

Time is critical in traumatic brain injury cases—both for medical recovery and preserving legal options—so don't delay in taking these important steps to protect your future.

Get the Compensation You Deserve

Don't face the challenges of a traumatic brain injury alone. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers at RK&L have helped countless Buffalo residents secure the compensation they need to rebuild their lives. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case and explore your legal options.

---

Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer FAQs

How long do I have to file a traumatic brain injury lawsuit in New York?

In New York State, you generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit for a traumatic brain injury. However, certain circumstances may shorten this timeframe, such as claims against government entities which typically require a Notice of Claim within 90 days. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers recommend acting promptly to preserve all legal options.

Can I pursue compensation if my traumatic brain injury symptoms appeared days or weeks after the accident?

Yes. Traumatic brain injuries sometimes have delayed symptoms that may not become apparent until days or weeks following an accident. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers work with medical professionals to establish the connection between your accident and later-developing symptoms, even when there's a time gap between the incident and diagnosis.

What if I was partially at fault for the accident that caused my traumatic brain injury?

New York follows "pure comparative negligence" rules, meaning you can still recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for the accident, though your percentage of fault will reduce your award. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers work to minimize your assigned fault percentage to maximize your compensation.

Will my traumatic brain injury case have to go to trial?

While most traumatic brain injury cases settle before trial, we prepare every case as if it will go to court. This thorough preparation often leads to stronger settlement offers. Our catastrophic injury lawyers have extensive trial experience if negotiation doesn't yield fair compensation for your traumatic brain injury.

How do you value non-economic damages like pain and suffering for a traumatic brain injury?

Non-economic damages are calculated based on factors including injury severity, treatment duration, permanent limitations, and impact on quality of life. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers use established methods, comparable case results, and expert testimony to justify substantial non-economic damage claims that reflect your true suffering.

What if the insurance company says my traumatic brain injury is "just a concussion"?

Insurance companies frequently downplay traumatic brain injuries to minimize compensation. We counter these tactics with thorough medical documentation, expert testimony, and neuroimaging evidence demonstrating the real impact of your injury, regardless of how the insurance company attempts to characterize it.