Brain Injury Lawyer in Charlottesville

Personal injury lawyer David Kendall and our legal team know how head and brain injuries can change the lives of victims and their families. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can alter a person’s ability to think, move and control his or her emotions. The person may need significant medical treatment, lose the ability to work and experience tremendous pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one sustained a head or brain injury due to the negligence of another, our law firm can help. We can explore all of your legal options and pursue compensation that allows you or your family member to get needed medical care and move forward in life.

Our law firm has extensive experience with assisting brain injury victims in Charlottesville, Winchester, Harrisonburg and surrounding areas in Virginia, including child victims. Please see Our Results to learn more about the $2,375,000 settlement that our firm obtained on behalf of a child who suffered a closed head injury in a school bus accident. To discuss the specific facts in your case, contact us today. We will provide a free consultation.

What Are Common Causes of Virginia Brain Injuries?

Unfortunately, thousands of individuals and families throughout Virginia face the challenges brought on by head and brain injuries. In fact, the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV) reports that, every year:

• 28,000 Virginia residents suffer brain injury
• 4,000 people in Virginia visit hospitals due to brain injury
• 1,400 Virginia residents die from brain injury-related causes.

As our personal injury attorney have seen, many people suffer TBI due to the careless and reckless conduct of others. Some of the common causes of TBI in Virginia are:

• Falls from heights or slip-and-falls (falls are especially a concern among nursing home residents)
• Car, truck and motorcycle accidents
• Collisions between motor vehicles and bicyclists and pedestrians
• Construction, manufacturing and other workplace accidents
• Incidents in contact sports such as football, soccer and basketball
• Child care/day care accidents
• Violence (including strikes to the head and gunshot wounds).

In your case, Kendall Law Firm will conduct a comprehensive investigation. We can inspect the scene of your accident, analyze photos and surveillance camera footage, interview eyewitnesses and examine many other pieces of evidence. We can also consult with experts in accident reconstruction.

By thoroughly investigating your case, we can determine the cause of your brain injury. We will use that information to pursue compensation for all physical, emotional and financial losses that you and your family have suffered through either a settlement or verdict.

What Are Different Types of Brain Injuries?

You should understand the type of brain injury that you have suffered. The type of brain injury will determine many key aspects in your case, including:

• The extent of medical treatment that you require
• The impact on your ability to work and earn a living
• Your ability to enjoy life’s activities and relationships with others.

As the BIAV notes, brain injuries typically fall within two general categories:

• Open head injury – This injury occurs when an external force fractures, crushes or penetrates the skull. This type of TBI can lead to heavy bleeding within the brain or in the area surrounding the brain. It can also cause significant nerve and tissue damage.
• Closed head injury – This injury occurs when an external force damages the brain, but the skull stays intact. This is the most common type of TBI. Although the skull suffers no damage, the injury can still lead to severe bleeding as well as nerve and tissue harm.

A mild form of TBI involves slight damage to the brain. A concussion is an example of mild TBI. A concussion requires a relatively brief recovery period. However, if a person suffers TBI of any kind before the concussion has healed, the person may suffer severe, long-lasting harm. This is called “second impact syndrome.”

Severe TBI occurs when the brain sustains extensive damage, or when a person suffers significant loss of oxygen due to heavy bleeding.

Examples of severe TBI include:

• Coup-contrecoup injury – This injury occurs when the brain bounces around within the skull, damaging both sides of the brain.
• Diffuse axonal injury – The BIAV describes this type of injury as damage to “microscopic pathways that send messages through the brain and out to the body.”
• Hematoma – When clotting occurs due to blood vessel damage and heavy bleeding. A hematoma could cause a person to suffer a seizure, coma or death.
• Contusion – When the brain suffers bruising, exposing a person to the risk of hemorrhaging within brain.

As part of our investigation of your case, Kendall Law Firm will review your medical records and consult with knowledge medical experts. We can assess the nature and extent of the damage you have suffered and seek just compensation for that damage.

What Are Symptoms of Head and Brain Injuries?

Many people who experience falls or get involved in auto accidents suffer a form of brain injury without realizing it. This is why you should pay close attention to symptoms of TBI during the hours and days after an accident.

According to the BIAV, red flags that indicate TBI include:

• Cognitive – Confusion, memory loss, impaired reasoning or judgment, trouble paying attention or processing information and inability to control one’s impulses
• Physical – Headaches, fatigue, trouble with swallowing, inability to maintain balance, paralysis, muscle tightness and sensitivity to light and noise.
• Emotional – Anger, anxiety, depression, mood swings and other behavioral issues.

If you get involved in an accident of any kind, you should see a doctor as soon as possible, regardless of whether you detect any of the above signs of TBI. A doctor can examine you and order an X-ray, MRI, CT scan or other tests and start you on a course of treatment that could include surgery, medication and ongoing therapy.

Get Help Today from an Experienced Charlottesville Brain Injury Attorney

The Kendall Law Firm has more than 30 years of experience with representing catastrophic injury victims in Charlottesville, Winchester, Harrisonburg and throughout Virginia, including brain injury victims. If another person’s negligence caused you or a loved one to suffer TBI, we can start work on your case immediately and pursue the compensation you deserve. To learn more about how our law firm can help you, call or reach us online today and receive a free consultation.