Brain Injuries

Detroit, Traverse City, and Grand Rapids Attorneys Helping Accident Victims

While any serious injury can affect your life for years to come, brain injuries are unique in that they have such a profound impact on victims as well as their families. Brain injuries often occur when an external force exerts pressure on the brain, causing permanent damage. In some cases, they may occur due to the penetration of an object, either a piece of the skull or part of a car or building. While a mild brain injury might cause temporary dysfunction, there are also catastrophic injuries that result in long-term complications or death.

At the Neumann Law Group, our founder, Kelly Neumann, is an award-winning attorney with experience handling a broad range of cases involving traumatic brain injuries and other catastrophic injuries. Our lawyers are immediately available to meet with you during a free consultation, where we can hear your story and advise you of your options.

Symptoms of a Brain Injury

Brain injuries can have both physical and psychological symptoms, including loss of consciousness, weakness or numbness, seizures, inability to wake up, headache, nausea, loss of coordination, confusion, slurred speech, coma, agitation, and odd behavior. In serious cases, it may be necessary for someone suffering from brain injuries to obtain household services and long-term care. They may no longer be able to work, or they may not be able to work in the same job, and they may require vocational rehabilitation services. All of these additional services can get expensive.

Establishing Liability for Brain Injuries

One way that people who suffer catastrophic brain injuries can pay for the increased medical care and offset the loss of income is to hold those responsible for their harm accountable through a personal injury lawsuit. In most cases, personal injury lawsuits are brought under a theory of negligence. In these cases, the plaintiff will need to prove 1.) the defendant owed them a duty of care, 2.) the defendant breached that duty, 3.) the defendant’s actions were the actual and proximate cause of the accident, and 3.) actual damages.

In some situations, the duty is clearer than in others. For example, in truck accident cases, a truck driver owes a duty to follow the federal and state safety regulations that apply to commercial driving. In many cases, a plaintiff can argue that a truck driver’s violation of a safety regulation is negligence per se (negligence as a matter of law).

However, it may be less clear whether a duty has been breached in the case of a large pothole in a parking lot that causes someone to trip and fall. On the one hand, under premises liability law, the parking lot owner owes a duty of reasonable care to all people invited onto the premises. On the other hand, a landowner cannot be held liable for an “open and obvious” danger.

Special rules apply in certain contexts, such as car accidents. With respect to car accidents, an injury must be a “threshold injury” in order for a plaintiff to go beyond his or her own PIP benefits to recover pain and suffering damages in Michigan. A catastrophic brain injury that causes a serious impairment is likely to meet the threshold requirement, but in some cases, an insurer may contest that element or try to show how the plaintiff was comparatively negligent in order to reduce the defendant’s exposure to a damages award.

Contact a Brain Injury Lawyer in Traverse City, Grand Rapids, or Detroit

Brain injuries can take huge emotional and financial tolls. If you or a loved one is dealing with the aftermath of a TBI or other brain injury, the injury attorneys at Neumann Law Group may be able to help you recover the compensation you need and deserve. We represent people in Petoskey, Warren, Holland, Midland, Muskegon, Saginaw, Wyoming, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Flint, Ann Arbor, and communities throughout the Upper Peninsula. To learn more, and to schedule a free consultation today, give the Traverse City personal injury lawyers at the Neumann Law Group a call at 800-525-6386. You can also connect with us through our online contact form. Calling is free, and we will not bill you for our services unless and until we can connect you with the compensation you deserve.