According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1.4 million people in the United States suffer brain injuries each year. Caused by everything from car accidents to toxic chemical exposure to sports injuries, brain injuries may give rise to significant personal injury compensation depending upon the circumstances surrounding them.
Damages from brain injury may be won under a variety of legal theories. If you understand the legal theory that forms the basis for your brain injury case, you will be better prepared to identify a defendant and gather evidence in your case.
Like many personal injury cases, brain injury lawsuits are often based on the legal theory of negligence. Proving negligence requires showing that the defendant is in breach of a “duty of care” they owed the plaintiff in some way. It requires also that you show the defendant did not act with reasonable care toward the claimant and that that action or inaction was the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. Finally, you must prove that the plaintiff’s injuries or losses are measurable under the law.
Gathering as much evidence as possible about the nature of the brain injury and about the accident in question is key to proving a brain injury personal injury claim.
Let’s say John was riding in the passenger side of a car which was hit by oncoming traffic. During the collision, the passenger side airbag, which was installed failed to deploy. As a result John sustained brain injuries for which a great deal of medical treatment will be needed. A skilled personal injury attorney will likely seek to find the actual cause of the brain injury. That is because assuming that the at-fault driver is the underlying cause of the injuries may lead to failed legal action if it is later proven that the airbag likely would have prevented John’s brain injuries.
The fact is that John and the car’s owner had the expectation that the car manufacturer would provide a measure of protection via the passenger side airbag in a collision. And because the airbag was installed and failed to deploy, the manufacturer may have failed its duty of care on John’s behalf as the vehicle’s passenger.
If, however, it is proven that the collision is serious enough that the airbag would not have prevented the brain injuries John sustained, perhaps the at-fault driver would have been ultimately held liable for John’s injuries.
Needless to say, pursuing damages in a brain injury case is very complex. And anyone seeking personal injury compensation from another based on negligence should obtain the counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney like those of Bizzieri Law Offices in Chicago.
If you’re looking for an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to help navigate your personal injury claim, we will fight assiduously for your right to the compensation you deserve. Call Bizzieri Law Offices at 773.881.9000. The case evaluation is free, and we never charge a fee unless we recover damages for you.