Five Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Kentucky
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) may change your life in an instant. It can affect how you think, move, and feel. It may prevent you from working, caring for your family, or enjoying things you love. If you or a family member has suffered a traumatic brain injury in Kentucky, it is important to understand what happened, how it may affect you, and what legal options you may have.
Satterley & Kelley, PLLC is a Louisville, Kentucky personal injury law firm whose attorneys help people with TBIs caused by another party’s negligence or intentional acts. If you’re in this situation and have questions about your rights to compensation, call us to schedule a free consultation. You can call us at 855-385-9532.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A TBI is an injury that affects how the brain works, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can happen when an outside force causes a bump, blow, or jolt to the head. It can also happen due to a penetrating injury, such as being shot. There are three types of TBI: mild (also called a concussion), moderate, and severe. It’s estimated that in 2021, more than 69,000 people in the US died from a TBI, or about 190 deaths every day.
How Would a Traumatic Brain Injury Affect Me?
A TBI can cause many health problems, reports the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Some will go away in a few days or weeks. Others can last for the rest of your life and severely impact how you live. How much a TBI affects you depends on how severe the injury is and which part of the brain is impacted
Common problems after a TBI can include the following:
- Light or sound sensitivity
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Blurred or double vision
- Memory loss
- Trouble thinking clearly
- Sleep problems
- Mood changes
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Confusion and disorientation
- Lost or decreased consciousness
- Inability or difficulty with remembering, making decisions, or concentrating
A mild TBI, such as a concussion, may heal within a few weeks. A moderate or severe TBI can lead to long-term disability, problems with daily life, and can be fatal. A TBI can affect how you talk, move, and care for yourself. Children who suffer a TBI may have trouble in school and with normal growth and development.
What Are Five Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries?
1. Falls
Falls are believed to be the most common cause of TBIs, accounting for nearly half of all TBI-related hospital stays, according to the CDC. Falls happen most often to young children and to those aged 65 and older. Slippery floors, broken stairs, loose rugs, and unsafe sidewalks are examples of fall hazards that can lead to a TBI.
2. Motor Vehicle Crashes
Car, truck, and motorcycle crashes are a leading cause of TBI, including those involving pedestrians and bicyclists. The force of a crash would cause the brain to forcefully shift inside the skull, striking its interior, leading to serious injury even when the head does not hit anything directly.
3. Being Struck by or Against an Object
Being struck by an object or hitting your head against something is another common cause of TBI. Sports injuries are a major part of this category. Playing football, soccer, hockey, and other contact sports can lead to TBIs. Workplace accidents involving falling or being struck by machinery can also cause this type of injury.
4. Assaults and Violence
Physical attacks are a significant cause of TBI. Being hit, punched, pushed into an object, or forced to fall backward can cause serious brain injuries. Violence involving weapons, including firearms, can also cause TBIs.
5. Explosions and Blasts
Blast injuries from explosions are a common cause of TBI. Workers in some industries, such as mining or construction, may face increased risks of explosions or other events that can cause a TBI.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence is a legal theory used for most personal injury claims. Unless the other party intentionally struck and injured you (the plaintiff), to show you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries and resulting losses, you would need to prove the other party (the defendant) is at fault because they made serious mistakes that qualify as negligence.
Insurance companies sell policies that, in exchange for premiums, offer liability coverage. They will provide the insured with legal representation and pay for settlements or jury verdicts if a claim or lawsuit is filed and the insured caused your injury through negligence.
To be successful, you’ll need to establish the factual and legal elements of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence (it’s more likely than not that what you allege is true). You’ll need to prove:
- Because of the relationship between the two of you, they owed you a legal obligation or duty to do or not do something before and or during the accident
- The defendant failed that obligation or breached that duty
- That breach or failure is the factual and legal (or proximate) cause of the accident
- The accident caused your harm (your TBI and related consequences)
- Under Kentucky law, the defendant must pay your damages (a measurement of your injury in dollars)
If you’re partially to blame for the accident because of mistakes that you made, your recovery would be reduced by your share of the accident’s cause (this is known as comparative negligence).
How Might Negligence Cause a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Negligence can lead to a TBI in a wide range of situations.
If you are a customer in a store, the owner is legally obligated to maintain a reasonably safe environment. If the owner fails in that duty, such as not cleaning up known liquid spills on the floor or allowing a parking lot with trip hazards, and you fall and suffer a TBI as a result, that is negligence
Every driver has a duty to drive reasonably safely in a reasonably safe vehicle. Negligent driving that can cause a collision includes the following:
- Driving while fatigued, distracted, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Driving too fast for the road conditions or over the speed limit
- Ignoring stop signs and traffic lights
In each of these situations, the driver failed to act with reasonable care. If that failure causes an accident that leads to your TBI, they may be legally responsible because they were negligent.
If Negligence Caused My Traumatic Brain Injury, Am I Entitled to Compensation?
Simply getting a TBI doesn’t entitle you to compensation. You must show that the other party’s negligence or intentional act caused your injuries. If you can do that, you may be entitled to damages, the legal term for money paid to cover the injury’s negative impacts on your life. An insurance company would pay them if the collision is covered by an insurance policy or by the other party.
Your injuries may be physical, emotional, psychological, or financial. These injuries and their financial impact happened in the past and are reasonably expected to continue in the future. The types of harm that can support a damages claim include the following:
- Medical bills for treatment and rehabilitation
- Decreased ability to earn income
- Physical injuries
- Emotional harm, such as anxiety or depression
- Pain and suffering
You would need evidence to substantiate these claims to collect compensation.
How Would I Obtain This Compensation?
It would be the result of a negotiated settlement agreement with the other party or a trial verdict in your favor.
After you retain our firm, we will investigate your accident and the harm it caused. We will obtain evidence concerning your case and put together a demand for a reasonable settlement of your case.
We would present this to the insurance company whose policy covers the accident and the other party. We would engage in negotiations and provide additional information as necessary. Most cases settle through an agreement without going to court.
If we can’t settle, we’ll file a lawsuit and start the litigation process. Negotiations normally continue, and most lawsuits settle before a judge or jury decides the case.
If no agreement is reached, we’ll go to trial. A jury usually decides our cases. If you’re successful, the court will order the defendant to pay the damages determined by the jury. The defendant may appeal the ruling, and if your case is dismissed, we may appeal it.
A case being appealed may never reach a final decision because the parties don’t want to risk a negative outcome. They agree on compensation and settle the case.
Speak To a Louisville Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one suffers a TBI due to an accident or crime in Kentucky, Satterley & Kelley PLLC can and will help you handle legal matters with confidence. Put boots on the ground with our help.
Schedule a free initial consultation at our Louisville office by calling us at 855-385-9532 or completing our contact form today.