San Jose Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Millions Recovered for Severe TBI Victims in Santa Clara County

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States sustain brain injuries. Because of the complexity of the human brain, predicting the outcome of such injuries is impossible. Thousands of people die due to brain injury, and others must deal with mental and physical effects that may persist for the rest of their lives. Taking legal action after you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury due to another individual’s negligence may seem like an unnecessary ordeal, but with the right San Jose brain injury attorney by your side, pursuing compensation can make a huge difference in your recovery.

Our legal services for victims of these injuries can help you recover the money you deserve from these traumatic events. A free consultation with a San Jose brain injury attorney from our firm can help you move forward with your life.

You and your family may be entitled to compensation for:

• Hospital bills and medical treatment
• Future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering

Our San Jose traumatic brain injury lawyers at Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys have seen the devastation a brain injury can cause not only to the victim but also to the victim’s family. This is why we pride ourselves on giving each and every client the personalized attention and aggressive representation they deserve. Schedule a free consultation with a San Jose brain injury lawyer to discuss your legal options.

Dealing with Life After a Brain Injury

Brain injuries are often difficult to diagnose and can permanently alter patients’ lives—physically, mentally, and emotionally—since the brain is highly complex and an integral part of the body’s daily functioning. Although the brain may be able to construct new neural connections to take over for destroyed ones, many brain injury victims will never regain their full brain function. A non-traumatic brain injury or acquired brain injury is different from a traumatic one. Acquired brain injuries are caused by an illness or another health condition in the body while traumatic brain injuries are the kind that are found in brain injury claims. You will want San Jose brain injury lawyers working for you to help you recover the full amount of compensation for brain damage and the other serious effects of this condition.

Despite the resilient architecture of the human skull, if a victim suffers a strong blow to the head, the impact can cause severe brain injuries that may lead to permanent damage to the brain. Sadly, even a minor accident can have serious and long-lasting consequences.

Possible effects of a brain injury include:

• Physical disabilities
• Seizures
• Difficulty speaking
• Poor memory
• Learning disabilities
• Personality changes
• Emotional problems
• Paralysis
• Schizophrenia
• Depression

Along with these symptoms, victims and their families also have to deal with the emotional reactions to a traumatic brain injury. Injured individuals may feel angry, fearful about the future, or sad about the things they can no longer do.

Many families and victims can also expect to suffer financially after a brain injury. The injured person will likely require medical treatment, may be unable to work for an extended period, and might even need to be placed in a long-term care facility.

In situations where another party’s negligence or carelessness caused an individual’s brain injury, obtaining the services of a San Jose brain injury lawyer is crucial. At Caputo & Van Der Walde LLP, we provide free consultations to help you make an informed decision about your future and the best course of action moving forward with legal representation through our brain injury attorneys.

Treatment for Brain Injuries

Despite many advances in modern medicine, the medical community still does not have a good understanding of brain injuries. Therefore, brain injury treatment is complicated.

Unlike other types of injuries, treatment for brain injuries may span several months or even a lifetime. There are no easy fixes for brain injuries that occur due to attacks, car accidents, and slips and falls. However, treatment options do exist.

Short-Term Care

It is critical to get immediate medical attention after any type of accident that causes these injuries. In the short term, treatment for brain injuries and other locales involves having medical professionals determine the nature and the consequences of the injury. Surgery may be necessary shortly after a traumatic brain injury takes place, adding to your concerns through hefty medical bills.

Long-Term Care

After the initial surgeries and treatment, the recovery process is usually far from over. Treatment will often be long-term and may take place in the injured party’s home or a long-term care facility.

Types of treatments for a traumatic brain injury may include:

• Physical therapy for physical impairments and loss of motor skills
• Occupational therapy to help injured individuals perform tasks associated with daily living and possibly return to the workforce
• Prescription drugs to help control seizures and treat mental problems that can occur due to a traumatic brain injury
• Therapy or counseling to deal with the feelings of anger and grief that may occur after a brain injury
• Additional surgeries
• Placement in a long-term care facility if injured individuals are no longer capable of looking after themselves

Treatment for brain injuries often places an intense emotional and financial strain on injured individuals and family members. Not only can medical expenses add up quickly, but families are also likely to be without the income the injured individual typically brought home.

If you or someone close to you is currently receiving treatment for a brain injury caused by another’s negligence, our San Jose brain injury attorneys may be able to help you secure monetary compensation to cover your treatment costs. Work with our brain injury attorneys who have represented many brain injury cases and advocated for the victims of head injuries. 

Terms to Understand for Your Brain Injury Case

If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury, the following terms may be useful:

• Aneurysm – a blood-filled sac formed in an artery or blood vessel by the weakening of a vessel wall or serious disease.
• Aphasia – the loss of the ability to understand and/or produce written or spoken language as the result of a disease or serious injury.
• Brain death – an irreversible end to all brain function and activities.
• Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) – the fluid that protects the spinal cord and brain, also called spinal fluid.
• Closed head injury – an injury in which the head is fiercely shaken or strikes an object but is not punctured.
• Coma – the unconscious state typically caused by a serious injury from which the victim cannot be aroused.
• Concussion – minor injury to the brain which is caused by violent shaking of or a blow to the head. This injury may cause unexpected and temporary impairment of a variety of brain functions.
• Contusion – swollen brain tissue (bruise) that is mixed with the blood from broken blood vessels.
• Depressed skull fracture – a skull fracture in which part of the broken skull presses into the tissue of the brain.
• Epidural hematoma – bleeding in between the skull and the dura. Also called extradural hemorrhage.
• Fluent aphasia – a condition in which a patient can fluently speak but with no meaning and has difficulty understanding written words or spoken language.
• Global aphasia – inability to produce or understand speech. This disability can be caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control speech and language skills.
• Hematoma – damage of a major blood vessel in the head which causes heavy bleeding in or around the brain.
• Hemorrhagic stroke – a stroke that is the result of bleeding in one of the major arteries that leads to the brain.
• Intracerebral hematoma – bleeding in the brain that results from damage to a blood vessel.
• Ischemic stroke – the most common type of stroke, which is caused by a clot that blocks blood flow to the brain.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – a noninvasive technique used to detect subtle changes in the brain by means of magnetic fields.
• Neuron – one of the cells that make up the spinal cord, nerves, and brain.
• Neurotransmitters – the movement of chemicals which transmit nerve signals from one neuron to another.
• Non-fluent aphasia – a disorder in which people have difficulty remembering words and talking in complete sentences.
• Open head injury – a head injury in which the skull is penetrated or punctured by a foreign object.
• Seizures – convulsions, emotional problems, muscle spasms, and/or unconsciousness caused by abnormal activity of nerve cells in the brain.
• Subdural hematoma – bleeding located between the dura and the arachnoid membranes.
• Thrombosis – a blood clot that forms in the same location the brain was injured.
• Vegetative state – a condition in which patients are unconscious but continue to have a sleep/wake cycle and are sometimes alert.

Common Questions About Brain Injuries

Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys offers free initial consultations. During this first meeting, you will have the chance to speak with a compassionate legal representative to learn more about your options and the overall merit of your brain injury case. However, for your convenience, we have compiled answers to common questions about TBIs below.

What are the different types of brain injuries?

There are two classifications of brain injuries: traumatic and non-traumatic. In the first type, a forceful blow to the head causes the injury. In non-traumatic brain injuries, there is no external physical trauma; rather, something like illness or stroke causes the damage. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are the most common type of brain injury.

The severity of traumatic brain injury can range from mild—with temporary symptoms such as headaches, balance problems, fatigue, and nausea—to moderate and severe, which can result in a coma, vegetative state, or locked-in syndrome. As they vary in severity, traumatic brain injuries also result from a variety of causes.

Those who suffer head injuries may have mild concussions, or it could leave them with permanent disability. If you or a loved one has sustained brain damage or other life-altering changes in a car accident or another catastrophic event due to the negligence of another person, contact a brain injury attorney from our San Jose personal injury law firm to get legal assistance. We will fight for full and fair compensation for these debilitating injuries.

What are some common causes of traumatic brain injuries?

Most brain injuries occur when something strikes a person in the head. Fists, bullets, and falling debris at the workplace all have the potential to cause brain injury. A person can also strike his or her head on a steering wheel, the road, or a hard floor during an auto accident, a motorcycle accident, or a slip and fall.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading causes of traumatic brain injury in the U.S. are:

• Falls: 35.2%
• Unknown causes: 21%
• Motor vehicle accidents: 17.3%
• Struck by or against an object: 16.5%
• Assault/violence: 10%

Are brain injuries hard to treat?

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to treat a brain injury, especially when it’s severe. Tissue loss in the brain is permanent once it occurs. Therefore, the recovery period is typically lengthy, and some victims never regain the abilities they lost.

After any head trauma, it is imperative that the victim immediately receive medical care. Emergency personnel will determine the severity of the brain injury and determine the best course of treatment, which can result in a range of outcomes.Victims may be treated and released with temporary symptoms; they may be hospitalized, treated, rehabilitated, and released with partial loss of brain and/or body function; they may be hospitalized permanently due to almost complete loss of brain and body function; or, in very severe traumatic brain injuries cases, they may die from their injuries.

What should I do if someone else caused my TBI?

f someone else’s negligence directly contributed to or caused a severe brain injury, the most important thing you can do is contact a personal injury attorney with experience in traumatic brain injury cases. They will evaluate the specifics of your case, decide whether it is worth pursuing in court, and help you determine the types of damages you should seek. They will then work diligently to help you obtain the compensation you need to help get your life back on track.

When someone you love has suffered a brain injury, even with medical care, they may never be the same. In these types of personal injury claims, injured victims could have life-long impacts that will cause financial strains. You must seek representation from a brain injury lawyer who will be able to help you calculate the full extent of the damages.

The trouble with a brain injury in San Jose is that many victims think they can get compensation from an insurance company. They don’t think about hiring a San Jose brain injury lawyer because they mistakenly believe filing a claim will be enough to provide for their injuries.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. Insurance companies look for ways to minimize their payout by either denying a claim or offering too little to those who have suffered injuries. Since many victims are happy to receive a check, they do not consider all of the financial impacts the injury has caused them or their families.

A brain injury lawyer understands those factors inside and out, and will be prepared to ask for the full amount of compensation that you or your loved one deserves. We will work with medical experts to determine the level of treatment required for the injuries and look at what is expected in the recovery period. If the injuries will require ongoing care, it is essential that this is factored into your settlement.

Other financial costs that victims don’t think to ask for are the related out-of-pocket expenses, lost benefits at work, loss of earning potential, and loss of companionship or consortium when your loved one is no longer capable of them due to their injuries.

We Are Here to Fight for Your Rights

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of another party’s negligence, it is crucial to speak with a brain injury attorney in San Jose as soon as you can. You may be able to seek damages for lost wages, pain and suffering, hospital bills, and the months or even years of therapy the victim may require. However, if you wait too long to pursue your brain injury claim against the at-fault party, you may unintentionally forfeit your right to compensation. Get started today with one of our experienced San Jose brain injury lawyers.