Florence Brain Injury Lawyer

The brain is made up of delicate soft tissue floating in fluid within the skull. The brain is cushioned and protected by three layers of membrane, but an accident that involves a sudden blow to the head can cause the brain to move around violently inside the skull and result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Other causes of brain injury include:

• Any force that penetrates or fractures the skull
• Bone fragments being pushed into the brain
• Destructive shock waves that cause tissue damage
• Forces that cause the brain to collide against the inside of the hard skull
• Bruising and bleeding in the brain.

Brain injuries largely occur as a result of accidents. When an accident creates trauma to the brain, the brain fills with fluid and swells. The hard skull prevents the brain from expanding and increases pressure on the brain. Blood is prevented from reaching brain cells, and further damage occurs.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that slips and falls are the primary cause of TBIs and motor vehicle accidents are the third-leading cause. Other common causes include:

• Workplace accidents
• Medical malpractice and accidents that occur at birth
• Toxic exposure to chemicals
• Sports injuries
• Injuries from defective products
• Injuries from violence.

Our Brain Injury Lawyer in Florence, MS Is Here for You

If injuries were caused by another party’s negligence, that party can be held liable, and you may have a legitimate claim for compensation.

It is important to get medical care immediately after an accident and to watch for the development of any new symptoms. Make sure you let our attorneys know about any deterioration of your condition.

DON’T PAY THE FINANCIAL PRICE FOR ANOTHER PARTY’S NEGLIGENCE. CALL OUR FLORENCE BRAIN INJURY LAWYER AT (601) 845-5050 TO LEARN ABOUT GETTING COMPENSATION.

The terms “mild,” “moderate,” and “severe” are used to describe the effect of the injury on brain function.

Mild traumatic brain injury may affect brain cells temporarily, but it is still serious. If damage is more severe, it can result in bruising, torn tissues, bleeding and other physical damage to the brain that can result in long-term complications or even death.

Concussions are the most common type of brain injury, often caused by a sudden impact to the head. Symptoms include:

• severe headache
• temporary memory loss
• nausea

If the concussion is severe, it can cause:

• long-term unconsciousness
• cognitive complications
• permanent loss of memory.

Contusions occur due to bleeding or bruising of the brain. A mild contusion may cause temporary headache, confusion or dizziness. A severe contusion can lead to:

• loss of consciousness
• seizures
• coordination issues.

A severely brain-injured individual may be unable to:

• Speak or understand language
• Recognize people or surroundings
• Take care of their daily needs
• Have a social life, or work and earn money.

If the injury is severe enough, brain-injured individuals may wind up in:

• An unconscious state, or coma, unable to be aroused or respond in a purposeful way
• A vegetative state, unaware of surroundings, although they move or respond to reflexes
• A minimally conscious state, where consciousness is severely altered but there are some signs of self-awareness or awareness of environment
• Brain dead, an irreversible condition with no measurable activity in the brain and brainstem.

In addition, some brain-injured individuals have emotional and behavioral issues that cause major problems for the individual and those around them. The brain injured person may need continuing care and costly therapy and equipment or have to be institutionalized.

Since the symptoms and degree of brain injuries vary so greatly, compensation varies greatly as well. In cases where brain damage is severe and involves large costs and devastating effects on the quality of life, settlements may range into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

The costs, losses, and injuries that came about from your brain injury and the settlement award that you may receive are all called damages. In Mississippi, you may receive a compensation award for both economic, or monetary, damages and non-economic damages as follows:

Economic Damages in a Brain Injury Case

Economic damages reimburse you for expenses and monetary costs resulting from the injury, including:

• Medical, hospital, and rehabilitation expenses
• Costs of continuing care and institutionalization
• Modifications to home and vehicles, such as to accommodate a wheelchair
• Lost wages and lost future earning capacity
• Property damage
• Burial and funeral costs, if a death is involved.

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages cover losses that cannot be quantified monetarily, such as:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional anguish
• Loss of consortium and companionship
• Disability or disfigurement
• Wrongful death.

Punitive Damages

In some rare cases when the defendant acted with extremely recklessness or caused the injury deliberately, punitive damages may also be awarded to punish the wrongdoer and to deter similar behavior in the future.

Mississippi does not cap or set a maximum limit on the amount of economic damages, but it does limit non-economic and punitive damages.

The brain injury lawyers at Ringer Lingold & Spencer will aggressively fight for the compensation you deserve. To get started investigating and building your case, call us today at (601) 845-5050.

To win your case, our brain injury attorneys must prove that your brain injury was caused by the negligence, recklessness, or fault of another party (the defendant in the case). Legally, this means showing the following elements:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care to prevent harm.
• The defendant breached this duty by acting or failing to act.
• This breach caused your injury.
• You suffered actual damages as a result.

To prove negligence, our legal team would investigate how your brain injury occurred and find potential responsible parties. We would gather evidence by:

• Interviewing witnesses and first responders
• Acquiring evidence such as photos and videos from surveillance or traffic cameras
• Examining medical and police records
• Hiring experts to provide medical testimony about the extent of your brain injuries, how they affect your life, and the care you will need in the future.

Our Florence Brain Injury Lawyer Will Help You Collect

Even if you have done something to contribute to the accident, Mississippi laws allow you to get compensation if you are less than 100% at fault. Your settlement award will be reduced according to the percentage of fault attributed to you, but you can still collect the proportion for which the other parties are found to be at fault. For example, if the award is for $100,000 and you are 10 percent at fault, you can still collect $90,000.

In some cases, there may be multiple parties responsible for the accident. Since every potentially liable party may have insurance and personal assets, our attorneys will look to name all of them as defendants in your lawsuit.