Albuquerque Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Every brain injury is different. No matter how they occur, they can lead to serious consequences for an entire family. The financial and emotional burden of a brain injury can leave victims feeling like they’ve run out of options. That’s why the Fine Law Firm is dedicated to helping families gain compensation for the losses they suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence. Contact our Albuquerque traumatic brain injury attorneys today to schedule a free case evaluation.

Why Choose Us?

Albuquerque residents have been turning to the Albuquerque personal injury attorneys at Fine Law Firm for over four decades for many reasons, including:

• In our forty years of practicing law, we’ve helped victims of personal injury, including brain injury, with a 99% success rate.
• We prioritize our client’s needs over our own, maintaining a consistent fee that is never more than 33% of the final settlement, and we sometimes even reduce our fees to ensure that our clients receive more compensation than we do.
• We have a reputation as leaders in law. When judges and adjusters have family or friends that may have a personal injury claim, they refer them to us. Additionally, our attorneys regularly receive requests to speak to members of the Bar Association and teach at law schools.

Why Do You Need a Lawyer?

Brain injuries involve complex medical care and ongoing support or therapy may be necessary. As a result, these types of claims tend to have high damage amounts. An attorney can help determine the exact value of your claim and demand maximum compensation from the parties responsible. This allows you and your family to focus on the healing process while your attorney takes on the business of negotiating with the insurance company.

Types of Brain Injuries

There are many different classifications of brain injuries depending on the location, nature, cause and extent of the damage inflicted on the brain’s tissues. The specific brain injury diagnosis can determine a victim’s prognosis.

Several different types of brain injuries exist, and they all affect functioning in different ways.

• Open vs. closed head injury: an open head injury means the skull and brain are penetrated, while a closed head injury means the brain has been injured with no breach of the skull.

• Concussion: a brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head. Symptoms of a concussion can include headache, nausea, dizziness and fatigue.

• Contusion: bruising of the brain tissues caused by blunt-force trauma to the head. Symptoms may include headache, trouble with balance, nausea or vomiting, confusion, and memory loss.

• Diffuse-axonal injury: injury caused by a sudden shift of the brain inside the skull, resulting in the shearing or tearing of the connective nerve fibers. This can result in unconsciousness, coma or a vegetative state.

• Coup-contrecoup injury: damage to the brain at the site of impact (coup) and on the opposite side (contrecoup) from the rebound of the brain inside the skull.

At The Fine Law Firm, our team of personal injury lawyers is equipped to handle any type of brain injury claim in Albuquerque. We have the experience, knowledge, resources and personnel to represent you or your family if someone sustains any kind of traumatic brain injury, including injuries that result in long-term or permanent brain damage.

Long-Term Effects of Brain Injuries

The brain is a complex organ that, when injured, can alter many aspects of a victim’s life. The brain is responsible for sending messages and signals to the rest of the body. When the brain’s tissues are harmed, this can impact thought, movement, cognitive processing, mood and personality. The effects of a brain injury can vary depending on the part of the brain impacted and the severity of the injury.

Potential long-term consequences include:

• Cognitive effects
• Memory loss
• Impaired concentration
• Challenges with executive functioning
• Reduced thought processing speed
• Trouble communicating
• Motor function disability
• Seizures
• Chronic fatigue
• Sensory changes
• Emotional instability
• Depression or anxiety
• Personality or behavioral changes
• Social challenges

The possibility of suffering long-term effects from a brain injury makes it crucial to hire an attorney to represent you during the claims process in Albuquerque. Without a lawyer advocating for your interests, you may accept a settlement from an insurance company that does not adequately compensate you for the ongoing or permanent effects of an injury. An attorney will fight for fair compensation for the full extent of your losses.

The Most Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

The brain is a vulnerable organ that can easily sustain damage in many types of accidents. Any situation that involves the head striking something or something striking the head could cause a brain injury. The most common cause of traumatic brain injuries are blows to the skull. The skull is thin and cannot always protect the brain from risks such as falling objects. Certain types of accidents result in traumatic brain injuries and related lawsuits in Albuquerque more often than others.

• Motor vehicle accidents: A car accident can cause a traumatic brain injury from the brain bouncing around inside the skull in the collision. Forces exerted on the human body can whip the neck and head around rapidly, causing brain injuries such as diffuse-axonal injuries. A car accident could also cause blunt-force trauma from the head striking an object inside of the vehicle, such as the steering column.
• Slip & Fall Accidents: A victim could sustain a traumatic brain injury in a fall if the head strikes an object on the way down. The skull hitting an object, such as the corner of a desk or the ground, at the velocity of the fall could be enough to bruise the brain, cause it to bleed or make it swell. Common causes of falls include slippery or wet floors, unsafe staircases, obstacles in walkways, uneven curbs, and snow and ice.
• Sports accidents: Some brain injuries in Albuquerque arise from sports-related impacts. A common example is a game of football in which one player tackles another, colliding with the helmet and head with enough force to injure the brain. Another frequent sports incident is diving into a shallow pool and the swimmer striking his or her head on the bottom of the pool.
• Acts of violence: This can lead to life-changing brain injuries in Albuquerque. These include gunshots, stab wounds and forms of asphyxiation that cut off oxygen to the brain, such as strangulation. Physical abuse can also cause brain injuries, such as blows to the head or Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Most brain injuries are avoidable. Negligent and careless parties can inflict traumatic brain injuries on unsuspecting victims. If you or a loved one has a brain injury from a preventable accident in New Mexico, talk to an attorney at The Fine Law Firm about a possible lawsuit. Bringing a claim against the negligent party could bring you justice and fair financial compensation for what may be a lifetime of damages.

Determining Liability in Brain Injury Cases

Liability refers to someone’s legal and financial responsibility for an accident victim’s injuries and losses, often due to negligence. Before you can file a brain injury claim in New Mexico, you or your attorney must determine liability and name the defendant – the individual or entity you are holding liable for your losses.

Determining liability in a brain injury case generally requires an investigation of the incident to establish duty of care and a breach of this duty – the first two elements of negligence. A duty of care means a responsibility the defendant had to act in a way that is reasonable and prudent based on the circumstances.

A breach of the duty of care can refer to any act or failure to act that falls short of the amount of care that the defendant should have used based on the situation. If a driver broke a traffic law and caused a car accident that inflicted a brain injury, for instance, this is a breach of duty that could result in liability placed on the driver.

The liable party in a brain injury case could be many different people depending on the scenario. Examples include motor vehicle drivers, employers, product manufacturers, property owners, health care practitioners and criminals. Some cases name multiple defendants. Your lawyer can help you determine, document and prove liability during your claim.

How Much Is My Brain Injury Case Worth?

A brain injury case typically involves compensation for both economic and non-economic losses. Examples of economic damages include medical bills, lost wages, loss in earning capacity, and the projected cost of continued care. General, or non-economic, losses include physical pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss and life quality, and more. An Albuquerque traumatic brain injury attorney can help you determine the exact worth of your case and seek compensation from the parties responsible.

What Damages Can I Recover for My Brain Injury?

The severe nature of most brain injuries means a high capacity for compensation in many personal injury cases. The courts will award compensatory awards based on the exact amount of money the injury cost you. You could recover for your past and future medical bills, for example, by showing these bills to the courts as proof. If the brain injury caused permanent damage, such as a lifelong cognitive disability, you could seek future damages for medical costs, therapies, rehabilitation, medications and live-in care you will need later.

It can be difficult to determine how much your case is worth without consulting with an attorney for a personalized review. A lawyer will assess your brain injury case and analyze your losses to determine a fair amount to seek in financial damages. Your lawyer will also go over various legal options with you, such as an insurance settlement vs. personal injury lawsuit. You can trust an attorney to fight for maximum compensation through all available outlets on your behalf.

Economic Damages

There are two types of compensatory damages, or types of financial compensation awarded to a plaintiff to reimburse him or her for losses suffered due to an accident: economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages have a specific monetary value, such as a victim’s hospital bills.

Examples of economic damages in a brain injury case include:

• Medical expenses
• Losses of income
• Property damages
• Lost future ability to earn a living
• Legal fees
• Funeral and burial costs (in the case of wrongful death)

If a brain injury results in permanent disability, the plaintiff’s attorney can calculate future foreseeable medical costs, disability accommodations, home or vehicle modifications, medical devices, and live-in care that will be reasonably necessary in the future.

Noneconomic Damages

The courts may also grant you a noneconomic damage award for a brain injury case in New Mexico. Unlike economic damages, which use hard evidence, the courts will award noneconomic damages by listening to your story and determining how the injury affects you personally.

You or your brain injury attorney can make a case for the following types of noneconomic damages:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental or emotional damages
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Lost enjoyment of life

These damages may be available among other noneconomic damages as a survivor living with a brain injury. The ability of your lawyer to prove your damages can determine how much you recover in financial compensation at the end of your claim.

Punitive Damages

In addition to compensatory damages, an accident victim in Albuquerque may also be eligible for punitive damages. The goal of a punitive damage award is to punish a defendant for especially wrongful or negligent acts rather than to reimburse the plaintiff for his or her losses. When punitive damages are awarded in New Mexico, it is to warn others not to engage in the same behavior as the defendant.

Punitive damages are not awarded in every brain injury case. They must be requested by the plaintiff and granted by a judge or jury based on the evidence presented. State law says that to receive a punitive damage award, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s actions were intentional, reckless, willful, malicious or fraudulent.

Contact Us Today

A successful brain injury case in Albuquerque could make it easier for you and your family to move forward by providing the financial compensation that you need to pay for related costs. It can be difficult to accurately determine how much your case is worth without consulting with an attorney.

If you or someone you love suffered a brain injury and you believe someone else is legally responsible, contact the Albuquerque brain injury lawyers at The Fine Law Firm and schedule a free review of your legal options today. (505) 243-4541.