New York City Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

A traumatic brain injury is one of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer. A TBI may be caused by a fall, a car accident, a sports injury, a violent assault, child abuse, or an explosion or blast. Many traumatic brain injuries that occur in New York are preventable and are the result of carelessness, disregard for safety, or misconduct. If you have sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may have legal rights to demand compensation from the at-fault party to cover your losses.

Our experienced NY attorneys at David Resnick & Associates, P.C. offer professional and compassionate legal assistance to brain injury victims whose injuries were caused by others’ negligence. We help New Yorkers who have had the misfortune of sustaining a head injury recover compensation to assist with medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses. We are committed to helping those who are struggling to recover from a brain injury due to negligence. We assist accident victims in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Harlem, and Staten Island.

Call a New York City brain injury attorney at David Resnick & Associates, P.C. today or fill out our online form for a free review of your case.

What Is A Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a blow to the head that jostles the brain inside the skull or penetrates the skull and brain tissue. The injury may be either a closed head injury that is not visible or an open head injury. A brain injury may affect the function of the neurons or nerve tracts in the lobes of the brain, leaving them unable to transmit nerve signals to parts of the body. A TBI may cause temporary or permanent dysfunction, resulting in short-term or permanent loss of the ability to perform certain functions such as moving arms and legs or speaking.

A severe brain injury is marked by an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. The victim may remain in a coma for days or weeks.

Severe traumatic brain injuries can cause temporary or long-term changes that affect:

The five lobes of the brain control various bodily functions. General patterns of dysfunction can occur depending on whether the location of the injury is on the right or left side of the brain. An injury to the left side of the brain may cause visual-spatial impairment, memory deficits, and loss of big-picture thinking, according to the Brain Injury Association of America. A right brain injury may damage speech, and the ability to understand language and logical thinking, and may cause emotional problems like depression and anxiety.

Causes Of Brain Injuries

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury, it is important to speak with an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer in NYC to understand your legal options. According to the New York Department of Health, more than 2,000 New Yorkers die every year as a result of TBI, while another 18,000 New York state residents are hospitalized due to injuries causing brain damage.

The most common causes of brain injuries include:

Injured on someone else’s property?

If a person falls and sustains a brain injury due to an unsafe condition on another’s property in NYC, the accident victim may have a right to seek compensation from the property owner if the accident was preventable and was caused by failure to correct the property hazard.

Many people in New York City suffer brain injuries in car crashes, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents caused by other drivers’ carelessness or disregard for safety. The at-fault driver’s insurance company may be liable for your medical bills and other losses related to the accident.

Serious head injuries also occur in workplace accidents. An injured worker may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits and Social Security Disability benefits after an accident causing a significant TBI.

If someone else caused your TBI, either because they were unreasonably careless in their behavior or because they hurt you on purpose, then you could recover compensation for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other damages. If the TBI caused death, then the surviving family members could sue for wrongful death damages, including loss of companionship of the deceased.

It is very important to make sure you know the full extent of the injuries before agreeing to a final settlement, especially since it is often not clear what the lasting effects of a TBI will be until weeks or months after the accident. Never sign anything or waive any of your legal rights without talking to a traumatic brain injury lawyer in NYC first.

The New York City personal injury attorneys at David Resnick & Associates, P.C., are skilled at evaluating TBI claims and have a track record of getting results for our clients.

Types Of Traumatic Brain Injuries

A mild brain injury may cause a temporary disruption in brain function. More serious brain injuries may cause bruising of brain tissue, tearing of tissue, and swelling, resulting in longer-term complications.

Repeated concussions can cause changes in the brain and cognitive deficits.

Other types of brain injuries include:

The consequences of a serious brain injury are unpredictable. But many people who have experienced significant brain injuries will have changes in their ability to concentrate and process information. Some people lose their ability to control their emotions and are more susceptible to mood swings and angry outbursts.

Long-Term Costs Of Brain Injuries

A serious traumatic brain injury can create a great deal of financial stress because of the medical treatment costs, long-term rehabilitation costs, and loss of income. Inpatient care can run $8,000 a day, and rehabilitation costs can average $1,000 a day, according to the Brain Injury Association of America.

A brain injury survivor may have to live with the effects of a serious injury for a lifetime. The stress of accumulating medical bills may be compounded by a loss of income. A brain injury survivor may be unable to work for an extended period of time and may have diminished earning capacity in the years afterward, depending on the severity of the injury. It may be a struggle to manage personal finances in some cases because of cognitive impairments.

The lifetime cost of care for a person who has sustained a catastrophic brain injury can exceed $3 million, according to Research America, a health alliance.

A brain injury survivor and his or her family will need to explore all possible financial resources. One of those options may be a brain injury lawsuit if the injury was caused by someone else’s negligence or disregard for safety.

What A Brain Injury Lawsuit Can Do

The attorneys at David Resnick & Associates understand the impact a serious brain injury can have on you and your family. If you or a loved one has sustained a traumatic brain injury, you need to be informed about your legal options.

Every brain injury has unique contributing factors. If your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence or misconduct, you may have a legal right to demand compensation to help with your medical bills and recoup your other losses. Attorney David Resnick can review the specific details of how your injury occurred and discuss your legal options for pursuing compensation through a personal injury claim.

By filing a brain injury lawsuit, you may be entitled to claim compensation for:

David Resnick & Associates, P.C. assists TBI victims whose injuries were caused by others’ negligence pursue the maximum compensation allowed by law. Call our firm now or use our online contact form for a free evaluation of your case.

Traumatic Brain Injuries In Sports

Recent news reports have focused on concussions, a form of TBI, among athletes. But sports-related TBIs among professional athletes are not the same as TBIs among children playing sports in school, civic or club leagues in New York City.

Every year, about 4,000 children and adolescents (up to age 19) in New York are treated at hospitals for sports-related TBIs, the New York State Department of Health says. Concussions happen most often in contact sports such as football, rugby, and hockey, but can happen in any sport or recreational activity.

Over the past decade, emergency room visits in the U.S. for sports- and recreation-related TBIs among children and adolescents increased by 60 percent, according to the CDC.

If a child sustains a TBI during supervised sports activities, it is important to determine whether the injury was caused by negligence. Any injury requiring a hospital visit will be costly, but a TBI can be a long-lasting and financially devastating injury.

Adults in charge of youth sports have a duty to ensure the safety of the children. The family of a child harmed through negligence may be eligible for compensation to assist with their child’s recovery or life with a disability.

Sports-Related TBIs And Children

Children and teenagers are more likely to get into accidents that cause TBI and take longer to recover than adults, the CDC says. Adults playing recreational league sports or otherwise taking part in recreational activities risk TBI as well.

Bicycling, football, playground activities, basketball, and soccer are associated with the greatest number of TBI-related emergency room visits among children. A national survey of all sports- and recreation-related injuries among all ages found that 31 percent occurred at a sports facility and 20 percent happened at a school, according to the CDC.

Athletic directors, coaches, and others have begun to recognize the risk of TBI among young athletes. In recent years, 43 states passed laws on concussions in sports for youth and high school athletes.

In New York, the Concussion Management and Awareness Act requires the development of rules and regulations related to students who sustain a concussion or a mild TBI at school or at any school-sponsored activity. Guidelines must address the injured student’s return to school and certain school activities after a concussion, regardless of where the concussion occurred.

The law also requires that students who have sustained or are suspected to have sustained a concussion during athletic activities be immediately removed from such activities and not return until they have been symptom-free for a minimum of 24 hours and have been evaluated by, and received written and signed authorization to return to activities from, a licensed physician. School coaches, physical education teachers, nurses, and certified athletic trainers must complete a state-approved course about concussions and concussion management every two years.

Liability For Sports-Related TBIs

Parents who let their children play sports at school or in recreational leagues sponsored by local governments or private clubs should be able to rely on the adults in charge to ensure a reasonable level of safety. There are risks inherent in sports, but coaches, trainers, teachers, camp counselors, etc., have a responsibility to instruct young players and athletes, and to ensure they are properly trained and equipped to participate in sports.

The principle of “in loco parentis” is often applied to the responsibility of teachers, coaches, and others responsible for the safety of children under their supervision. A coach or other supervisor who lets a player engage in sporting activities that they are not physically or mentally able to undertake in a safe manner may be guilty of negligence and is potentially liable for any injuries the child sustains. The coach as an individual or the sponsoring organization may be compelled to compensate the injured child or the child’s family.

If a student-athlete or any other player has suffered a TBI while playing sports or participating in other supervised recreation, it is important to determine whether someone else’s negligence led to the injury. The costs related to TBI can run into millions of dollars, especially after a severe injury to a child or teenager.

The personal injury attorneys of David Resnick & Associates, P.C., can investigate your or your child’s sports-related traumatic brain injury in the New York City area and help hold responsible parties liable. We can seek compensation for your medical expenses and other losses, as well as for your pain and suffering.

Costs Of Traumatic Brain Injuries

The medical costs faced by TBI victims and their families are potentially devastating. Not all TBIs result in long-term or even lengthy care, but a severe brain injury almost always does. TBI patients and their families can easily face bankruptcy from the costs associated with hospitalization, medication, rehabilitation, and long-term care.

The cost of TBI in the U.S. is more than $48 billion a year, the Center for Head Injury Services says. The CDC says adding indirect costs, such as lost productivity, to direct medical costs pushes the total to $76.5 billion a year.

At David Resnick & Associates, P.C., in New York City, our personal injury attorneys help those who have suffered a TBI through no fault of their own obtain the compensation they deserve. This may include money for medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for pain and suffering.

TBI Expenses

Each year in New York, TBIs cause more than 2,000 deaths, 19,000 hospitalizations, and more than 112,000 emergency department visits, the N.Y. Department of Health says. The costs of this injury can represent a major financial challenge for individuals who suffer from TBI and their families.

An average emergency room visit costs $1,233, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health concluded. But the charge for an ER visit barely scratches the surface of the costs for a severe TBI.

The cost of hospital-based rehabilitation for a TBI victim averages about $8,000 per day, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) says. Residential care after release from a hospital can range from $850 to $2,500 a day. Even daytime rehabilitation programs without residential costs can range from $600 to $1,000 per four-hour session.

These costs can quickly total hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

A TBI patient with an injury that causes motor disability faces expenses for:

A survivor of severe brain injury faces five to 10 years of intensive therapeutic services, such as vocational rehabilitation and physical therapy, according to the Center for Head Injury Services. The cost of a single severe brain injury patient’s care often exceeds $4 million.

Contact A Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer In NYC Today

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, it is important to start as soon as possible to track your costs and seek sources of financial help.

David Resnick & Associates, P.C., in New York City helps TBI victims and their families obtain the compensation they are due. We can evaluate your TBI claim and assist you throughout the recovery process.

Call us now or contact us through our online contact form for a free analysis of your claim.