Car accidents are a leading cause of the types of personal injury cases that are handled at Burn Tucker Lachaîne.

Aside from whiplash, bruises and broken bones, one of the most common and catastrophic injuries a person can suffer after a car accident, slip and fall, assault, motorcycle accident, boating accident and a host of other catalysts to personal injury, is a brain injury. The type, force and impact to the head determines the type of brain injury a person has sustained.

The term Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) refers to a range of injuries that affect the brain after an accident and can be broadly classified as either open or closed head injuries. Open head injuries, as the name suggests, occur when a foreign object enters the brain, causing unlimited damage to different parts of it. Closed head injuries occur when there is no penetration of the skull and is the result of a person’s head coming into contact with a hard surface.

Brain damage can further be categorized as primary and secondary brain damage. Primary brain damage refers to the immediate damage done at the time of impact, such as, skull fractures and blood clots. Secondary brain damage includes the injuries that develop over time, after the primary injury, such as, brain swelling and seizures.

These are all extremely serious injuries that can be financially, emotionally and physically tasking.  Brain injuries affect not just the victim but their immediate family and loved ones as well. This is one of the main reasons that you should seek out a personal injury lawyer who is experienced in the laws and procedures that affect your right to compensation.

If you or someone you know has suffered from a TBI, it is crucial that you get properly diagnosed by a licensed medical practitioner. A proper diagnosis can be given by a physician based on many medical reports accumulated during the process. After these tests and reports are generated, a person’s needs are assessed and the proper course of treatment is determined. If the brain injury is diagnosed as moderate to severe, the symptoms can include a range of short term and long term issues, including cognitive deficits, speech and language impairment, negative sensory perceptual and physical changes.

A mild traumatic brain injury is a type of TBI that is diagnosed if there is a loss of consciousness or any disorientation that lasts no more than thirty minutes like, for example, concussions. Symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury include fatigue, nausea, mood changes, sleep disturbances, memory loss, seizures and irritability.

A few years ago, Katherine-Paige MacNeil, who was fifteen years old at the time, was a back-seat passenger in a car driven by Trevor Bryan, when he ran a stop sign and crashed headfirst into a ditch. Although Katherine was the only occupant in the vehicle wearing a seatbelt, she still suffered a fractured skull and catastrophic brain injury.

In October of 2009, Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Howden awarded her a multi-million dollar amount in the total of 18.4 million, with 15.2 million of it allocated specifically for future care costs. At the time, it was said to be the highest monetary amount awarded to a victim of a car accident.

Aside from properly addressing your medical needs after a car accident, hiring a personal injury lawyer from a reputable and reliable firm such as Burn Tucker Lachaîne is essential to recouping financial losses during this most trying time.

Our lawyers are all well versed in the laws pertaining to personal injuries and are used to dealing with the issues that may arise with insurers. Do not allow yourself to be taken advantage of, or have your injuries minimized by those who are only concerned with maintaining a profit.

Allow the personal injury lawyers at Burn Tucker Lachaîne to aptly represent you and your family’s needs with a free online assessment. If you are unable to visit our informative website call or come into our easily accessible offices, we would gladly accommodate you in a way that is more manageable for you and your family.