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It is best to refrain from discussing the accident in detail with the insurance adjuster or at-fault party because they could misconstrue something you say to try to reduce the value of your claim or deny it outright. Instead, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer who can negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf while you focus on your treatment and rehabilitation.
Filing a Claim for Compensation After a Brain Injury
When another party’s negligence causes someone’s injury, one of the first questions they ask us is how much their claim is worth. This is a tough question to answer after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) because there are so many variables in this kind of case.
The best option for a severely injured person is often to move forward with a lawsuit and see what happens in court.
Suppose your TBI resulted from an auto accident. In that case, you might be wondering about filing a claim through Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system, as your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance will not fully cover your medical expenses.
Severity Threshold
That said, the law has a severity threshold, which means that if an injury is serious and permanent, you can simply file a civil suit in court instead of first negotiating with the insurance company. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you decide on your best course of action.
Damages to Include in Your Personal Injury Claim
After a severe injury may be entitled to both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include expenses with exact amounts attached to them, such as medical bills and lost wages, whereas non-economic damages, like loss of quality of life, are more challenging to quantify. After a severe brain injury, you may be eligible for compensation for the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages, including loss of future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life
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Ensuring Your Brain Injury Claim is Successful
A successful brain injury claim requires persistence, and it’s also important to keep track of all documents related to your case. The best way to ensure that your claim is successful is to hire a lawyer who has experience litigating personal injury claims involving brain injuries.
Brain injury cases can be challenging to prove because they often happen during accidents. However, if you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against them.
To win such a case, you must show that the other party was negligent, which means that they did something wrong that caused your accident. For example, if you were hurt at work, you could sue your employer for failing to provide adequate safety equipment or training.
Filing a Workplace Claim for a Brain Injury
In most cases, workplace injuries are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, which provides temporary and permanent disability benefits. Your personal injury lawyer can help you file a workers’ comp claim.
If you do not receive workers’ compensation coverage from your employer, you may still qualify for medical treatment through Medicare. In addition, if you suffer a catastrophic injury, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
Click To ContactGetting Compensation for Emotional Anguish
The state of Florida does not have a cap on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and emotional damages in personal injury lawsuits. It is essential to talk to your attorney about your injury’s impact on your life, as this will help them establish the monetary value of your case.
Understanding your case’s value is important because it lets you know how much you should demand in damages in your personal injury lawsuit. These damages should include the economic and non-economic losses you’ve suffered due to your brain injury.
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Proving Negligence in a Brain Injury Lawsuit
A successful outcome in your brain injury claim depends on your ability to show that the other party’s negligence caused the accident that resulted in your injury.
Negligence is established by demonstrating that the other party failed to exercise a reasonable duty of care and that this failure resulted in the incident that caused your injury.
In addition to establishing negligence, you also must present a basis for the damages you’re pursuing. You can do this by providing receipts or other documentation of your medical expenses and getting a professional opinion from your doctor about your long-term prognosis.
Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
Contrary to popular belief, a personal injury lawyer will not cost you anything upfront. People sometimes confuse personal injury attorneys with other kinds of lawyers, such as criminal defense lawyers, and think they have to pay a retainer upfront. Personal injury lawyers are different from criminal lawyers in how they receive compensation.
Personal Injury lawyers usually work on a “contingency fee” basis. This means that the attorney’s fee they are working for depends on your case’s outcome. This kind of attorney takes their fee out of the settlement that they achieve for you, and if they fail to secure a settlement, then that means that they don’t get paid, and the client owes them nothing.
Time Limit for Filing a Civil Lawsuit for Brain Injury
If you are going to file a civil lawsuit for a brain injury, your claim needs to be filed before the statute of limitations expires. The time limit varies from state to state, but in Florida, it’s two years. If your claim is not filed within the allowed time frame as stated in Florida Statutes §95.11(3)(a), you will lose the opportunity to present your case in court.
That said, if you are filing a lawsuit for a fatal injury, the statute of limitations may be much shorter. Wrongful death lawsuits in Florida must be filed within two years.
There are a few exceptions to these time limits, and an experienced personal injury attorney who handles brain injuries can let you know how the statute of limitations applies in your specific case.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer
The lawyers at Viles and Beckman are committed to helping brain injury victims get the maximum compensation for their injuries.
Our personal injury attorneys can evaluate your case, go over all of your legal options, and advise you on your next steps. Reach out today to schedule a free consultation.
Call or text (239) 334-3933 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
