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Utah Brain Injury Lawyer

Call (888) 471-5989 to speak with a personal injury attorney.

Brain injuries are not always the easiest to assess, to say the least. Since the brain is such an extremely complex organ, and injuries to it can affect many different aspects of bodily function, from motor skills and coordination to cognitive processes, it may be hard to determine whether an accident has caused a brain injury or not. This is one of the many reasons why brain injuries are so devastating to both the victim and their families.

There are many different types of brain injuries, including open head injury, where the head has been penetrated and there is a break in the skull bone; closed head brain injury, as a result from the slamming back and forth of the brain inside the skull, which tears blood vessels and tissues; deceleration injuries, where an abrupt stop causes the skull to stop as well, but the brain to continue traveling, bruising it and causing brain swelling and nerve cell damage; hypoxia, or lack of oxygen; and then there are infections caused by viruses and bacteria.

Including skull and facial fractures, there are around 2 million head injuries every year in the United States. One and a half million of those 2 million are nonfatal traumatic brain injuries, not requiring hospitalization, while 300,000 brain injuries are severe enough for hospitalization, and 99,000 of those result in a long-lasting disability. Every year, 56,000 people die because of a traumatic brain injury, accounting for 34 percent of all injury deaths in the United States. Traumatic brain injuries affect males at twice the rate they affect females, with a higher mortality rate, too. People who are aged 15-24 have a high risk of traumatic brain injuries, as well as people aged over 60.

Depending on the accident involved, an injury to the brain can be as simple as a headache that requires only some over-the-counter pain relievers, or as complicated and devastating as complete paralysis or loss of mental function. The severity of the impact to the brain and the area of the brain that is affected will determine the nature and extent of the brain injury. If you have suffered any kind of trauma to the head during an accident, you need to be evaluated by a qualified health care practitioner immediately.

You should also consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Although there is nothing that can be done to reverse your brain injury, or its devastating effects on your well-being, the culpable parties involved in your accident can be held accountable. If your brain injury can be determined to have been caused by the negligence of another individual or party, you have a right to know. You also have a right to seek financial compensation for that injury not only for your medical costs and lost wages, but also for any pain or potential long-term effects that stemmed from the brain injury.

In a Utah brain injury case, a five-day-old infant was shaken so violently by a nurse that she broke bones and had severe brain injury. At three years old, she is unable to eat solid food, walk, or speak. The nurse was sentenced to prison.

Representing a brain injury case may be vastly different and more complex than representing other types of legal cases, even medical cases. After all, a brain injury directly impacts a person's life, is extremely traumatic for the suffering individual and his or her family, and may have serious long-term consequences. That's why you need an attorney who is not only knowledgeable about personal injury law, but who also has specific experience in litigating cases involving brain injury.