Traumatic brain injuries can have a life-altering impact. When the brain suffers physical injury, it can affect how an individual thinks, moves and communicates. Victims and their families can face numerous challenges during brain injury recovery, from high medical costs to coping with long-term brain damage.
Schedule Your Free Consultation Today!
Suffering with a Brain Injury?
In Bakersfield and Kern County, brain injuries can arise due to accidents such as car crashes, falls and acts of violence. Brain injuries are behind hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations in the United States each year.
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury due to someone else’s careless or wrongful actions, you may be eligible for financial compensation. The Bakersfield brain injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers can represent you in the fight for justice and maximum compensation.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries We Handle
Jacoby & Meyers has been providing clients in California with access to high-quality legal and medical services for over 50 years. Our goal is always to maximize our client’s physical, financial and emotional recovery.
With our years of experience, we are capable of handling cases involving all types of traumatic brain injuries, including:
- Concussions
- Contusions
- Diffuse-axonal injuries
- Penetrating injuries
- Anoxic brain injuries
- Hypoxic brain injuries
- Second-impact syndrome
- Coup-contrecoup injuries
- Shaken baby syndrome
We have a team of skilled attorneys, medical case managers, assistants and negotiators who are ready to aggressively pursue justice for your brain injury. We will empower you to understand the inner workings of the legal process so that you have everything you need to move forward.
Common Causes of Brain Injuries in Bakersfield
Brain injuries in Bakersfield can be caused by a number of accidents and incidents. The most common include:
- Motor vehicle accidents (Highway 99, Highway 58 incidents)
- Motorcycle and bicycle accidents
- Oilfield and agricultural workplace accidents
- Construction site falls and accidents
- Slip and falls on commercial properties
- Sports-related concussions
- Industrial accidents in manufacturing facilities
- Violent assaults and attacks
- Medical malpractice incidents
- Birth injuries
- Defective product incidents
The vast majority of brain injuries in California are preventable. The circumstances surrounding these incidents often involve human error, neglect, carelessness, recklessness and wrongful acts.
Signs and Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury
The brain is responsible for controlling and regulating thought, emotion, memory, autonomic functions and more. For this reason, traumatic brain injuries can cause a wide range of cognitive, physical, emotional, behavioral and sensory symptoms.
Every case is unique, but common complaints include:
- Memory loss
- Confusion or disorientation
- Persistent headache
- Dizziness
- Fatigue and sleep disturbances
- Trouble communicating
- Blurred vision
- Ringing in the ears
- Seizures
- Loss of consciousness
Prompt diagnosis and medical care are crucial for recovering from brain injuries. Unfortunately, victims do not always immediately recognize their brain injuries. They may have hidden or delayed symptoms that do not appear until hours or even days after the accident. This is why immediate medical care is necessary.
The Legal Process for Brain Injury Claims
In Bakersfield, a brain injury victim or the victim’s family could file a claim in pursuit of financial compensation if someone else is responsible for causing or contributing to the injury. Liability, or financial responsibility, for a brain injury is based on the doctrine of negligence, meaning the failure to exercise proper care to prevent harm to others.
If an individual or entity is negligent, that party could be held accountable for causing a traumatic brain injury. Seeking financial compensation as a victim may involve filing an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit with the Kern County Superior Court. However, most personal injury cases in California reach settlements.
Calculating Damages in Brain Injury Cases
The goal of a personal injury claim is to make an accident victim whole again by providing financial compensation to make up for the victim’s losses. A successful claim could lead to economic and noneconomic damages, or compensation, for a variety of losses.
Examples include:
- Current medical expenses
- Future medical and care costs
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Home modifications and assistive technology
- In-home care expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium for family members
- Potential punitive damages
- Life-care planning experts
Understanding the value of your brain injury case may take consulting with a knowledgeable Bakersfield personal injury lawyer. An attorney can analyze your case and all of your related losses to come up with an accurate case value. You and your lawyer can then use this number as a guideline during settlement negotiations.
Why Brain Injury Cases Require Specialized Legal Representation
Brain injury cases in Bakersfield come with many legal complexities and issues that can be difficult to handle – especially when you are up against insurance companies that only want to protect their own interests. Hiring a brain injury lawyer can make it possible to navigate your case in a way that maximizes its results.
A lawyer can hire brain injury experts to provide medical testimony, for example, to help you prove “invisible” injuries and symptoms caused by brain trauma. A lawyer with experience with neuropsychological testing, an understanding of complex brain injury diagnoses, the lifetime care needs and costs associated with brain injuries, and tactics used by insurance companies can significantly improve your claim.
Time Limitations on Bakersfield Brain Injury Claims
Don’t wait, as the clock is ticking on your right to pursue a claim for a traumatic brain injury in Bakersfield. California’s statute of limitations (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1) gives you no more than two years from the date of the accident or injury discovery to file a claim, in most cases.
You could have substantially less time to file, however, if your claim is against a government agency. State law in this situation gives a victim no more than six months to file a notice with the appropriate agency. You may have more time to file, on the other hand, if your case involves an injured minor. Contact an attorney without delay to avoid missing your deadline.
Schedule Your Free Brain Injury Case Consultation in Bakersfield at Jacoby & Meyers
A traumatic brain injury can turn your life upside-down. At Jacoby & Meyers, our Bakersfield brain injury lawyers are here to help you protect your rights and aggressively pursue the justice that you deserve.
We will use personalized legal strategies as we investigate your case, gather evidence, negotiate with insurance corporations and bring your case to trial, as needed. Specialized brain injury representation can make all the difference to the outcome of your case.
Find out how we can help you during a free initial case review. Schedule your consultation with our local attorneys at (661) 402-8934 or by contacting us online 24/7.