Brain Injury Lawyers Serving Colorado

Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

Imagine losing your ability to think clearly or remember the happy times in your life. Imagine being unable to talk, work, or even perform the everyday tasks you likely take for granted. A severe brain injury can happen in an instant, changing your life forever, and affecting not only your life but the lives of your loved ones as well. At The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya, we hope you never experience this level of physical and emotional trauma. We know just how deeply brain injuries can affect your mind, your body, your excitement about your life, and your family members.

Because of this, we have dedicated ourselves to helping Colorado families heal following a brain injury event.  If your family has been affected by a brain injury, we ask that you give our brain injury attorneys a call. We want to help you get through your brain injury, and we will fight for you and your family as if it were our own. Call today and ask for Dianne.  

Traumatic brain injuries are unpredictable; our team has the knowledge, experience, and skills to help you when the unexpected becomes your reality. A brain injury can happen to anyone—young or old—from all walks of life. The most common causes of brain injury include the following:

Automobile accidents— According to traumaticinjury.com, over half of all reported traumatic brain injuries are the result of an automobile accident. There may or may not be an open wound resulting from the auto accident-caused brain injury. In some cases, the sheer force of an auto accident can cause the brain to collide against the hard bones of the skull. When a moving head comes to a quick stop, the brain continues moving, striking the skull, and leading to bruising or bleeding of the brain. Brain trauma during an automobile accident can also occur when the skull strikes a steering wheel or windshield.

Truck accidents—When a truck collides with a much smaller passenger vehicle, those in the passenger vehicle are likely to suffer severe, even catastrophic injury or death. Brain injuries are likely for those involved in a truck accident.

Motorcycle accidents—Motorcyclists who do not wear a helmet have virtually no protection in the event of a collision. When a motorcyclist’s head comes into contact with the pavement, an automobile, or another fixed object, brain injury is often the result.

Pedestrian/automobile accidents—Like motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists have no protection in the event of an accident—unless the bicyclist wears a helmet.

Construction site accidents—According to Industrial Safety and Hygiene News, constructions workers are among those with the highest risk of traumatic brain injuries. In fact, in 2011, the construction sector had the highest number of TBIs of any industry in the U.S., with nearly 7,300 occupational traumatic brain injury deaths occurring between 2003 and 2008—of these the construction, transportation, and agriculture industries recorded nearly half of those deaths.

Workplace accidents—Traumatic brain injuries are among the most dangerous on-the-job injuries that employees can face, as well as one of the most difficult to diagnose. An employee working in an environment like a construction site or a large assembly line is certainly more exposed to potential brain injuries, but any employee in any work environment can be susceptible to a brain injury.

Home improvement accidents—Many contractors find themselves injured when they are working on the roof or working off a ladder, and such falls can definitely result in brain injuries as well.

Recreational activities—According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, one of the leading causes of death from sports-related injuries is traumatic brain injuries. Further, sports and recreational activities contribute to about 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among children and teens.

Violence, including gunshot wounds—Brainline.org says that while the exact number of violence-related traumatic brain injuries is not known, it is estimated that 11 percent of all TBI deaths, hospitalizations, and ER visits are related to assaults.

Military attacks or bomb blasts—According to the S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, about 22 percent of all combat casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan are brain injuries, compared with about 12 percent of Vietnam-related combat casualties.

According to the CDC, in 2014, there were 2.87 million traumatic brain injuries which resulted in an emergency room visit, hospitalization, or death. Further, there was a 56 percent increase during that same year of ER visits related to brain injuries. Across the United States, traumatic brain injuries are a major cause of disability and death; those who survive may be facing months, years, or a lifetime of consequences resulting from a traumatic brain injury.

Aside from auto accidents, falls are a primary cause of traumatic brain injuries, accounting for almost half of all brain injury ER visits, according to CDC statistics. Traumatic brain injuries tend to disproportionately affect children and the elderly, with as many as four in five brain injury-related ER visits among those over the age of 65 were the result of a fall. Likewise, an equal number of brain injury-related ER visits for children between the ages of infant and 17 are also the result of a fall.

The Different Types of Brain Injury

While any brain injury can change your life, there are different types of brain injury as well as different levels. The different types of brain injury include:

• Traumatic Brain Injury;
• Concussion;
• Brain damage;
• Closed head trauma;
• Blunt head trauma;
• Short-term memory loss;
• Post-concussive injury, and
• Mild traumatic brain injury.

Brain Injury Symptoms

The symptoms of brain injuries vary depending on a few factors; injury history, pre-existing conditions, location, and severity of trauma. While doctors and brain specialists may try to calculate the exact symptoms you could experience following a traumatic brain injury, there are still plenty of variables. Because of this, it is incredibly important to have a highly experienced attorney in your corner, like Dianne Sawaya, who understands concussions, head traumas, and TBIs. This is never an issue you should leave to an inexperienced attorney—your life and your future are at stake. It is particularly important that you have a legal team who understands your injuries, the many variables involved, and the financial devastation which can result from a traumatic brain injury.

Brain Injury FAQs

1. What is a traumatic brain injury? When a person experiences any forceful contact to the head, it can disrupt the natural functions of the brain, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. While a brain can also be injured by an infection or a stroke, those types of injuries are known as “acquired brain injuries.” A traumatic brain injury can be mild, moderate, or severe. While most people who sustain a mild, or even moderate TBI find that their symptoms improve over time, in more serious brain injuries, the effects can last a lifetime.
2. How does a traumatic brain injury affect a person’s life? Anything that has to do with your brain—which is virtually every bodily function—can potentially be affected when a TBI occurs. Even the most basic body functions, like eating and sleeping, can be altered following a TBI. The more complex parts of life, such as the ability to communicate, the ability to remember, your thoughts and your emotions can also be affected by a brain injury. In extremely serious cases of traumatic brain injury, the brain’s electrical system can cause seizures in the body, as well as increasing the risk for Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. Some of the obstacles for those with a TBI, are persistent, lifelong disabilities. It can be extremely hard to find necessary services, and overwhelming financially, logistically and psychologically.
3. What are the most frequent unmet needs of a person with a traumatic brain injury? Even many months or years after a brain injury occurs, many victims of TBI find they need specific things that simply are not readily available. Some of those unmet needs include:

• Improvement of job skills;
• Managing stress and emotional upsets;
• Controlling emotions, such as temper and frustration, and
• Improving memory and problem-solving skills.

4. What are some of the long-term effects of TBI? Because the human brain is so complex, it is extremely difficult for doctors to predict the long-term effects of TBI. When a serious traumatic brain injury occurs, a person may experience such long-term effects as:

• Difficulty paying attention;
• Difficulty concentrating;
• Trouble with basic cognitive skills;
• Difficulty learning new skills;
• Difficulty remembering skills learned prior to the injury;
• A slowing down of thinking abilities;
• Becoming confused easily;
• A lack of ability to perceive a situation;
• Lack of impulse control;
• Developing unusual habits;
• Difficulty talking;
• Difficulty listening;
• Extreme personality changes;
• Mood swings;
• Irritability, depression, aggression or disinhibition;
• Changes in smell, taste, touch, or hearing;
• Problems with balance—vertigo and ringing in the ears, and
• Muscle tightening which affects the ability to move, swallow, and breathe.

5. How are Traumatic Brain Injuries treated? If the initial examining doctor believes the TBI is mild, the patient may be evaluated, tested, and possibly discharged, with follow-up recommendations. For those with moderate or more severe traumatic brain injury, surgery, intensive care, acute care, or a combination of the three may be warranted. Once the person with the brain injury is medically stable, the available treatment options may include: acute rehabilitation programs, post-acute rehabilitation centers, sub-acute care through a skilled nursing facility, neurobehavioral management programs, long-term care or supervised living situations, residential facilities which specialize in TBI, outpatient rehabilitation, neuropsychological testing, and in-home treatment provided by medical professionals.
6. How will I pay for all these necessary treatments for my TBI? It can take an enormous amount of money, time, and resources to effectively deal with TBI, placing TBI victims and their families under significant financial strain. Your traumatic brain injury attorney will be able to help you obtain the type of assistance you need and will know of all the available resources for TBI patients. If your TBI is the result of negligence on the part of another person or entity, your Colorado personal injury attorney can file a claim on your behalf to help you recoup your medical expenses and lost wages, as well as compensation for your pain and suffering. Your attorney from The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya can help you with housing issues, as well as helping you obtain vocational rehabilitation, when appropriate, to assist you in obtaining a new job.

How The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya Can Help

The experienced brain injury lawyers at The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya will not let you be taken advantage of. We have an extensive network of experts and specialists, including neurosurgeons, neurologists, vocational rehabilitation experts, cognitive retraining specialists, and life care planners. These experts and specialists will work with us to build a case on your behalf. Dianne Sawaya is smart, aggressive, and compassionate at a time when you most need those qualities. At The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya, we will help ensure you obtain the medical treatment you need—we will not simply recommend these treatments, we will schedule your appointment and make sure you receive proper care.

We understand just how complex brain injuries are. Insurance companies may attempt to pay you as little as they can get away with, without adequately considering the profound changes to your future following a brain injury. If you need ongoing care for the remainder of your life, you will require a significant level of financial resources. We will fight hard to obtain the money you need to live a healthy and productive life—to see your future in a new light. Dianne Sawaya understands just how drastically your life has been changed as a result of your injury. You, as well as your entire family, are dealing and coping with these changes, and we can give you the help you need—help which does not start and finish in the courtroom. We will be your advocates from start to finish, providing the emotional support you need and deserve. Contact The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya today.

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