Whether you are in a car crash on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, a driver hits you in a bike lane in Silicon Valley, or you fall and hit your head while shopping at Safeway El Camino Real, you may suffer a traumatic brain injury.
Going through an accident and a traumatic injury can put your life on hold, affecting your ability to work and live your normal life until you recover. You might never recover from a permanent injury but will need to learn to adapt. When you get a traumatic brain injury in an accident due to the negligence of another party, you can seek compensation to make the post-injury process easier.
You may not know how to approach your injury and collect full compensation for your damages, both present and future. This is especially true when you must deal with your injury and related treatment.
One of the experienced San Mateo traumatic brain injury lawyers from Galine, Frye, Fitting, and Frangos, LLP, is here to help you pursue the best options in your case.
- Types of Accidents that Cause Brain Injuries in San Mateo
- Getting Immediate Treatment for a Possible Brain Injury
- Long-term Effects of Brain Injuries
- Is Someone Else Responsible for Your TBI?
- How Can a San Mateo Brain Injury Attorney Help?
- âSan Mateo Traumatic Brain Injury FAQs
- Call Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP Today to Discuss Your Case at No Cost
- Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP
Types of Accidents that Cause Brain Injuries in San Mateo
A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, affects the way that your brain works, and it is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Traumatic brain injuries occur when there is a blow to the head in a fall, car crash, or another type of accident, or someone’s head shakes violently enough to damage the brain tissue.
When your brain sustains injury in a traumatic accident, it can impair your ability to function in the present and the future.
Common accidents that cause brain injuries in San Mateo are:
- Unintentional falls
- Motor vehicle crashes
- Unintentionally getting struck by or against an object
- Getting hit by falling objects
- Assaults
The cause of the accident that leads to the traumatic brain injury will help determine how your injury claim proceeds and what compensation is available to you. Your local San Mateo brain injury attorney has the experience to identify all sources of compensation and seek financial recovery on your behalf.
Getting Immediate Treatment for a Possible Brain Injury
It is important to seek out immediate medical attention if you have experienced a blow or piercing injury to your head. When your head collides with another object or jolts violently, your brain shakes around inside your skull, and the impact it has against the inside of your cranium can lead to bruising of your brain, bleeding, tissue damage, or worse.
Symptoms of TBIs can vary in severity, and some might go unnoticed in the moments after an accident, which can be a chaotic scene. Seeking out immediate medical care and follow-up opinions from medical professionals will ensure that you begin proper treatment right away and have medical records to prove your injury claim.
Long-term Effects of Brain Injuries
When you have experienced a traumatic brain injury, immediate medical attention is critical to ensure that you do not face life-threatening implications. In the long-term, patients with TBIs will require individualized treatment programs to address the unique needs that their unique brain injury has on their ability to function.
This treatment can include physical therapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiatry or physical medicine, social support, and psychology or psychiatry. Brain injuries can impact your ability to return to work and can result in you requiring life-long healthcare and treatment to manage the symptoms of your injury.
The costs of a brain injury include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and a variety of other losses. Consulting with a San Mateo brain injury attorney before accepting a settlement from the insurance companies and before deciding whether to file a lawsuit will support the best possible outcome of your claim.
Is Someone Else Responsible for Your TBI?
You can collect damages for your injury when it happened due to the negligence of another party, making them liable for your damages and compensation related to the injury. This can happen in many situations, but we do not expect you to master the law and establish an operational understanding of liability. Instead, we’ll give you the basics.
Essentially, when you are in an accident and experience injuries and damages that would not have happened but for the actions of another party, then that party is liable. This can be a person who drives drunk and hits your car, causing a TBI, or in a similar vein, can be a defectively manufactured brake pad that caused your accident and your TBI.
The unique facts and circumstances of your accident will determine if you have the right to damages and compensation from another party, and your experienced brain injury attorney can advise you of what your best options are.
How Can a San Mateo Brain Injury Attorney Help?
The experience of going through an injury is traumatic, and seeking out medical attention and treatment can take up much of your available free time and focus. During this difficult time, negotiating with the insurance companies of the opposing parties in the accident is the last thing you might want to think about and devote your time to, and this is where your brain injury attorney comes into play.
Your attorney steps into your shoes and handles any negotiations with the insurance company and opposing party, removing the stress from your day-to-day life. Further, your attorney has experience with similar cases and knows what kind of damages you should receive for your short- and long-term medical bills, in addition to the loss of earnings and any damages for pain and suffering.
San Mateo Traumatic Brain Injury FAQs
Many residents and visitors consider San Mateo a pristine, even idyllic location. Its location on the San Francisco peninsula means that breathtaking scenery, culture, and an abundance of outdoor activities are available.
What many don’t consider, though, are the hazards that exist in San Mateo. Many of those hazards, like motor vehicle accidents, are a risk anywhere in the United States. Other risks are unique to the region, like suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a fall while hiking the trails of San Mateo.
If you or a loved one have suffered a TBI in San Mateo, some questions to consider include:
What Are Possible Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries in San Mateo?
The cause of a TBI is always relevant, especially when you decide to take legal action.
There possible causes of TBIs in San Mateo include:
- Motor vehicle accidents: With a population of more than 105,000 as of April 2021, San Mateo has many people packed into a relatively small geographical area. Perhaps more than in most cities in the U.S., the risk of motor vehicle accidents in San Mateo is high.
- Pedestrian accidents: For the same reason that motor vehicle accident risk is high in San Mateo—congestion of vehicles in tight geographical quarters—the risk of pedestrian accidents may also increase. This risk may be more significant in the most walkable sections of San Mateo, where pedestrians and vehicles come into close quarters.
- Outdoor accidents: Outdoor parks and trails, like the city’s beloved Coyote Point, provide excellent opportunities for outdoor recreation. Sometimes, good, clean outdoor fun devolves into serious injuries like TBIs.
San Mateo also has the same health hazards that exist nationwide. Accidents involving pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles, and trucks can all result in traumatic brain injuries.
What Should I Do After a TBI in San Mateo?
If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury:
- Seek medical attention for any injuries that you’ve suffered
- Obtain documentation of your medical care, including any diagnoses of your injuries
By creating a record of your injuries, you will have documentation that your brain injury came from a specific event—like an auto accident.
Medical paperwork can also be critical when pursuing compensation for your losses. Once you’ve received medical care, you may turn your attention to a possible insurance claim or lawsuit. The first step you may take in this process is to hire a traumatic brain injury lawyer.
Can I Recover Compensation for a TBI in San Mateo?
You may recover compensation for your traumatic brain injury. An insurance claim or a lawsuit can be the means to your financial recovery.
An attorney from our firm can review your case.
We will identify all losses that have come from your TBI, possibly including:
- Costly medical care: Traumatic brain injury symptoms can last quite a while and possibly through the remainder of your life. The cost of living in San Mateo is high, and these costs may extend to your medical care. Even if you were living in another area, the cost of lifelong medical care will
- Loss of your regular income: If you cannot work while recovering from your TBI, then you may lose your income. We will pursue compensation to replace your wages and any other professional benefits you lose while injured.
- Pain and suffering: The pain of a brain injury can be excruciating. You may also experience other unwanted side effects like personality changes, inability to exercise and complete your routine, and lost quality of life.
- Property damage related to your injury: If your TBI resulted from a motor vehicle accident or another circumstance involving property damage, you may receive money to repair or replace damaged property.
Every TBI case is unique. An attorney will carefully examine your damages. They may work with you, your doctors, and qualified experts to determine the financial value of your case.
How Much Compensation Do I Deserve for a TBI?
This depends on:
- The share of liability for your TBI
- How severe the brain injury is
- If you can recover at all, or whether your symptoms are as severe as when they first emerged
- Doctors’ projections for your recovery
- The amount of income you’ve lost, and your prognosis for returning to work
There are many other factors to weigh when calculating your losses. One thing is certain: Once your attorney determines the value of your case, they should settle for nothing less than you deserve.
Why Shouldn't I Handle a TBI-Related Legal Case on My Own?
No. The civil court system in San Mateo is intimidating, and you do not want to pursue your case without ample experience.
When you’re recovering from a traumatic brain injury, handling a legal case alone is unwise.
Should you choose to forego an attorney and handle your case, you may:
- Make your brain injury worse, as stress and intense focus generally impede your recovery.
- Become quickly overwhelmed by the scope of a lawsuit or insurance claim
- Spend significant time and energy on your case—time and energy that you should focus on recovery and other responsibilities
- Ultimately lose your case, despite all the time and effort you put into it.
Our firm accepts TBI cases at no upfront cost to the client. We only receive a fee if we win your case. The financial risk for you is minimal, and we may recover the compensation you deserve.
Call Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP Today to Discuss Your Case at No Cost
We are ready to help with your TBI case. You can focus intently on your recovery—we will handle the legal side of things. We’re familiar with the civil system and insurance companies serving San Mateo, so we’ll be prepared however your case unfolds.
Call Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos LLP today for a free consultation. Don’t wait—we can start protecting your rights today.
Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP
Address: 411 Borel Ave. #500,San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: (650) 419-0473
Fax: (650) 345-9875