After suffering a brain injury, there are certain actions you need to take quickly. Obviously, someone at the scene needs to contact law enforcement (or notify the property owner in a slip and fall), and then you should seek immediate medical attention. There’s another step that’s just as important, however. Personal Injury Evidence Must Be Gathered and Preserved
Even without the clock on the statute of limitations ticking down, there’s another extremely important reason to call an attorney early. There are details you will need to gather for a successful outcome, whether you pursue damages from insurance, a settlement with the at-fault party, or a court judgement.
Unfortunately, those details won’t remain available forever. Witnesses forget things. Businesses shred old documents. Security camera footage is eventually deleted. All of those pieces of evidence may be crucial to your eventual financial recovery. That’s why you need an attorney to perform a full investigation.
That’s important in any type of accident, but especially so if the liable party is a large corporation, such as a trucking company or retail store chain. Sending a demand letter to retain employment records is one critical way an attorney protects your legal rights while you are recovering from a TBI.
The Sooner You Start a Virginia Claim, the Sooner You Can Recover Financially
It’s important to start the financial recovery process as soon as possible because of the potentially far-reaching impacts of a traumatic brain injury. Achieving maximum medical recovery may be a lengthy process for anyone who sustains a brain injury.
You will also need an attorney to handle the civil side of the case. Even if the at-fault party who caused your injury is charged with a crime, those criminal proceedings won’t do anything for your financial situation. The liable party being found guilty of a crime won’t cover your medical bills or take care of lost wages while you were recovering.
To achieve a financial recovery, a skilled lawyer can help you negotiate with insurance and potentially present your personal injury case to a jury. The end goal is to recover compensation for:
- Adaptive equipment or other home-based changes you have to make to accommodate your condition.
- Health care costs, such as hospital bills, surgical costs, the price of medication, and any out-of-pocket expenses while seeking treatment for your TBI.
- Non-economic damages, which may be extensive with a brain injury and can cover pain, suffering, and lost quality of life. These damages may be particularly important in situations where the victim experiences cognitive, emotional, or language difficulties after the injury.
- Wages you lost while recovering. An additional amount may be necessary to cover lost earning potential if the symptoms of the brain injury result in permanent disability.
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