Brain Injuries

Brain Injury—the Causes, the Costs

A brain injury, whether mild or severe, whether caused by a blow to the head or lack of oxygen, can have devastating consequences. At Michels & Watkins in Los Angeles our personal injury attorneys have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of brain injuries, allowing our clients and their families to move forward after such catastrophic events.

Permanent brain damage may result from a variety of causes. A few examples include brain trauma (blow to the head or shaking) resulting from a bicycle accident, lack of oxygen/brain hypoxia (a common birth injury), bacterial meningitis, seizures, or a hospital radiation error.

A person who suffers a moderate case of traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a closed-head injury may not immediately realize there has been permanent brain damage. The symptoms vary from the subtle to the obvious, and may include personality change; memory loss; inability to perform cognitive functions; depression; weakness in body parts; loss of vision, sense of smell, or hearing; depression; and chronic pain.

If you or a member of your family suffered a blow to the head in a slip and fall or car accident, and now is experiencing any of those symptoms, we invite you to contact our Los Angeles office and arrange for a free medical consultation. Our lawyers will work with Bradford S. Davis, M.D., head of our medical team to find out what happened. We may send you to an outside medical expert for an evaluation.

A severe brain injury may result in the need for a lifetime of nursing care, in paralysis, or in a severe mental handicap. When calculating a claim for severe brain damage our attorneys work with financial and life care experts to recover maximum compensation—resources that will allow our client to live with dignity and in comfort. In every example in the following list, the victim could have a personal injury claim against a negligent party:

• A child on a bicycle is hit by a car.
• A passenger in a car hit by a semi truck suffers a severe TBI.
• A college student is injured in a skiing accident.
• A forceps injury during delivery means a child will live with cerebral palsy.
• An unsupervised child suffers a head trauma in a school accident.
• A nursing home resident slips and falls while using the bathroom.
• The emergency room doctor fails to diagnose a brain infection.
• A patient's death results from misdiagnosis of a treatable cerebral hemorrhage.
• Failure to treat maternal Group B Strep results in neonatal meningitis.

Free consultations ∙ Se habla español

Did negligence cause your or your child's brain injury? Contact our LA office and arrange a free consultation. Attorneys at Michels & Watkins will hold those responsible accountable. Our Los Angeles firm serves clients throughout California and surrounding states. Our staff and our lawyers provide far more than legal services, giving our clients the support they need to survive following tragic accidents.