Florida Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is usually a life-altering event for the TBI victim and their family. TBI, which is actually a broad term that can encompass concussion and post-concussion syndrome (PCS), can leave its victims temporarily injured or permanently impaired.

Outside of military service, falls and car accidents are the leading causes of head and brain injury in American adults. If another person’s negligence causes a TBI, they can be held accountable for the injured party’s pain and suffering and financial losses.

Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney, helps TBI victims injured in slips and falls, car crashes and other accidents across South Florida and the Treasure Coast, including those occurring in Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Okeechobee, Fort Pierce, Jupiter, Palm Beach and Vero Beach. For a free consultation, call us today at our toll-free number or use our online contact form.

TBI and Other Head Injuries  

“Traumatic brain injury” refers to various levels of brain damage. A blow or jolt that slams the brain into the skull can cause trauma that is minor and temporary or major and long-lasting.

Data from the Florida Department of Health reveal that in 2021 alone, 5,406 Floridians died of traumatic brain injury while 37,646 sustained non-fatal TBI. The counties with the most brain injury fatalities in 2021 were:

• Hillsborough County — 459 deaths
• Broward County — 330 deaths
• Miami-Dade County — 316 deaths
• Palm Beach County — 314 deaths
• Orange County — 275 deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that every single day in the US, there are 611 brain injury hospitalizations and 190 TBI-related fatalities. People age 75 and older are at higher risk, accounting for 32 percent of TBI hospitalizations and 28 percent of brain injury deaths.

The CDC, Mayo Clinic, and other medical sources generally recognize three categories of traumatic brain injury:

• Concussion – A less-severe blow to the head can cause this temporary condition, which may include loss of consciousness. Concussion symptoms include headache and problems with concentration, memory, judgment, balance and coordination. Concussion victims are prescribed rest and are monitored to ensure their injury is not worse. Most people who suffer a concussion fully recover.  

• Severe TBI – Severe TBI involves bruising, torn tissue, bleeding and other physical damage in the brain. It may be closed-injury TBI, or injury caused by movement of the brain within the skull, or penetrating TBI, which means a foreign object has entered the skull and torn into brain tissue.

Severe TBI symptoms may include nerve damage, cognitive damage (learning, judgment, memory, etc.), emotional and behavioral changes (depression, outbursts, mood swings, etc.), communication and sensory problems, coma, and degenerative brain disease, which leads to death.  

• Post-concussion syndrome – This is the result of a blow to the head after which concussion symptoms persist for a few months to a year or more, and may lead to anxiety and depression.

What Causes Traumatic Brain Injury?  

Banging your head in a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident is the most common cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the CDC says. The agency reports that nearly a third (29.9 percent) of all TBI deaths in 2018 and 2019 were from unintentional falls. It also notes that one of every five falls result in serious injuries such as TBI.

Traumatic brain injuries can also result from banging your head in a car accident, such as on the dashboard or the side of a vehicle’s interior. According to the CDC, 17 percent of TBI deaths from 2018 to 2019 were from motor vehicle crashes. If a person’s head is suddenly jerked upon impact, such as in a rear-end accident, that may also result in a closed-wound TBI, though rear-end accidents are also closely associated with whiplash.

Falling objects cause many concussions and more severe TBIs. Injuries from falling objects are among the leading job-site injuries, particularly at construction sites. Merchandise stacked in retail stores can also fall and hit people in the head.

Violence, too, can lead to TBI and is normally the source of a penetrating injury to the brain, such as a gunshot wound. A type of child abuse symptom called “shaken baby syndrome” is a form of closed-injury TBI.

Beyond the physical injury of TBI, recovery from brain injuries may be long and difficult. This can result in steep medical expenses and additional costs – not the least of which is a temporary or permanent loss of the ability to earn a living.

Moderate TBI and PCS may require medication and physical therapy. Patients of severe TBI may need ongoing medication and physical therapy, as well as personal assistive devices and/or in-home care. Some families may have to renovate their home to accommodate a TBI victim who is wheelchair-bound or bed-ridden.

Contact a Florida Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Today

A Florida traumatic brain injury victim who was not at fault for the accident that caused their injury has a right to seek money for their losses. If you or a loved one has suffered TBI, or you have lost a loved one in an accident that resulted in TBI, Florida traumatic brain injury lawyer Philip DeBerard is on your side.

From our office in Stuart, Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney, has obtained millions of dollars in compensation for accident victims throughout South Florida and have offices in Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach, Okeechobee, Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach.

Call us today toll free or fill out our online contact form to arrange a free consultation about your case. We can put our legal team to work on securing compensation for you right away.