Building a strong damages case for traumatic brain injuries: work with experienced legal counsel

Brain injury victims can face serious financial consequences as a result of their injury. Working with experienced legal counsel to build a sound cases for damages is critical to ensuring fair compensation.

In any personal injury case, obtaining fair compensation is one of the primary goals of pursuing litigation. This is true whether or not there is some other motive for pursuing a case in court, such as holding the opposing party accountable for wrongdoing or bringing public attention to the matter. In some cases, it may be possible to resolve a personal injury case outside court, but an accident victim may still choose to bring the case to trial to pursue a better result. This decision to do this has, of course, to take into consideration the strength of the case, the likely payout in the event of a favorable result, and the costs of pursuing litigation.

Like establishing liability, it is critical for accident victims to build a sound basis for the damages they seek in their case. This isn't necessarily an easy matter, though, especially when it comes to fairly estimating damages associated with catastrophic injuries, such as a traumatic brain injury. Skilled legal counsel is necessary to build the strongest possible case.

Types of damages in brain injury cases

Building a strong case for damages in brain injury cases involves not only building a sound case for liability, but also identifying the types and extent of damages to which the accident victim is entitled. Two general categories of damages typically available in personal injury cases are economic and non-economic damages. These are both considered compensatory damages since they are aimed at compensating the plaintiff for losses.

Important economic damages in brain injury cases include lost earning capacity and lifetime medical costs, both of which can be tricky to accurately measure. Noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, as well as loss of enjoyment of life, are also important to pursue when appropriate, but especially in cases where the economic damages to which the plaintiff is entitled do not provide just compensation based on the severity or effects of the injury. These damages can be particularly important, for example, in cases where the plaintiff's lost earning capacity is relatively small because he or she did not have a high income earning capacity prior to the accident.

In some brain injury cases, punitive damages may be available to the plaintiff. These damages are not intended to compensate the plaintiff, but to punish the defendant in a civil context. Special requirements must be met to receive these damages, and it is important to work with an experienced attorney to build a strong foundation for these damages whenever possible.

Establishing a sound basis for damages through expert testimony

Expert testimony plays an important role in fairly and accurately establishing the amount of damages to which the accident victim is entitled. First of all, there is the need to establish the medical basis for the damages sought. For this, independent medical experts are critical, since they provide the medical background necessary to clearly explain the severity and effects of the injury on the victim.

Damages experts also play a potentially important role, since they can help establish a solid basis for awarding economic damages to the brain injury victim by accurately defining and calculating the economic losses suffered by a plaintiff as a result of a brain injury.

The human touch: appealing to the jury

Appealing to the jury is particularly important in brain injury cases, since the jury determines the award to which the brain injury victim is entitled. Expert witnesses should be able to put the medical basis for damages into clear, understandable terms, and should be able to help a jury to have a solid starting point for making an accurate and fair determination about damages.

When it comes to non-economic damages, appealing to the emotional aspects of the case is especially important. Building an effective case for non-economic damages requires taking into account the circumstances of the case, including the economic damages at play, and a skilled attorney will know how to best approach the matter for the plaintiff's benefit.

Work with experienced legal counsel

Those who have been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident and who have suffered a traumatic brain injury always face profound changes and uncertainty in their life. Financial compensation is critical to ensure they don't have to worry unnecessarily about these changes. Skilled legal counsel can help a brain injury victim to hold responsible parties accountable and to obtain the financial compensation he or she deserves.

Keywords: Catastrophic injuries, brain injury