San Antonio Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

Areas in Greater San Antonio We Serve

Wherever you are in Greater San Antonio, our head injury lawyer can help you recover the compensation you deserve. Click on the areas below to see how we can help if you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury:

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A TBI happens when the brain is damaged by a sudden external force, such as a blow to the head. While this injury varies in severity, it is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that can cause a range of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms.

The definition of a TBI according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is “an injury that affects how the brain works”.

According to the Texas Division of the Brain Injury Association of America, more than 144 thousand Texans sustain a traumatic brain injury every year. Approximately 5,700 of those injuries cause permanent disability, resulting in a total of around 380 thousand Texans living with a TBI-related disability.

You have the right to hold the person or organization responsible for your accident accountable.

Why Hire a Brain Injury Lawyer?

Traumatic brain injuries often cause cognitive, emotional, and physical impairments that can severely affect a person’s quality of life. Accident survivors who have sustained brain injuries can develop secondary conditions such as dysarthria, requiring long-term speech and language therapy to relearn how to communicate verbally. Others might develop depression and become withdrawn or even feel suicidal. Some can never work again, become reliant on their loved ones for basic care, lose all independence, and will need ongoing treatment and monitoring for the rest of their lives with little to no likelihood of recovering their previous brain function.

You are entitled to recover your past and future incurred costs and additional compensation for the consequences of your injury that do not have a subjective monetary value — such as emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of independence, and the inability to enjoy activities and hobbies you loved to do before your injury.

A San Antonio traumatic brain injury attorney can ensure you receive the compensation you’re entitled to. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters appointed to your claim will try to minimize the settlement they pay, leading them to make low-ball offers that don’t come close to your claim’s full value. A lawyer can gather evidence to prove the other party’s fault, negotiate with insurers to get you the best possible result, protect your rights, and prevent you from being taken advantage of while you are vulnerable. We can also file a lawsuit and represent you in court if negotiations fail.

Doctor, attorney, veteran, and the founder of Patino Law Firm, Louis “Doc” Patino is a top San Antonio brain injury attorney dedicated to helping San Antonio residents recover compensation for accidents that weren’t their fault.

What Are the Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Every accident is unique, as are the injuries sustained, and TBIs are no exception. The symptoms of a brain injury vary massively based on several factors, including the part of the brain injured, the severity of the impact, and the victim’s age and medical history.

For example, an injury that causes bleeding will likely be more severe and cause different symptoms than a knock that doesn’t penetrate the skin. A TBI is also more likely to be more dangerous if you’ve hit your head before.

A doctor will classify a brain injury into one of three categories:

• Mild TBI
• Moderate TBI
• Severe TBI.

This classification is determined by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), a system used to score a person’s consciousness level. By assessing verbal, motor, and eye responses, doctors can determine an accident victim’s alertness and brain function. Each response is scored, with the total indicating the severity of the traumatic brain injury.

The GCS uses an inverse outcome scale, where a lower score indicates a more severe brain injury. The scoring ranges used, as outlined by the Cleveland Clinic, are:

Despite the name, even “mild” brain injuries are serious. For example, concussion — a type of mild TBI occurring when a blow to the head causes the brain to move — can lead to persistent symptoms that impact quality of life or make victims vulnerable to more severe head trauma.

No two TBI victims will have the same experience, but some of the most common brain injury symptoms shared across all categories include the following:

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Trouble sleeping
• Inability to work or go to school
• Loss of memory
• Dysarthria (slurred speech)
• Trouble reading or understanding language
• Inattention
• Weakness or paralysis
• Dizziness
• Poor coordination
• Loss of fine motor skills (individuals may struggle to pick up a pen and write or eat with utensils)
• Seizures
• Mood swings
• Feeling nauseous
• Vomiting
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Trouble regulating emotions, resulting in frustration.

Who Is Liable for a Traumatic Brain Injury in San Antonio?

Many parties can be liable if you suffer a TBI in an accident in San Antonio. Depending on how your accident happened, a single person may be at fault, or you may be able to recover compensation from multiple parties that all played a role in causing the accident.

For example, you may be able to claim from the truck driver and the trucking company that employed them if your accident happened because the trucker was not qualified to operate the semi-truck. Other potentially liable parties in an auto accident include a manufacturer, contractor, or other organization.

If you have a TBI because of a condition or accident resulting from medical malpractice, you may be able to hold the doctor or medical professional liable. This can happen if a doctor prescribes the wrong medication and it causes you to collapse and hit your head or if a consultant fails to diagnose a medical condition that leads to you having a stroke.

If you slip at a restaurant or on someone else’s property because it wasn’t maintained or hazards weren’t signposted — such as wet floor signs near a spillage — the business or property owner may be held liable.

Or, if a defective product causes a TBI, several parties may be responsible, including the manufacturer of the product and the company that sold it.

Determining who’s at fault for your TBI is always one of the first steps in seeing if you have a personal injury claim. A San Antonio traumatic brain injury attorney can help you understand your rights and options, as well as advocate on your behalf to get you the maximum compensation possible.

How Do You Prove Fault after a TBI Accident?

Recovering compensation in a personal injury claim can be challenging as there are strict criteria under the law you must prove. Personal injury claims are a type of civil claim and have the lowest burden of proof, but that does not mean showing a party’s liability is easy.

To be entitled to compensation, you must prove several elements by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning your injuries were more likely than not caused by the party you are bringing a claim against.

These elements are:

• Duty of care (the responsible person or party was obligated to act in a way that would not harm you).

• Breach of duty (the at-fault party breached that duty through negligence or recklessness).

• Causation (the party’s negligent or reckless actions caused your injuries).

• Damages (you suffered losses as a result — whether lost wages or money you’ve had to spend on medical bills or a loss of good health because you are in pain).

Proving these elements comes down to having substantial evidence. Evidence can take the form of:

• Medical records: Medical records, including diagnostic tests and treatment records, can help to establish the presence of a TBI and its severity.
• Expert testimony: Expert testimony from medical professionals can provide insight into the treatment already administered and what future treatment is needed to achieve maximum recovery.
• Eyewitness testimony: Individuals who witnessed the event that caused the TBI can testify about what they saw (such as a visible head injury) and even who was responsible.
• Surveillance footage or photos: Surveillance footage or photos of the event that caused the TBI can show when your injury occurred (preventing the other party from claiming it happened later) and help establish who was at fault.
• Accident reports: In an auto accident, accident reports, such as the crash report filed by police at the scene, provide a record of how the accident happened and the injuries sustained.
• Bills and wage slips: Invoices, estimates, and payslips can prove your previous income and the bills you’ve incurred, allowing you to recover treatment costs and lost wages.

It is important to work with an experienced brain injury lawyer in San Antonio, who can help you gather and present the evidence necessary to prove your TBI and recover the compensation you’re owed.

How Much Compensation Can You Recover for a Traumatic Brain Injury?

If your personal injury claim is successful, you will receive compensation for your injuries. There are various types of compensation you may receive.