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Brain injuries are common after many types of car wrecks, including rear-end collisions and hit-and-runs. At first, your symptoms might be mild. But as the days progress, you slowly realize that something is seriously wrong and even recognize signs of brain injury after a car accident. What can you do?
Moffitt Law, LLC, represents accident victims as they seek justice and financial compensation. In this article, we identify what steps you should take to help with an insurance claim. Contact a LaGrange car accident lawyer at our firm for assistance. The sooner you begin building a claim for compensation, the stronger your chances of success.
Go to the Hospital
We recommend going to the hospital as soon as you finish with the police at the accident scene.
However, some brain injuries take a few days to fully manifest, and some people head home because they think they’re “fine.” However, you should go to the hospital as soon as you recognize signs of brain injury after a car accident.
One common injury is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). You might have suffered this injury if you experienced:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Memory loss
- Inability to stand up or coordinate your limbs
- Difficulty speaking
- Disrupted sleep schedule
Other brain injuries are life-threatening. For example, you might be bleeding inside your skull. If you don’t stop the bleeding, the pressure can build until all blood flow is cut off from your brain and you eventually die. A “thunderclap” headache is a common symptom that requires an immediate trip to the hospital.
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
A TBI takes time to heal. Medication might help with symptoms, like sleeplessness or anxiety but it is not a cure. You will mostly need to take it easy for months at a time until you slowly return to normal.
A second TBI so soon after the first could be catastrophic, we recommend not pushing yourself with activities.
Preserve All Medical Bills & Other Expenses
A moderate or severe TBI might require physical therapy and other rehabilitation so you can try to get back to normal. Many moderate or severe TBIs leave people unable to walk or grasp items. Intense physical therapy is required.
Other rehabilitation includes speech therapy, behavioral therapy, and occupation therapy. Remember to keep all medical bills, insurance statements, and prescription drug receipts. We want to show how much your medical care has cost. When a negligent driver injures you, we can demand their insurance company pay compensation for medical bills.
If you can’t work, then hang onto documentation for your income. A salaried employee probably has a W-2, pay stubs, or a contract. Anyone self-employed can also use business records to show how much they typically earn. You can also request compensation for lost wages or income.
Open a Car Accident Claim
You can call your own insurance company to open the claim. You hopefully got insurance information from the other driver involved in the wreck. However, if you were knocked unconscious, then you’ll get this information off the police report.
You don’t have to answer detailed questions about the crash after the wreck. Instead, simply report the claim and include basic information such as the location, date, and time.
Document Your Pain and Suffering
Brain injuries are enormously disruptive. Many people cannot work due to pain, instability, and memory problems. Instead, they are stuck at home for months trying to avoid looking at a computer screen.
You should fully document how the accident has made you feel. In LaGrange, you can receive financial compensation for pain and suffering, as well as mental distress caused by an accident.
We recommend keeping a journal. Each day, you can report how you are feeling physically and mentally. If you are in pain, the record where you feel it. Similarly, note whether you are depressed, lethargic, or unable to sleep. We can seek to introduce this journal into evidence to paint a vivid picture of how your brain injury has altered your life.
Arrange a Consultation Today
A LaGrange car accident attorney at Moffitt Law, LLC, is available to talk with anyone who was hurt in a collision. A brain injury makes it almost impossible for someone to negotiate their settlement.
Instead, you should get experienced legal assistance from a law firm with a track record of success.
Contact us to speak with a member of our team. We have obtained more than a million dollars for our personal injury clients.
