Proving a TBI in a Truck Accident Case
Suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a truck accident can change your life forever. Many TBI survivors have lasting disabilities that make it hard to work or enjoy life as they did before the crash. Massive medical bills make life even harder. One study estimated the lifetime cost of brain injury treatment ranges from $85,000 to $3 million.
Another report found that the cost of TBI rehabilitation ranged from $1,600 to $46,000 over a four-year period. These astronomical expenses make it crucial for brain injury victims to obtain fair compensation to support their recovery. However, proving a TBI in a truck accident case can be difficult without support from a skilled legal team.
If you or a loved one is living with a head injury after a commercial truck accident in Southern California, contact the Law Offices of Pius Joseph. With over 30 years of legal experience, personal injury lawyer Pius Joseph has recovered millions of dollars in truck accident settlements and verdicts for injured people. Put our law firm to work for you. Contact us now for a free consultation.
Why You Need a Pasadena Truck Accident Lawyer After a Brain Injury
Hiring a truck accident lawyer after a TBI provides crucial legal protection for accident victims. Brain injuries from truck accidents are often severe and have long-lasting effects. However, proving the serious effects of a TBI can be challenging, especially if you sustained a closed head injury. Without visible symptoms, the insurance company may downplay the injury’s impact on your life. An experienced attorney can gather supporting medical evidence and expert testimony to demonstrate the complexities of brain trauma.
In addition, truck accident claims have legal complexities that are not found in the average motor vehicle accident. Truck crashes often involve multiple parties — like a negligent truck driver, the trucking company, or even a parts manufacturer— and each may have its own insurance and legal team working against you. A knowledgeable lawyer can identify all potentially liable parties and gather evidence so you can seek compensation from all available resources. With proper legal support, you’ll have a better chance of holding the right people accountable and recovering the compensation you need.
Compensation from a truck accident case can cover medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning potential, pain and suffering, and more. A qualified truck accident attorney can calculate the value of your brain injury case and gather the evidence necessary to prove liability.
Common Causes of TBIs in Truck Accidents
A traumatic brain injury occurs from a jolt to the head that disrupts normal brain function. Various types of trauma sustained in a truck accident could cause a TBI, including:
- Direct impact – A person’s head may strike a window, dashboard, steering wheel, or headrest during a collision. This blunt-force trauma can cause a concussion, skull fracture, or more serious brain damage.
- Sudden acceleration/deceleration – Even without a direct blow to the head, the body’s rapid back-and-forth motion during a crash can cause the brain to move inside the skull. This violent motion can result in a diffuse axonal injury, damaging brain cells and disrupting normal mental functions.
- Flying debris – Shattered glass, loose objects, or vehicle parts can hit the head with enough force to cause a TBI. These injuries may pierce the skull and lodge in delicate brain tissues, leading to widespread damage.
- Rollovers – If the collision causes a smaller vehicle to roll, the twisting and crushing forces can cause severe head trauma, even for truck accident victims wearing seatbelts.
- Vehicle ejection – Hitting the ground after being thrown from a car can lead to severe and fatal brain injuries.
Always seek medical attention after a commercial truck accident, even if you don’t feel injured. Prompt medical treatment may identify serious injuries that go undetected but cause severe trauma later.
Challenges in Proving a Traumatic Brain Injury Claim
Proving you suffered a traumatic brain injury in a truck crash can be difficult, even when the injury has profound effects on your life. Some TBIs don’t appear on standard tests like X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. Imaging tests may also not be able to detect microscopic damage to neurons and brain connections.
Similarly, the symptoms of a brain injury — such as memory problems, mood swings, headaches, or difficulty concentrating — can be hard to measure and may take days or weeks to appear. Insurance companies often use these delayed-onset symptoms to their advantage by claiming the injury isn’t serious or wasn’t caused by the tractor-trailer collision. Adjusters may try to blame the symptoms on stress, age, or preexisting medical conditions.
Another hurdle is showing how your brain injury affects your daily life. Unlike a broken bone, a brain injury might not be evident to others but can still interfere with your ability to work, drive, or enjoy time with your family. You need strong medical evidence, expert opinions, and clear documentation of your symptoms and struggles to overcome these challenges and substantiate your insurance claim.
Even catastrophic brain injuries can be challenging to prove in court. While imaging tests can show clear signs of bleeding or other physical damage, every person recovers differently from a TBI. An experienced Pasadena truck accident lawyer can collect persuasive evidence from doctors, therapists, vocational experts, witnesses, and caregivers to support your case.
What Medical Evidence Can Prove a TBI Case?
Medical evidence in a brain injury claim can include:
- Emergency room records
- Accident-related medical records
- Brain imaging scans
- Neurologist evaluations
- Neuropsychological testing
- Treatment records and progress notes
- Eyewitness statements from the accident scene
- Witness statements describing you before and after the crash
The Role of Expert Witnesses in TBI Lawsuits
Expert witnesses play a key role in TBI truck accident lawsuits, especially when the symptoms are difficult to see or understand. These professionals can help explain complex medical and scientific details in a way that judges, juries, and insurance companies can understand.
For example, a neurologist might testify about the long-term effects that you might experience due to your brain injury. A neuropsychologist could describe how the TBI impacted your memory, attention, or behavior.
Similarly, vocational experts can explain how a TBI affects your ability to work or earn a living. In some cases, accident reconstruction experts or trucking industry professionals can also support the claim by showing how the crash happened and who caused it.
Contact a Pasadena Truck Accident Lawyer
You need top-quality legal representation to seek maximum compensation in complex truck accident cases. With over three decades of experience in Pasadena personal injury law, Attorney Pius Joseph has taken over 1,000 cases to court and recovered millions of dollars for injured Californians. Call the Law Offices of Pius Joseph today or complete our contact form for a free consultation about your TBI claim.
