Colorado Springs Brain Injury Lawyer

What Qualifies as a Brain Injury?

While your cranium envelops your brain to protect it against damage, it is not impervious to harm. There are several ways your brain can suffer trauma that qualifies as a brain injury under Colorado law, including:

Blunt-Force Trauma or Concussion

A blunt-force injury occurs when a foreign object hits your head, and the force of that impact travels through your skull to cause trauma to the brain. The site of the impact suffers immediate harm, but as the force travels across your brain, other parts of your brain can be affected as well.

Piercing Brain Injury

In piercing brain injuries, a foreign object breaks through your skull and inflicts injury directly to your brain. These are catastrophic injuries that can easily result in death or severe and permanent impairment. Acts of violence committed with weapons — such as gunshot wounds — and workplace head injuries can result in piercing TBIs.

Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury

The brain contains many axons, which are long connective fibers that help transmit signals from one part of the brain to another. An injury accident can cause the brain to move within the skull and tear or break these axons. 

This form of TBI often happens in car accidents, where the forward-and-backward movement of the head can damage or destroy axons.

Anoxic Brain Injury

The brain can also be injured and suffer irreparable harm if the supply of oxygen-rich blood is interrupted. Without a sufficient supply of oxygen, the brain can begin to die within a matter of minutes. 

Sometimes, a medical condition, such as a stroke, can lead to this type of TBI. Other cases of anoxic brain injury are the result of negligence, such as medical errors and accidental drownings.

Frequent Symptoms of Brain Injuries

There is a set of symptoms commonly associated with brain injuries, regardless of the injury mechanism. These symptoms include the following:

• Unconsciousness, even for brief periods of time
• Seizures
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headaches and dizziness
• Memory loss and new feelings of forgetfulness
• Mood swings and behavior changes

If you notice any of these symptoms following a blow to the head or other head injury, it is crucial that you seek immediate medical help. The longer you delay in getting medical care, the greater the risk that you might suffer serious or permanent brain damage.

Contact Bachus & Schanker to learn more about what steps to take following a brain injury accident in Colorado Springs.

Common Causes of Brain Injuries

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify acts of violence, motor vehicle crashes, and falls as some of the most common ways people sustain brain injuries. Other types of accidents that can lead to brain injury include:

• Boating accidents
• Motorcycle and bicycle crashes, especially if you are not wearing a helmet
• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Medical malpractice

Many accidents that result in brain injuries are preventable. Negligence, or careless actions and behaviors, contribute to a significant number of traumatic brain injuries. 

Liability for Brain Injuries in Colorado Springs

Brain injury law in Colorado holds that individuals who cause or contribute to an accident that leads to a brain injury are legally responsible for paying damages. For example, if you sustain a brain injury in a car accident on the highway, the driver who caused the crash can be held liable for paying damages.

Colorado law allows you to recover damages from another party even if you were partly to blame for the accident or contributed to your injuries. For example, suppose that you are hurt in a car accident caused by another person but delay getting medical treatment. This delay leads to additional symptoms and treatment. 

You could still potentially recover damages in this scenario even if your delay in treatment caused a portion of your harm related to the accident.

If you believe someone may be responsible for causing you to suffer a brain injury, it is important that you talk with the Bachus & Schanker right away about your rights and next steps.

Brain Injury Cases Our Attorneys Can Assist With

No matter how your brain injury was inflicted or how severe your symptoms are, Bachus & Schanker is capable of assisting you if another person is partly or wholly responsible for your injuries. 

Even if you are not certain how your accident occurred or whether you might be partly responsible, Bachus & Schanker can investigate the circumstances of your case and determine the best path forward. If another person is responsible, we can pursue compensation on your behalf and fight to protect your rights at every step.

What To Expect Following a Brain Injury Accident

Following an accident where you suffer trauma to your head or notice symptoms of a brain injury, it’s important to get to a hospital emergency room right away. It is best to err on the side of caution and get evaluated quickly since brain damage can worsen if left untreated.

Medical professionals may conduct one or more scans of your head using a computed tomography scan (CT scan). Other imaging devices may also be used to look at your brain and detect any signs of injury or bleeding. Any abnormalities that imaging reveals will then be followed up with additional tests and a course of treatment.

If no injuries are detected, you may be sent home to monitor your symptoms. It is critical that you remain vigilant for new or worsening symptoms over the next several days. If you believe your symptoms are getting worse, you should visit your provider immediately for further care.

The Basics of Brain Injury Claims

While every brain injury claim is different, there are certain basics that virtually all injury claims share in Colorado. For example, if you decide to file a brain injury claim with help from Bachus & Schanker, we will prepare and file a claim seeking damages from the person who caused your injuries. 

Within your claim, we may seek damages to help you pay for your:

• Medical bills and hospital stays
• Ongoing medical and therapeutic needs
• Lost wages and reduced earning potential
• Pain, suffering, and emotional distress

These compensatory damages are meant to address the financial and other costs you can experience as a result of your injury. To brain injury lawyers, though, your losses extend beyond even what you personally suffer. If your family will also experience losses because they need to care for you long-term, those costs may be compensable as well. 

Finally, punitive damages may be available if your brain injury results from especially reckless or egregious conduct by the at-fault party.

Statutory limits can restrict the total amount of compensation you can receive. Remember, you may be entitled to compensation even if you are partly responsible for the accident. 

For instance, if a court decides your carelessness was 25% responsible for your accident, you would still receive a damages award. Such an award would simply be reduced by 25%.

Why Choose the Colorado Springs Brain Injury Lawyers at Bachus & Schanker?

At Bachus & Schanker, we understand the importance of obtaining justice for you and your family following a personal injury accident. We know firsthand the emotional and financial pain that can follow from someone’s negligent choices, and we are committed to serving as your advocates every step of the way.

For representation you can trust, we are your premier choice for a brain injury lawyer in Colorado Springs.

Sources:

CO Code § 13-21-111.

CO Rev Stat § 13-80-102.5.CO Rev Stat § 40-7-102.