Brain Injury Attorney in Birmingham

brain injury

Your brain is your body’s computer. It controls everything from essential motor functions to how you think and feel. It also controls things you never have to think about, like making your heart beat or your lungs take in air. Head injuries and brain damage caused by a devastating accident can reshape your life. Even a mild brain injury can change how the brain functions, leaving you struggling to complete tasks that once seemed routine.

Attorney April H. Collins and Collins Law, LLC offer devoted legal representation to accident victims who feel like they have no voice. We provide honest legal advice and compassionate support to individuals coping with a traumatic brain injury following an accident caused by a careless individual. We fight for fair compensation for your injuries and financial losses; in fact, Collins Law is well-known for reducing accident victims’ medical bills once their case is resolved.

High-quality, caring legal representation is only a click or a phone call away. Contact Collins Law today to set up a free, no-obligation case evaluation with an experienced Birmingham brain injury attorney.

What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Birmingham, AL Brain Injury Attorney?

We at Collins Law know that many people are afraid to get legal representation after an accident. They are already buried in medical bills, unable to work, and think they can’t afford quality, personalized legal representation. At our brain injury law firm, we work hard to help you keep more money in your pocket and never take more home than our clients would when their cases are resolved. You pay nothing out-of-pocket for us to get started on your case, and you owe nothing unless we recover money for your injuries.

We understand the value of delivering compassionate service and aggressive representation without breaking the bank. That is one of the most crucial benefits of hiring a Birmingham brain injury lawyer. You have an advocate working to secure fair compensation and reduce your costs so you can keep more of your money to cover your financial losses.

Working with an attorney is essential because a brain injury lawyer in Birmingham can protect your legal rights and ensure that insurers and other parties aren’t taking advantage of your vulnerable physical and financial situation. Attorney Collins and her team commit themselves to pursuing meaningful compensation for your injuries and doing all the heavy lifting so you can focus on healing.

Handling the legal system is challenging. Doing so while recovering from a traumatic brain injury can feel nearly impossible. Turning over your case to an Alabama brain injury attorney is the best way to seek the most favorable outcome for your situation and get access to the resources you need to move forward with your recovery.

What Compensation Can You Pursue for a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Calculating brain injury compensation is tricky. Numerous factors can impact the value of a brain injury case, including the cause of the accident, the severity of the injury, and the long-term complications associated with the head trauma.

Another benefit to working with a skilled Birmingham brain injury lawyer like Attorney Collins is having someone with the knowledge and experience to accurately calculate your case’s overall value. Insurers want you to settle quickly and for less money than what you deserve. It helps them keep more money in their pockets.

At Collins Law, we strive to put more money into your pocket, so we’ll review the specifics of your unique case before assessing the value of your brain injury claim. Although each case is different, in general, people can seek compensation for:

  • Medical bills
  • Future healthcare costs and rehabilitation
  • Lost wages
  • Loss of earning capacity
  • Property damage
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Loss of consortium
  • Emotional distress
  • Pain and suffering

A Birmingham brain injury lawyer can give you a complete picture of the value of your case and your legal options for pursuing maximum compensation.

How Long Do You Have to File a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuit in Alabama?

Traumatic brain injuries caused by the careless actions of another lead to personal injury cases. Alabama law gives people two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation for medical expenses and other losses.

Discussing your situation with an attorney as soon as possible is always the best course of action to protect your rights and ability to file a lawsuit for compensation. Filing a brain injury lawsuit after the two-year deadline can result in the court dismissing your case without a hearing. If that happens, you lose your best leverage against the opposing party to negotiate for maximum compensation.

A traumatic brain injury is a significant medical condition that changes or impairs the way the brain functions. There are two distinct types of brain injuries:

  • Closed Brain Injury – Closed brain injuries occur when a sudden or violent blow or collision forces the head to accelerate forward and backward. This movement causes the brain to strike the inside of the skull. These injuries can lead to bleeding, swelling, and chemical changes in the brain.
  • Penetrating Brain Injury – Penetrating brain injuries happen when a foreign object penetrates the skull and enters the brain.

Brain injuries that fall into either of the two categories include:

  • Concussion
  • Coup-Contrecoup Brain Injury
  • Diffuse Axonal Injury
  • Intracranial Hematomas
  • Hypoxic Brain Injury
  • Hemorrhage

Brain injuries can cause long-term and life-altering medical complications. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show brain injuries are one of the most common causes of death and disability in the United States.

Additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that falls and motor vehicle crashes are two of the leading causes of brain injuries in the U.S. today. Other common causes include:

  • Workplace accidents
  • Assault or violence

Attorney Collins has the knowledge and resources to help you recover compensation for your injury-related losses when a careless party is to blame for causing an accident.

The symptoms of a traumatic brain injury vary depending on the severity of the injury. After an accident, always seek medical attention. Sometimes, the signs of a head injury do not manifest for several hours due to the adrenaline in your system following a frightening event like an accident. You should watch for symptoms such as:

  • Headache
  • Pain
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Seizure
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Slurred speech
  • Memory problems
  • Sensitivity to light or sound
  • Changes in a person’s hearing or vision
  • Changes in sleeping or eating behaviors
  • Changes in mood or thinking
  • Loss of bladder or bowel control

Talk to your doctor as soon as you notice signs that may indicate you have a brain injury. Brain injuries can be life-threatening and require immediate evaluation and treatment to improve a person’s prognosis.

The long-term complications of a traumatic brain injury vary depending on the type and severity of the brain injury. Some people with mild traumatic brain injuries, like a concussion, make a full recovery and suffer little to no long-term complications. Individuals diagnosed with more significant brain trauma can experience long-term consequences ranging from physical disability, cognitive issues, and even changes to their personality and behavior.

Some of the potential long-term impacts of a traumatic brain injury can include:

  • Paralysis
  • Muscle weakness
  • Seizures
  • Loss of hearing
  • Loss of vision
  • Loss of coordination or balance
  • Chronic pain
  • Learning difficulties
  • Memory loss or amnesia
  • Problems with reasoning or judgment
  • Problems concentrating
  • Difficulties with problem-solving, multitasking, or staying organized
  • Difficulty understanding spoken words
  • Difficulty understanding written words
  • Unable to organize thoughts or ideas
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Anger
  • Mood swings
  • Insomnia
  • Obsessive habits or behaviors
  • Child-like behavior
  • Difficulty with self-control
  • Engaging in risky behaviors
  • Lack of self-awareness

Another potential side effect of traumatic brain injury is the potential increased risk of developing cognitive diseases later in life, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Studies and research suggest those who suffer traumatic brain injuries may be more likely to develop these devastating cognitive conditions and may also be more than 28 times more likely to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder or other mental health illnesses.

Your medical team can evaluate the best treatment options for your unique injury and situation. Mild brain injuries may only require rest and over-the-counter medication to alleviate pain and discomfort. Significant brain injuries may require more intense medical intervention, such as brain surgery, to control bleeding or reduce swelling.

Brain injury treatment may also involve cognitive therapy, physical therapy, and rehabilitation to help an individual regain functions that they may have lost due to the injury.

Contact a Birmingham, AL Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Today

A brain injury can leave you feeling vulnerable. To pursue the money you deserve and start rebuilding your life, turn to an attorney with integrity who can empower you to fight for what you deserve. At Collins Law, we want to be the team to help you manage your brain injury claim.

Contact our Birmingham, Alabama office today and discuss your situation with Attorney Collins, a thoughtful and compassionate traumatic brain injury lawyer.