Why Finding the Right Concussion Injuries Attorney Matters
A concussion injuries attorney can help you recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and long-term care after a head injury. Here’s what you need to know:
When to hire a concussion lawyer:
– Medical bills are piling up from your injury
– Your employer or insurance company denied your claim
– You’re experiencing persistent symptoms weeks after the accident
– You lost income due to cognitive problems or headaches
What they can recover for you:
– Current and future medical expenses
– Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
– Pain and suffering damages
– Long-term rehabilitation costs
Getting hit in the head might seem minor at first, but concussions pack a serious punch. Over 144,000 Texans suffer traumatic brain injuries each year – that’s one every four minutes. Roughly 10% of concussion victims develop post-concussion syndrome that can last over a year.
The most common causes? Falls account for 40% of brain injuries, while motor vehicle crashes cause 14%. Whether you slipped at work, got rear-ended, or took a tumble on someone’s property, the “invisible injury” of a concussion can turn your life upside down.
Time isn’t on your side here. Evidence disappears, witnesses forget details, and insurance companies start building their defense from day one. Texas gives you just two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, but waiting that long usually means a weaker case.
The attorneys we’re covering today understand that concussions aren’t just headaches – they’re complex brain injuries that can steal your memory, mood, and ability to work. They know how to fight insurance companies who try to downplay your symptoms and how to prove damages when your MRI looks “normal.”
Quick Crash Course on Concussions & Your Rights
Think of your brain as a delicate piece of electronics floating in fluid inside a hard case. When that case gets shaken hard enough, things can go wrong – even if the case doesn’t crack. That’s essentially what happens with a concussion, which doctors classify as a “mild traumatic brain injury.” Don’t let that word “mild” trick you though. There’s nothing mild about an injury that can change how you think, feel, and live your life.
About 3.8 million sports and recreation-related concussions happen every year in the United States alone. But sports aren’t even the biggest culprit. Falls cause 40% of all brain injuries, especially hitting kids under 4 and adults over 65 hard. Motor vehicle crashes account for 14% of these injuries, while being struck by objects, assaults, and other incidents make up the rest.
Your brain doesn’t have to be “rattled” in some dramatic Hollywood fashion either. Sometimes a seemingly minor bump or jolt is all it takes to set off a chain reaction of problems inside your skull.
The tricky part about concussions is that symptoms can show up right away or sneak up on you days later. You might experience persistent headaches that won’t quit, memory problems that make you forget your own phone number, or dizziness that makes you feel like you’re on a boat in rough seas.
Other warning signs include nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, sleep problems, trouble concentrating, and mood changes that have family members asking if you’re feeling okay. The really concerning part? About 10% of people develop post-concussion syndrome, where these symptoms stick around for months or even over a year. These aren’t people trying to game the system – they’re dealing with real, life-changing effects from scientific research on traumatic brain injury symptoms that can impact everything from their job performance to their relationships.
What Sets a Concussion Apart From Other TBIs?
Most concussions are what we call “closed head injuries” – your skull stays intact, but your brain still takes a beating inside. Picture a raw egg inside a jar. Shake that jar hard enough, and the egg gets scrambled even though the shell might look perfect from the outside.
The real damage often happens from rotational forces – when your head twists during impact. This twisting motion can cause something called axonal shearing, where the long nerve fibers in your brain get stretched or torn like old rubber bands. Even more troubling, the injury triggers a cascade of chemical changes that keep damaging brain cells for days or weeks after the initial hit.
This explains why someone can walk away from a car accident feeling fine, then wake up three days later unable to remember where they put their keys or why bright lights suddenly feel like torture.
Silent Symptoms & Long-Term Effects You Can’t Ignore
Concussion symptoms are masters of disguise. They love to hide in plain sight, making you think you’re just having an off day when something much more serious is happening upstairs. Scientific research on post-concussion syndrome shows these delayed symptoms are more common than most people realize.
Cognitive fog is probably the most frustrating invisible symptom. Imagine trying to think through thick molasses – you struggle to find the right words, forget conversations you had an hour ago, or stare at simple tasks that used to be automatic.
Sleep becomes your enemy in weird ways. You might sleep for 12 hours and still feel exhausted, or lie awake all night even though you’re bone-tired. Your sleep cycles get scrambled, leaving you feeling like you’re living in a permanent state of jet lag.
Emotional changes can blindside both you and your loved ones. Sudden mood swings, irritability over small things, anxiety that comes out of nowhere, or depression that doesn’t match your circumstances. We’ve worked with clients whose families couldn’t understand why their normally patient spouse had become short-tempered and distant after what seemed like a “minor” accident.
Sensory sensitivity turns everyday environments into assault courses. Lights seem too bright, normal conversation sounds too loud, and busy places like grocery stores become overwhelming sensory nightmares.
These symptoms can hang around for months or years, particularly if the concussion isn’t properly managed. Long-term effects might include chronic headaches, ongoing memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and personality changes that can strain relationships and careers. If you’re dealing with persistent symptoms after a head injury, a concussion injuries attorney can help you understand your rights and fight for the compensation you need for ongoing medical care and lost income.
When to Call a Concussion Injuries Attorney
The clock starts ticking the moment your head gets rattled. In Texas, you have exactly two years from your injury date to file a lawsuit, but waiting that long is like trying to solve a puzzle after half the pieces have blown away.
Think about it this way: while you’re home nursing a pounding headache and trying to remember what day it is, the insurance company is already working. They’re pulling security footage, interviewing witnesses, and building a case against you. Fresh evidence tells a clear story. Stale evidence? That’s where things get murky.
Insurance companies have a playbook, and delay is their favorite chapter. They know concussion symptoms can be hard to pin down, especially when your CT scan comes back looking normal. The longer they can stretch things out, the better their chances of paying you less – or nothing at all.
Meanwhile, your medical bills aren’t waiting for anyone. Emergency room visits, neurologist appointments, and cognitive testing can easily hit five figures. If you develop post-concussion syndrome, you’re looking at months or years of treatment costs.
Red Flags That Demand a Concussion Injuries Attorney
Some situations scream for legal help. If you’re nodding along to any of these, it’s time to make that call.
Lost income hits harder than people realize. Maybe you can’t concentrate well enough to do your job, or bright office lights trigger splitting headaches. A concussion injuries attorney understands how to calculate not just the paycheck you’re missing today, but what this injury might cost you down the road if your symptoms stick around.
Delayed diagnosis throws insurance companies into celebration mode. They love arguing that if you didn’t complain about head pain at the accident scene, your current symptoms must be from something else. Never mind that concussion symptoms often take days or weeks to show up – they’ll use this timing against you every chance they get.
Denied claims happen more often than they should. Insurance carriers look at concussion cases and see dollar signs they’d rather keep. They’ll claim your symptoms are too vague, your imaging looks fine, or that you’re exaggerating. Fighting back requires someone who knows their tactics inside and out.
Persistent symptoms signal that your “minor” concussion might not be so minor after all. When headaches, memory fog, and mood swings are still hanging around months later, you could be dealing with post-concussion syndrome. These complex cases need sophisticated medical testimony and careful planning to get fair compensation.
How Delay Can Torpedo Your Claim
Every day you wait makes your case a little weaker. Here’s how procrastination can sink your ship.
Gaps in medical care give insurance companies ammunition they love to use. Their argument is simple: if you were really hurt, you’d have gotten help right away. Any delay in treatment becomes “proof” that your injury isn’t serious or isn’t connected to your accident.
Missing police reports can work against you, especially if you seemed fine when the officer arrived. Concussion symptoms often don’t show up immediately, so if the report doesn’t mention head injury complaints, the insurance company will wave that paper around like a victory flag.
Lost surveillance footage disappears faster than you’d think. Most businesses only keep their security recordings for 30 to 90 days before recording over them. That crucial footage showing exactly how your accident happened? Gone forever if you wait too long.
Fading witness memories turn crystal-clear recollections into fuzzy maybes. Someone who saw every detail of your accident today might struggle to remember basic facts six months from now.
Evidence, Experts & Insurance Tactics
Think of building a concussion case like constructing a fortress – you need multiple layers of protection because insurance companies will attack from every angle. The challenge with concussions is that the most serious damage often happens at a microscopic level that traditional tests can’t detect.
Medical records tell your story from the beginning. Emergency room visits, neurological evaluations, and ongoing treatment notes create a paper trail that’s hard to dispute. But here’s where it gets interesting – even if your first CT scan looked perfectly normal, that doesn’t mean you’re not injured.
Neuroimaging can be both your friend and your enemy in concussion cases. Standard CT scans and MRIs often come back normal because they’re looking for big problems like bleeding or fractures. Concussions cause damage at a cellular level that these tests simply can’t see.
| Imaging Type | What It Shows | Concussion Detection |
|---|---|---|
| CT Scan | Bleeding, fractures, swelling | Often normal in concussions |
| Standard MRI | Brain structure, larger lesions | Usually normal in mild TBI |
| Functional MRI | Brain activity patterns | May show functional changes |
| DTI | White matter integrity | Can detect axonal damage |
The newer imaging techniques like functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging can sometimes catch the subtle changes that concussions cause. These tests look at how your brain functions rather than just its structure, which makes them much more sensitive to concussion damage.
Neuropsychological testing becomes your secret weapon when the scans look normal. These detailed cognitive evaluations measure things like memory, attention span, and processing speed. They provide hard numbers that show how your brain function has changed since the accident.
Eyewitness accounts paint the picture of what happened and how you appeared right after the impact. Someone who saw you looking dazed, asking the same question repeatedly, or seeming confused provides powerful testimony that something was seriously wrong.
Building the Proof Wall
Smart concussion victims start gathering evidence immediately, even when they’re still feeling foggy and confused. Every piece of evidence you preserve today could be the difference between winning and losing your case tomorrow.
Physical evidence tells a story that words can’t capture. That cracked helmet from your bike accident? Don’t toss it – the damage pattern shows exactly how your head hit the ground. Torn clothing, broken glasses, or damaged personal items all demonstrate the force of impact.
Pay stubs and employment records become crucial when your symptoms start affecting your work. Keep everything that shows your income, job performance, and responsibilities before the accident. If you start missing deadlines, forgetting meetings, or struggling with tasks that used to be easy, document those changes too.
Your symptom diary might feel tedious to maintain, but it creates an unshakeable timeline of your recovery. Write down your headache levels, sleep quality, memory problems, and mood changes every day. Note how symptoms affect simple activities like grocery shopping or helping your kids with homework.
Photos capture moments that fade from memory. Take pictures of visible injuries, the accident scene, damaged vehicles, and anything else relevant. The insurance company can’t argue with a photo that shows your car’s crumpled hood or the icy sidewalk where you fell.
Fighting Lowball Offers From Insurers
Insurance companies have turned claim denial into an art form, particularly with concussions. Their strategy is simple: delay everything, deny what they can, and defend aggressively against what they can’t deny. They’re betting that you’ll get frustrated and accept pennies on the dollar just to make the headache stop.
The delay game starts immediately. They’ll request the same medical records multiple times, schedule you for unnecessary medical exams, and generally drag out every step of the process. Meanwhile, your bills keep piling up and your symptoms aren’t getting better.
When your concussion affects your ability to work, economic analysis becomes critical. You need professionals who can calculate not just your current lost wages, but how your symptoms might affect your entire career.
Demand letters require perfect timing and presentation. Send it too early, and you might not know the full extent of your injuries yet. Wait too long, and the insurance company starts questioning why you didn’t seek fair compensation sooner. A well-crafted demand letter presents all your evidence in a compelling narrative that’s hard to ignore.
The insurance company’s first offer is almost always insultingly low – sometimes just enough to cover your medical bills with nothing left for your pain, lost wages, or future treatment needs.
Essential Questions to Ask Before Hiring Your Lawyer
Not all personal injury attorneys understand the complexities of concussion cases. Here are the crucial questions to ask before hiring:
- How many concussion cases have you handled in the past two years?
- What’s your success rate with traumatic brain injury cases?
- Do you work with neurologists, neuropsychologists, and other brain injury specialists?
- How do you handle cases where imaging studies look normal?
- What’s your fee structure, and what costs am I responsible for?
- Are you prepared to take my case to trial if necessary?
- How do you communicate with clients during the case?
- Can you provide references from past concussion clients?
- What’s your approach to dealing with insurance company tactics?
- How do you value long-term damages in concussion cases?
More info about Head Injury Attorney can help you understand what to look for in legal representation.
The attorney you choose should have experience with the medical complexities of brain injuries and relationships with qualified medical professionals. They should also be willing to invest in your case by hiring necessary experts and conducting thorough investigations.
Interview Your Prospective Concussion Injuries Attorney
When interviewing potential attorneys, pay attention to how they discuss your case. A qualified concussion injuries attorney should:
Understand the medical aspects: They should be able to explain how concussions occur, why symptoms can be delayed, and what types of testing might be necessary to document your injury.
Have medical connections: Ask about their relationships with neurologists, neuropsychologists, and other brain injury specialists. These professional relationships are crucial for building strong cases.
Explain fee structures clearly: Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, meaning they only get paid if you win. However, you might be responsible for case expenses like expert witness fees, medical records, and court costs.
Show trial readiness: Insurance companies settle more favorable when they know your attorney is prepared to go to trial. Ask about their trial experience and recent verdicts in similar cases.
Frequently Asked Questions about Concussion Lawsuits
Motor vehicle accidents top the list of concussion lawsuit causes, particularly rear-end collisions that whip your head forward and back. Slip-and-fall incidents come in second—wet grocery-store floors or broken sidewalks are classic examples. Workplace accidents are also common, whether it’s a construction mishap or an office employee falling down stairs.
Other causes include sports injuries (claims can be harder because participants assume some risk) and assaults. In every scenario, someone else’s carelessness or misconduct must have caused your injury.
How long will your case take? Quick recoveries might resolve in 6-12 months, while cases involving post-concussion syndrome often last 2-3 years or more.
What if the person who hurt you doesn’t have insurance? Check your uninsured motorist coverage or, if it was on the job, workers’ compensation. In limited situations you can pursue the at-fault person’s assets, but collection can be difficult.
What compensation can I recover?
Concussion claims can cover several kinds of damages.
Medical expenses span the emergency room visit, specialist appointments, and neuropsychological testing that proves cognitive deficits.
Future medical costs are critical if you develop long-term symptoms; life-care planners can project these expenses.
Lost wages include missed days, reduced productivity, skipped promotions, and even the sick days or vacation time you burned while recovering.
Pain and suffering addresses headaches, memory gaps, and relationship strain. Punitive damages are rare but possible for drunk drivers or employers who ignored obvious hazards.
How long do I have to file?
Most states, including Texas, give you two years from the injury date. Some jurisdictions apply a “findy rule,” delaying the clock until you knew or should have known you were hurt. Minors often get extra time: the period usually starts when they turn 18.
What if imaging looks normal?
Standard CT or MRI scans often miss concussion damage because the injury happens at a microscopic level. That’s why neurological testimony, cognitive testing, and your symptom diary are so important—together they prove that normal imaging does not equal a normal brain.
Conclusion
Navigating a concussion injury claim isn’t just about getting through the legal process – it’s about securing your future when your brain isn’t working the way it used to. The invisible nature of concussion injuries makes them particularly challenging, but with the right legal representation, you can build a strong case even when your MRI looks “normal.”
You typically have just one chance to get this right. Once you settle your case, you can’t come back later if your symptoms get worse or if you find additional problems. That’s why it’s crucial to work with attorneys who understand the long-term implications of brain injuries and how to properly value these complex cases.
At Adam Krolikowski Law Firm, we handle the complex concussion cases that other attorneys often won’t take. With over 25 years of experience in personal injury law, we understand that concussions aren’t just headaches – they’re serious brain injuries that can affect every aspect of your life. We work with leading neurologists, neuropsychologists, and other brain injury specialists to build the strongest possible case for our clients.
Our team serves clients throughout Orange County, with offices in Santa Ana and Los Angeles. We know how to fight insurance companies who try to minimize concussion claims, and we’re prepared to take your case to trial if necessary to get you the compensation you deserve.
More info about Personal Injury Lawyer in Orange County can help you understand your options and rights after a concussion injury.
Don’t let insurance companies convince you that your concussion isn’t serious or that your symptoms will just go away on their own. The sooner you get legal help, the stronger your case will be. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your concussion injury claim and learn how we can help protect your rights and your future.
Time is working against you – but we’re working for you. Let us handle the legal headaches so you can focus on healing.