Brain damage takes many forms. For example, concussions may only have a brief impact on your ability to process information. Comparatively, more significant damage can modify your memory or make it difficult to perform the tasks you used to.
Brain damage can leave you and your loved ones in a complicated financial position. Fortunately, there are legal avenues available to parties who’ve suffered brain injuries in recent accidents. If you believe neglect or deliberate recklessness played a role in your injury, you can file a brain damage claim.
Our Long Island brain damage attorneys at Morelli Law Firm know how challenging the legalities surrounding your case can seem. That’s why we’re here to help. If you’re ready to start your claim, schedule a consultation with our office.
Defining Your Brain Damage
There’s no such thing as insignificant brain damage. Even mild concussions can make your life more difficult for weeks. With that in mind, your injury doesn’t have to be classified as a “traumatic brain injury” if you want to challenge a liable party. Rather, you have to understand the extent to which a brain injury has impacted your day-to-day life.
Mild brain damage tends to resolve itself after a short period of time. Comparatively, significant brain damage tends to result in difficulty maneuvering from one location to another, memory loss, or physical impairment.
Brain damage complaints addressing severe injuries can cite increased medical expenses and more non-economic damages than a mild brain injury. Both instances, however, allow you to carry a complaint forward, provided that you can prove liability.
When to File a Brain Damage Claim in New York
The circumstances surrounding your brain injury impact how long you have to file an applicable claim. If you believe that your brain damage was the result of a personal injury, New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 214(5) gives you three years to act on your losses.
Brain damage that results from medical malpractice has that same three-year deadline. However, personal injury case deadlines begin on the day that an individual endures their injury. Comparatively, the deadline for medical malpractice suits begins on the day you discover that trauma.
For more information about your filing deadlines, contact a Long Island brain damage attorney. Our team can assess your condition and determine how much time you have left to submit your claim.
Long Island Brain Damage Lawyer Near Me 877-751-9800
Personal Injury Claims and Brain Damage
Brain damage cases qualify as personal injury cases in the eyes of New York courts. Long Island residents can work with our attorneys to build up an applicable complaint and to present that complaint to the right parties.
Personal injury suits involving brain injuries must detail:
- A liable party, be that an individual or an institution
- A duty of care owed to the injured individual
- Evidence of that duty’s violation
- An estimate of the injured party’s losses
- A request for compensation
It’s a personal injury lawyer’s job to help you gather the information you need to submit your complaint. When you submit professional witness statements and other evidence along with your complaint, you can more effectively argue for financial support.
Even a comprehensive body of evidence doesn’t mean that your complaint will lead to a trial, though. Rather, complaints let you first enter legal negotiations with the person you want to hold liable for your losses. If negotiations fall through, your case may go to trial.
Representation in Court
There are some brain injuries that make it impossible for a person to speak for themselves. In these cases, the injured party may need to turn to an alternative representative to present their losses to a county clerk.
New York state does not allow an injured person’s family members to represent them in court. Instead, injured individuals must be represented by personal executors.
You can elect family members as your personal executors, of course. However, it’s best to establish that kind of responsibility long before an accident. Anyone interested in establishing a personal executor or discussing representation in brain injury cases can meet with our team.
Overcoming Financial Hurdles With Brain Damage Claims
Accidents involving brain damage tend to be expensive to deal with. Even if you don’t need reparative surgery, you may need to attend physical therapy or counseling. These kinds of treatments aren’t always affordable, even with insurance on your side.
Fortunately, you can fight for financial support. The compensation you request in a brain damage claim can cover your medical expenses as well as other losses related to your accident. This can include any property damage or loss of opportunity to work.
Your complaint can even touch on non-economic losses. Liable parties may be responsible for compensating you for loss of quality of life, pain and suffering, and trauma.
The Benefits of Working With a Brain Damage Attorney
Your post-accident concerns likely involve your bills, your treatment, or some combination of the two. All that stress makes reaching out to a legal team seem impossible. There’s a lot of good work that a brain damage attorney on Long Island, NY, can do for you, though. Much of that work can make your life post-accident all the simpler.
After your first case consultation, our team can:
- Interview accident witnesses
- Assess the extent of your losses
- Establish liability
- Contact liable parties and the appropriate legal bodies
- Gather evidence to support your claim
- Calculate your accident compensation
Whether or not your case goes to trial, you can count on our legal team to represent your best interests. We’ll even manage communications between you and other parties involved in your case. At the end of the day, if we haven’t reduced your stress levels, we’re not doing our jobs.
Morelli Law Is Here for You
It’s difficult to contend with brain damage alone. That’s why our team strives to give you every legal opportunity you need to address your losses. Our brain damage lawyers in Long Island at Morelli Law Firm can take the weight of legal responsibility off of your shoulders. All the while, we’ll advocate for your financial support.
To start your brain damage claim, connect with the representatives in our office. You can schedule a free case evaluation via phone or through our website.