Brain Injury

Phoenix Brain Injury Lawyer

The human brain is the most complex and important organ in the body. It is responsible for every thought, action, feeling, memory and experience a person has. Our brain, to a large extent, makes us who we are. That’s why an injury to the brain has the potential to be so devastating not only to ourselves but to those closest to us.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI)—or an injury that disrupts normal brain functioning—occurs from a blow or jolt to the head. TBI, called the “silent injury” because its symptoms are often difficult to detect, affects around 2 million Americans each year, including 50,000 Arizonans.

Severe TBI causes the onset of long-term disability in an estimated 80,000-90,000 Americans annually, and they join the approximately 5.3 million Americans living with TBI-related disability. A TBI can cost a person their ability to think, behave and live as they once did. It can also cost them millions of dollars in medical bills and lost income over the course of a lifetime.

If your or a loved one’s brain injury was caused by somebody else’s carelessness or recklessness, it might be possible to recover some of the costs associated with a TBI through a lawsuit against the individual or other entity responsible for causing the TBI.

To learn whether you have a case, contact the Resendez Injury Law Group. In addition to providing the excellent legal services you need after a TBI accident, Resendez Law can help you connect with medical care providers. In every way possible, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.

Get started with a free consultation today: call (602) 824-9444 or fill out an online case evaluation form.

Traumatic Brain Injury in Arizona

In a recent year, 47,395 Arizonans were treated in emergency departments for TBI, while 6,690 were hospitalized for a TBI and 1,317 died as a result of brain trauma.

Roughly 1 out of every 1,000 Arizona residents each year is hospitalized due to TBI. Non-fatal hospitali-zations and ED visits caused by TBI cost the state of Arizona nearly $700 million. 45,000 Arizonans are living with long-term TBI-related disabilities.

Leading Causes of TBI

The leading causes of TBI among all Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are:

• Falls
• Being struck by or against object
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Sports and recreational activities
• Assaults/violence

The prevalence of fall-related TBIs among adults aged 65 and over, however, distorts the true impact of motor vehicle accident TBIs. The Scottsdale Lincoln Health Network reports that motor vehicle crashes are responsible for half of the brain injury cases for persons under age 75.

Children under age 4 and teens aged 15 to 19 most often suffer a crash-related TBI. The highest TBI risk group overall is 14-24 year old males.

Brain Injury Costs

TBI is both physically and financially one of the most costly injuries a person can suffer.

A study published several years ago in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that the average lifetime healthcare costs for severe TBI was $600,000 to $1,875,000. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to a lifetime TBI cost of $775,000 to $2.5 million.

Depending on a person’s degree of disability, costs could be even higher. For less severe TBI, costs are likely to be lower. But even a moderate case of TBI can cost $250,000-$400,000—an amount higher than the median American home price. Mild TBI, while much less expensive to treat, still averages more than $30,000—for just the first year of care.

What’s Recoverable in a TBI Lawsuit

Medical bills are the number one cause of U.S. bankruptcies. After a quick look at the figures above, it’s not hard to see how traumatic brain injury costs can quickly escalate to unmanageable proportions.

Pursuing a lawsuit may not be something you’re eager to do…but you literally may not be able to afford inaction, especially if you are unable to work and lose employment-based health insurance.

When calculating personal injury losses, not only costs incurred to date—but also future costs—come into play. Compensable damages in TBI cases include the following:

• Medical bills
• Lost income
• Physical and mental rehabilitation
• Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
• Care at a long-term facility or in-home professional caregiving
• Medicine and medical devices
• Occupational therapy/vocational rehabilitation

Protect Your Interests. Speak With an Arizona Brain Injury Attorney.

One moment of inattention or poor judgment is all it takes for a serious accident to occur. With the exception of an assault, nobody sets out to intentionally hurt another person. Nevertheless, when negligence causes a TBI, the law allows for a monetary recovery that the victim in many cases direly needs.

The Resendez Injury Law Group knows you’ve already been through a lot, which is why we want to make the legal aspects of your accident as painless as possible. You’ll always have access to a lawyer and will never be kept in the dark about important aspects of your case.

To learn more, and to schedule a free consultation, call or contact Resendez Law.

From our Phoenix offices we serve clients in Peoria, Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Surprise, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek and all other areas of Arizona including Flagstaff, Yuma and Gila Bend.

For More Information:

• Barrow Neurological Institute Explanation of TBI: What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Fact Sheet
• HonorHealth TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury
• Brain Injury Alliance Arizona
• The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation: Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: A Public Health Perspective
• The RAND Corporation: Invisible Wounds