OUR EXPERIENCED TEAM FIGHTS FOR YOUR LOVED ONE’S FULL COMPENSATION

If you have a loved one who has suffered a brain injury, personal care and management of that individual’s health regimen probably dominates your waking hours. The team approach we take at Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler PLLC can relieve you of the responsibility of seeking compensation for your loved one. When you put our team on your side, you can tend to your loved one’s immediate needs, while we fight to eliminate your financial burdens. We are committed to providing aggressive advocacy for actionable cases of brain injury, including damage resulting from:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) — This results from an impact to the skull, a penetration of the skull or severe shaking that tears brain tissue. Common causes include car accidents, explosions and falls.
• Edema — Swelling of the brain that follows head trauma can be more dangerous to the brain than the initial blow. Negligent treatment of a head wound at the ER can allow edema to cause greater damage.
• Hypoxia — Lack of oxygen can destroy brain cells. An anesthesia error during surgery can induce hypoxia sufficient to cause brain damage.
• Infection — Viral and bacterial infections can cause encephalitis, a dangerous swelling of the brain that contributes to the destruction of brain cells. A doctor’s failure to diagnose an infection can be grounds for malpractice.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROGNOSIS FOR A BRAIN INJURY PATIENT

Key to recovering fair compensation is clear knowledge of the extent of the damage. A distressing aspect of brain injury is that brain cells, once destroyed, do not regenerate, and the degree to which undamaged areas of the brain can compensate for that loss is impossible to gauge. Brain injury patients are likely to experience:

• Cognitive deficits — Confusion, shortened attention span and memory problems
• Motor deficits — Poor balance, spasticity, tremors, paralysis, loss of endurance and weakness
• Perceptual or sensory deficits — Changes in sensory experience, loss of sensation or hypersensitivity in body parts, vision problems
• Communication and language deficits — Aphasia, apraxia, slowness of speech, problems reading or writing
• Functional deficits — Trouble with everyday activities and organization, inability to drive
• Social difficulties — Self-centered behavior, difficulty making/keeping friends, boundary issues
• Regulatory disturbances — Fatigue, sleep disruption, dizziness, headaches, loss of bladder or bowel control
• Personality or psychiatric changes — Apathy, lethargy, anxiety, irritability, moods swings, loss of inhibitions, angry outbursts
• Traumatic epilepsy — Major and minor seizures

Our personal injury attorneys work closely with your medical team to ensure we have a detailed understanding of your loved one’s condition.

GOING BEYOND THE LIMITATIONS OF MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS IN BRAIN INJURY CASES

In milder cases of brain injury, medical diagnostics may show normal brain function even though the patient is experiencing real and significant symptoms. Under those circumstances, testimonial evidence from medical professionals, family members, friends and co-workers become vitally important to establishing a damage claim. We assemble the testimony necessary to present a complete and vivid account of your loved one’s life before and after the injury event so the defendants, judge and jury appreciate the human toll that justifies a damage award.

Let our team of experienced trial attorneys manage your brain injury litigation in Tacoma

A permanent spinal injury requires compensation for your lifetime. The dedicated lawyers of Rush, Hannula, Harkins & Kyler PLLC are committed to securing the maximum damage recovery possible. Call 253-383-5388 or contact us online to arrange your free consultation.