Liability for Brain Injuries

There are different types of injuries the brain can sustain including traumatic brain injury, stroke, brain aneurysm, brain tumor, encephalitis, carbon monoxide poisoning, and mild head injury and concussion. When these brain injuries are caused by someone else’s negligent or reckless conduct, you may have grounds to sue for damages. If you suffered brain injuries, you should give the seasoned Syracuse personal injury lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys a call. We’ve sought best results for accident victims and their families for more than 30 years.

The type of brain injury and what caused will impact whether you are able to recover damages. Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by forceful blows or jolts to the head. Leading causes of these injuries include motor vehicle accidents, falls, violent assault and getting hit by a moving object. For example, if your spouse was in a truck accident with a big rig, he may have suffered a significant traumatic brain injury that leaves him disabled; in that case, our lawyers may be able to recover damages by establishing the liability of the big rig driver. Meanwhile, if you suffer stroke because you are improperly triaged in the emergency room, you may be able to recover damages if our Syracuse attorneys can establish the hospital’s liability.

The specific circumstances will determine whether we can prove another party’s liability for brain injuries. To hold a driver accountable for your traumatic brain injuries, we will need to show it is more likely than not: (1) you were owed a duty of reasonable care, (2) breach of the professional standard of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. All drivers owe a duty of care to those with whom they share the road, whether the others are in cars or are pedestrians. Drivers may breach the duty to use reasonable care by speeding, texting while driving, weaving, driving under the influence, driving recklessly, and failing to obey traffic signs and signals. Our attorneys will need to show a causal relationship between the breach of the duty of reasonable care and your brain injuries.

When a brain injury is the result of a dangerous property condition such as broken steps or a rotted balcony that results in falls, you may have grounds to bring a premises liability lawsuit.We will need to show that the property owner knew or should have known about the accident but failed to repair the condition or issue warnings to those visiting the property.

Establishing liability is different when the brain injuries are the result of medical malpractice In that case, our lawyers would need to show: (1) there was a doctor-patient relationship giving rise to a professional duty of care, (2) breach of the professional duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. The professional duty of care depends on the defendant’s specific specialty and the geographical region. For instance, the diagnostic tests an oncologist is expected to conduct when faced with a suspicious growth may be different than what a general practitioner is expected to do.

Often brain injuries are catastrophic. When we are able to prove a defendant’s liability for brain injuries by a preponderance of the evidence, we can recover compensatory damages. These may include both economic and noneconomic losses: medical expenses, loss of income, replacement services, loss of enjoyment, pain and suffering, and mental anguish.

If you suffered brain injuries or a loved one died because of brain injuries caused by another party, you should talk with our seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Attorneys. We have more than 30 years of experience fighting for best results for accident victims and patients who have suffered brain injuries in Canandaigua, Lowville, Auburn, Buffalo, Oneida, Utica, Rochester, Albany, Wampsville, Watertown, Herkimer, Oswego, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Binghamton, Elmira, and all of Upstate New York. For a free consultation, complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.