Portland Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers
Caring representation when Oregon accidents cause head trauma
Your brain controls all of your bodily functions. When accidents cause brain injuries, the consequences can be devastating. At Philbrook Law Office, PS, our personal injury lawyers are skilled at showing you’re a traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens and who is responsible. We work with neurologists and other medical professionals to verify how your head injury is affecting every part of your life, including the loss of cognitive function, physical pain, emotional trauma, and loss of bodily function. TBIs often affect every member of your family because they must provide home care in addition to your medical care. Since 2005, our Portland traumatic brain injury lawyers have been fighting for TBI accident victims to obtain full compensation for their financial losses and personal damages.
How can we help?
- What is a traumatic brain injury (TBI)?
- What types of accidents cause TBIs?
- What are the signs of a brain injury?
- What diagnostic tests are used to assess a TBI?
- Are there treatments for a traumatic brain injury in Portland, OR?
- What type of rehabilitative care is used for Portland TBI victims?
- Do you have a Portland traumatic brain injury lawyer near me?
What is a traumatic brain injury?
According to the Washington State Department of Health, a TBI is “caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or by a penetrating head injury that changes the normal function of the brain. Each year, several thousand people in Washington die or need to be hospitalized due to traumatic brain injuries.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, the damage from a TBI can be “focal (confined to one area of the brain) or diffuse (happens in more than one area of the brain).”
Closed brain injuries don’t involve any break in the skull. They involve a “rapid forward or backward movement and shaking of the brain inside the bony skull that results in bruising and tearing of brain tissue and blood vessels.” Penetrating brain injuries (open brain injuries) occur when there is a break, such as when a bullet pierces the brain due to the negligent security of a property owner.
A primary brain injury “refers to the sudden and profound injury to the brain that is considered to be more or less complete at the time of impact.” A secondary brain injury “refers to the changes that evolve over hours to days after the primary brain injury. It includes a series of steps or stages of cellular, chemical, tissue, or blood vessel changes in the brain that contribute to further destruction of brain tissue.”
What types of accidents cause TBIs?
At Philbrook Law Office, we work with you, investigators, the police, construction industry professionals, and others to determine how you or someone you love suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Common causes of TBIs in Portland include:
- Car accidents, truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents. The drivers, owners, employers, and trucking companies may be liable.
- Pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. Drivers, vehicle owners, employers, and trucking companies may be liable.
- Construction accidents. Construction companies, contractors, subcontractors, drivers, and others may be liable.
- Premises liability accidents include falls and negligent security attacks. Property owners, maintenance, repair, and security companies may be liable.
- Defective car, truck, and motorcycle parts. The manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may all be liable.
- Defective machines, equipment, household goods, and other products. The manufacturers and others in the supply chain may be liable.
- Other causes
What are the signs of a traumatic brain injury?
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, TBIs are generally categorized as:
- The symptoms disappear with proper medical care.
- These types of TBIs may require surgery and lifelong rehabilitative care
TBI symptoms include:
- Cognitive disorders. These symptoms include coma, confusion, an inability to concentrate, memory challenges, difficulty solving problems, an inability to understand abstract challenges, a reduced awareness of self, and other symptoms.
- Motor deficits. These symptoms include paralysis, weakness, spasticity (tightening and shortening of the muscles), lack of endurance, poor balance, tremors, difficulty swallowing, poor coordination, sensory changes, vision difficulties, and other symptoms.
- Communication disorders. These symptoms include difficulty talking and understanding speech, reading and writing problems, a reduced vocabulary, difficulty forming sentences that make sense, difficulty forming sentences that make sense, math difficulties, daily living challenges, and inability to drive a car or operate machinery.
- Social disorders. These symptoms include difficulty making and keeping friends, interpersonal challenges, and social interaction challenges.
- Regulatory disturbances. These symptoms include different eating and sleep patterns, dizziness, headaches, tiredness, and bowel and bladder control loss.
- Personality or psychiatric changes. The symptoms include lack of motivation, emotional challenges, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms
A TBI can also cause epilepsy.
Some TBI accident victims don’t know that they have any symptoms until a family member or friend tells them.
What diagnostic tests are used to assess a TBI?
According to Brain Line, doctors will conduct a neurological exam. This exam reviews the Portland accident victim’s motor and sensory skills, balance, hearing, speech, behavior, and “the functioning of one or more cranial nerves.”
The Glasgow Coma Scale assesses a victim’s responses to various questions and examinations and grades the responses from severe (8 and below), moderate (9-12), and mild (13-15). Severe TBIs may be fatal or cause catastrophic life-changing injuries. Moderate TBIs are likely to be permanent. Victims with mild TBIs can lead reasonably normal lives.
Some imaging tests used are CT scans, MRIs, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tests, and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) tests.
Are there treatments for a traumatic brain injury in Portland, OR?
According to the Mayo Clinic, TBI patients are normally examined in an emergency room first.
Medications for Portland TBI victims include diuretics to reduce tissue fluid and increase urine output, anti-seizure drugs (normally administered during the first week of medical care), and coma-inducing drugs, which may be necessary in some cases.
Surgical procedures for TBIs, according to the Mayo Clinic, include:
- Removing clotted blood
- Repairing skull fractures
- Treating brain bleeding
- Opening a window in the skull
What type of rehabilitative care is used for Portland TBI victims?
Johns Hopkins Medicine identifies the following rehabilitative care programs:
- Acute rehabilitation programs
- Subacute rehabilitation programs
- Long-term rehabilitation programs
- Transitional living programs
- Behavior management programs
- Day-treatment programs
- Independent living programs
The rehabilitative team includes:
- A neurologist/neurosurgeon
- A physiatrist
- Internists and specialists
- A rehabilitation nurse
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Recreation therapists
- Respiratory therapists
- Vocational therapists
- Speech/language pathologists
- Psychologist/neuropsychologist/psychiatrists
- Audiologists
- Nutritionists
- Social workers
- Orthotists
- Case managers
- Chaplains
The cost of medical care for TBI patients is incredibly expensive. Our Portland TBI lawyers work with your doctors and medical life planners to assess the cost of your TBI care, including the cost of reasonably likely complications.
At Philbrook Law Office, we seek compensation for all your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, loss of bodily function, inability to enjoy life’s pleasures, and loss of consortium (enjoyment of marital relations).
Do you have a Portland traumatic brain injury lawyer near me?
Philbrook Law Office meets traumatic brain injury accident victims and families at our Portland, Oregon office located at 107 SE Washington St. Suite 520. If your TBI prevents you from coming to our office, we will arrange to meet with you at your home or a healthcare facility. Our lawyers also discuss cases by phone and through online conversations.
We’ll guide you through this difficult time.
Get help today by contacting our Portland TBI attorneys now
At Philbrook Law Office, we understand how scary a traumatic brain injury is. We work with your doctors and our network of physicians to assess what treatments you need, the cost of your care, whether you can work again, what complications might arise, and how your TBI affects every phase of your life. We’ve helped many personal injury victims obtain strong verdicts and settlements.
Please call our Portland traumatic brain injury lawyers today or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We see victims at our offices in Portland, Oregon, or our offices in Vancouver and Battle Ground, WA. We handle TBI cases on a contingency fee basis.