Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) symbolize an imminent health crisis with debilitating implications. Each year, countless individuals in Lincoln and across Nebraska endure the life-altering consequences of these injuries due to the negligent or wrongful actions of others.
Steffens Law Office recognizes the devastating impact a TBI can have on both victims and their families. This is why our Lincoln Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers are dedicated to fiercely advocating for victims, ensuring they receive the legal redress they rightfully deserve.
Why Choose Steffens Law Office for Your Traumatic Brain Injury Case
When you're grappling with the catastrophic aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, the last thing you need is a convoluted legal process. At Steffens Law office, we serve as your steadfast legal partners, empathetic to your needs, diligently navigating you through the legal quagmire.
Transparency and Client Care
Our contingency fee structure means that you’ll never pay our personal injury lawyers upfront costs — we only get paid if we successfully recover compensation for you. We firmly believe that everyone deserves robust legal representation, irrespective of their financial situation.
To ensure your convenience, we've integrated our processes with modern technology. This allows us to manage your case efficiently and remotely, saving you from the stress of dealing with lengthy questionnaires or burdensome office visits. We are equipped to have productive discussions through Zoom videoconferences, ensuring seamless communication even from the comfort of your home.
Understanding the importance of personalized communication, you are assigned a dedicated case manager when you choose us. This single point of contact will be familiar with all the details of your case and be available whenever you reach out to us.
Experience in Personal Injury Cases Like Yours
With a combined experience of over 50 years in handling personal injury and TBI cases, our team is adept at providing educated and skilled legal services. But don't just take our word for it — our strong commitment to client satisfaction is evident in the 800+ five-star reviews received from our clients. At Steffens Law Office, our mission goes beyond just legal representation. We strive to be your trusted companion every step of the way, ensuring that justice is served in its truest sense.
What is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?
A Traumatic brain injury occurs when a sudden trauma leads to damage in the brain, often resulting in lasting physical, cognitive, and emotional effects. This trauma could arise from various incidents, including, but not limited to, car accidents, slips and falls, blows to the head, or assaults. According to the CDC, over 214,110 people were hospitalized for traumatic brain injuries in one year alone. Many of these will go on to endure long-term symptoms and financial pressure due to their medical bills and loss of work.
Symptoms of TBI
TBI victims may experience a range of symptoms, from headaches and dizziness to more serious conditions like seizures, paralysis, and even cognitive issues. Over time, a traumatic brain injury can significantly change a person’s lifestyle, impacting their ability to work, partake in social activities, or even perform ordinary day-to-day tasks.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help
The legal complexities surrounding traumatic brain injury cases can be difficult due to the nature of the injuries and their long-term repercussions. It’s necessary to accurately assess the full extent of your injury-related damages, which often requires medical professionals, rehabilitation specialists, and economists.
At Steffens Law Office, we understand these complexities and rise to the occasion, providing all the necessary legal support and resources. We work to analyze every aspect of your case to determine how much compensation you are entitled to, given the full range of your TBI symptoms and its long-term impact on your life.
Types of TBI Injuries
Different types of traumatic brain injury can present varying symptoms and severity levels, which influence the treatment required and the potential long-term effects:
- Concussion: This form of TBI happens due to a sudden impact or movement change, forcing the brain to move inside the skull. Although generally non-life-threatening, multiple or severe concussions could lead to lasting impairment.
- Contusion: A contusion is essentially a bruise on the brain caused by a direct impact to the head. It can lead to various symptoms, depending on its location in the brain.
- Penetrating Injury: This relatively rare but often severe form of TBI occurs when an object penetrates the skull and enters the brain. It often requires immediate medical attention and can lead to significant complications.
- Diffuse Axonal Injury: This form of TBI results from violent shaking or rotation of the head, causing tearing of the brain's nerve fibers. It's most common in motor vehicle accidents and can lead to serious brain damage or even death.
At Steffens Law Office, our seasoned legal team fully understands the mechanisms, impacts, and legal intricacies surrounding these diverse types of accidents and traumatic brain injuries. Our commitment is to represent your unique situation rigorously and demonstrate how the specific nature of your accident and injury should influence your fair compensation.
Post-Concussion Syndrome After a Traumatic Brain Injury
Post-concussion syndrome is a complex disorder, often comprising various post-traumatic symptoms that can persist for weeks or even months after the initial recovery period of a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury. This syndrome can be particularly challenging due to the varied, often debilitating symptoms and the disruption it can cause to the victim's day-to-day life.
The precise cause of post-concussion syndrome isn't entirely understood. However, it's believed that it may result from structural damage to the brain or disruption of the messaging system within the nerves caused by the impact that led to the concussion.
Symptoms
The symptoms of post-concussion syndrome can vary significantly among individuals but usually include a combination of physical, cognitive, and emotional issues. These could consist of persistent headaches, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, sensitivity to light and noise, memory and concentration issues, personality changes, and depression.
Legal Implications
From a legal perspective, post-concussion syndrome can be particularly complex to navigate. This is primarily because its symptoms can be subjective and often not visible on standard medical imaging, making them difficult to quantify or prove. Additionally, the need for long-term treatment and the potential for prolonged work absences add further complexity when assessing damages in a lawsuit.
At Steffens Law Office, we understand the unique challenges presented by post-concussion syndrome. Our experienced team works closely with medical professionals, uses detailed medical records, and, when necessary, acquires corroborative evidence from family members and friends.
Compensation in TBI Cases
If you or a loved one has been a victim of traumatic brain injury due to someone else's negligence, you have the legal right to seek compensation. The resulting monetary damages awarded are meant to aid you in covering your past and future medical expenses, rehabilitative care, lost income, and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
Under Nebraska law, the specific types of damages you may be entitled to in a TBI case include:
- Medical Expenses: This includes all past and future medical bills associated with treating your traumatic brain injury. It can encompass hospital stays, surgeries, therapies, medications, assistive devices, and any other necessary treatment.
- Lost Wages, Income, and Reduced Earning Capacity: If your TBI has made it impossible or difficult for you to return to work, you may claim compensation for the wages lost during your recovery and any decrease in future income due to your injury.
- Pain and Suffering: These represent non-economic damages designed to compensate for the physical pain and emotional distress one endured due to a traumatic brain injury.
- Loss of Quality of Life: These damages aim to compensate for the negative impact on your lifestyle and social activities — covering things like loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and loss of companionship.
At Steffens Law Office, our mission is to understand your unique situation and help you get the maximum compensation. We leave no stone unturned in digging up all the potential damages applicable to your case. Our team considers each aspect of your suffering — present & future — ensuring that the compensation you receive reflects the scale of your injuries.
How Long Do I Have to File a TBI Lawsuit in Nebraska?
In Nebraska, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases, including TBI, is four years. This means you have four years from the date the injury occurred to file your lawsuit.
However, certain circumstances can result in a shorter or longer window of time. For instance, if the TBI victim is a minor or is deemed mentally incompetent, the clock on the statute of limitations may not start ticking until the disability is removed.
The statutes of limitations deadlines can be complex. If you make a mistake, it could cost you your rightful compensation. This is why seeking prompt legal guidance following a TBI is so important. We navigate these legal timelines at Steffens Law Office, ensuring your claim is filed on time and optimizing your chances of securing a successful outcome.
How We Handle TBI Cases
At Steffens Law Office, our approach to handling traumatic brain injury cases is thorough, tailored, and designed to achieve the best possible outcomes for our clients.
Comprehensive Evaluation
When you consult us following a TBI, our first step is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of your case. We interact with you, your loved ones, and your healthcare providers to understand the full scope of your injuries, your treatment options, and the prospective impact on your life and work.
Rigorous Investigation
Our team vigorously investigates the circumstances that led to your injury. This process often involves scrutinizing medical records, accident reports, and any relevant evidence. We may also engage experts to reconstruct the accident scene or testify about the medical implications of your injuries.
Establishing Liability
We work to establish the liability of the party or parties responsible for your injury. More accurately, we pinpoint exactly how their negligent or wrongful actions led to your TBI, utilizing all the gathered information and evidence.
Calculating Damages
We employ qualified experts to calculate the full extent of the damages you've suffered, factoring in medical costs (both present and future), lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and the pain and suffering endured due to the injury. Our goal is to ensure that you get compensation that reflects the true costs of your injury.
Negotiating and Litigating
We tirelessly negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf for a fair settlement. We're prepared to take your case to court if negotiations don't result in an acceptable outcome. Our experienced litigators are skilled at strongly arguing your case in front of a jury, aiming for the just verdict you deserve.
The Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys at Steffens Law Office Are Here to Help
Coping with a traumatic brain injury can feel like an uphill battle physically, emotionally, and financially. However, you don't have to fight this battle alone. With Steffens Law Office standing by your side, you can lean onto a trustworthy ally dedicated to pursuing the justice you rightfully deserve, guided by a commitment to your well-being and success.
Remember, when dealing with TBI cases, swift legal action is critical. Make the call at (308) 872-8327 to speak to our Lincoln, Nebraska, personal injury lawyers during a free consultation.
Choose Steffens Law Office — where our Lincoln TBI lawyers are committed to standing in your corner, fighting for your rights, and helping you on the path toward recovery.