Brain injuries may be catastrophic. Whether you are an accident victim with a brain injury or your loved one suffered severe and disabling brain injuries such that you need to serve as guardian, it can be upsetting to realize the extent to which these injuries have impacted your life. Changes may be permanent and dramatic and expensive to handle or treat. Many families do not have enough saved to address a family member’s need for lifelong care in the case of a catastrophic brain injury. Those responsible for brain injuries should bear the costs of them. If you suffered brain injuries through the fault of another, it is important to seek counsel for the best results. You should talk to the strategic Syracuse brain injury attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. We have three years of experience representing clients who have catastrophic injuries in court.
Proving Damages in Brain Injury LawsuitsDamages are not assumed in personal injury lawsuits, such as truck accident lawsuits or premises liability lawsuits but must be proven. Like liability in cases involving brain injuries, your damages need to be established by a preponderance of the evidence. Our Syracuse lawyers will not be able to recover damages for you when losses are speculative or insufficiently certain. This makes it very important for us to work up your case and carefully explore all the ways in which you were adversely affected by your brain injuries, or by your loved one’s brain injuries if you are his or her guardian, in addition to looking closely at the accident itself to hold accountable all parties. We will need to figure out the best way to prove those damages, too.
Economic DamagesEconomic damages are tangible losses, and they are typically documented. They can include lost wages, medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, and replacement services. The initial medical expenses associated with brain injuries can be significant and may involve a hospital stay immediately after a serious accident. In addition, those who suffer brain injuries may no longer be able to earn a living at the same job and may be able to recover past, present, and future wage loss. In order to prove future wage loss, we may need to retain an expert economist to testify on future wage losses; these losses may be quantified by looking at what you were earning prior to the accident and what you would have likely made had you progressed as expected through a career and extrapolating the future losses from that.
Past, present, and future medical losses can be recovered once liability is established and typically proof for past and present losses is documentary, including medical bills and medical mileage and the costs for necessary equipment and replacement services you’ve needed.
While past and future medical expenses may be clear, future losses may necessitate testimony from expert physicians. For example, if your loved one requires further brain surgery after medical malpractice results in brain injuries, and he cannot make his or her own decisions, we may need to seek testimony from a neurosurgeon not only about his injuries, but also his need for surgery. When a person is left in a vegetative state due to a brain injury, he may need lifelong care from a nurse or to be placed in a home for that care. These costs can add up. Our attorneys will need to establish lifelong care is needed. This proof may be accomplished with expert testimony.
Noneconomic DamagesNoneconomic damages are often proven through the first-hand testimony of an accident victim and his or her family and friends. These damages may include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment. If, for instance, you suffered penetrating brain injuries and are left without function in the language region of the brain, and are left with permanent speech difficulties, you may experience significant mental anguish, in addition to needing speech therapy. Our attorneys may be able to show loss of enjoyment of life based on what your interests were prior to the accident according to your testimony and your family members’; if, for instance, you enjoyed tutoring kids in literature and volunteering in literacy causes and can no longer do those things or derive value from them and your family members must testify on your behalf as to your enjoyment of talking and reading, we may be able to show significant loss of enjoyment.
Brain injuries can completely alter a marriage. A spouse who has lost relations with the other spouse due to his or her brain injury will be able to recover for loss of consortium. Consortium includes not only sexual relations, but also companionship, affection, love, and society.
Seeking the Best Outcome for a Brain Injury LawsuitIf you were harmed or a loved one died due to a brain injury caused by negligence in Syracuse, you should call our veteran trial lawyers to see if they can represent you. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents clients in Lowville, Rochester, Auburn, Watertown, Herkimer, Oswego, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Oneida, Utica, Binghamton, and Elmira. Complete our online form or call us at 833-200-2000 for a free consultation.