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If you have suffered a serious brain injury, you may be able to claim compensation.
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Suffering a serious brain injury can turn a person’s life upside down. Compensation for a brain injury can help to secure your future.
Contents:
- Making a brain injury compensation claim
- How we build you a strong claim for brain injury compensation
- How can brain injury compensation help you?
- What is considered a serious brain injury?
- Blackwater Law supports Headway – the Brain Injury Association
- Brain injury compensation payouts
- Is there a time limit for making a brain injury claim?
- No Win, No Fee Brain Injury Compensation
- Why Choose Blackwater Law?
Making a brain injury compensation claim
Experiencing a traumatic brain injury can have a profound and lasting effect on the individual and those around them. It is likely to affect your day-to-day life, your ability to care for yourself and potentially your ability to work.
Claiming brain injury compensation can help to secure your financial future and help pay for any future care you may require, or to make up for the loss of earnings, resulting from a brain injury.
If you have suffered a brain injury, or you are acting on behalf of someone who has suffered a brain injury, it is important you get expert legal advice. It is also important you get this advice from a firm of specialist brain injury solicitors that has experience successfully dealing with such complex claims.
- Recognised as expert brain injury solicitors
- Accredited by Headway – Brain Injury Association
- Access specialist care & rehabilitation
How can brain injury compensation help you?
Brain injury compensation can help you recover some of the financial losses associated with your injury. This may include:
- Medical expenses: Past, present, and future medical costs associated with treatment and rehabilitation.
- Loss of earnings: Compensation for lost wages or reduced earning capacity due to your injury.
- Care costs: The cost of care you require, such as home care or nursing care.
- Pain and suffering: Compensation for the physical and emotional pain caused by your injury.
Brain injury compensation can also help you access essential support services, such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and psychological counselling. This can help you maximise your recovery and improve your quality of life over the long term.
How we build you a strong claim for brain injury compensation
You will deal with a single specialist solicitor when you instruct Blackwater Law. Your solicitor will undertake a thorough investigation of your case to form grounds for the legal arguments to be made.
This will involve identifying witnesses (if appropriate) and will almost certainly involve obtaining an expert opinion on your brain injuries from leading medical specialists. This will provide important evidence in support of your claim.
Blackwater Law has access to a unique network of specialists that the team has called upon on many occasions to provide supporting evidence in cases that have then been successful as a result.
What is considered a serious brain injury?
There are varying degrees of brain injury severity. There are minor concussions, right through to traumatic and even penetrating brain injuries. The severity of the impact is not always an indicator of the severity of the brain injury, as even more minor concussive brain injuries can have life-changing effects if not dealt with correctly.
Concussive Brain Injuries
A concussion often occurs when the brain receives trauma from an impact or a sudden momentum or movement change, such as a fall, road traffic accident or physical assault. As a result of the concussion, the blood vessels in the brain may stretch and cranial nerves may be damaged.
Cerebral Contusions
Cerebral contusions are a form of traumatic brain injury that causes a bruise of the brain tissue. Often caused by a direct impact to the head, cerebral contusions, like bruises in other parts of the body, can be associated with multiple microhemorrhages, which are small blood vessel leaks into the surrounding tissue.
Contusions occur in approximately 20–30% of severe brain injuries. This type of injury can sometimes cause a decline in mental function in the long term, and in the short term may result in brain herniation, a life-threatening condition in which parts of the brain are forced past parts of the skull.
Coup-Contrecoup Brain Injuries
Coup-contrecoup brain injuries are contusions that are present at both the impact site and on the complete opposite side of the brain. Coup-contrecoup brain injuries generally occur when the force of the impact is great enough to cause a contusion at the area of impact and also on the opposite side of the head to the impact area.
Due to the force required to cause coup-contrecoup brain injuries, they often occur as a result of automobile accidents or abusive or violent events, such as physical assaults. Coup-contrecoup injuries often cause additional complications such as hematomas (bleeding of the brain), and swelling of the brain, and can also cause disruptions to the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (which surrounds and protects the brain).
- A concussion can be caused by direct blows to the head, violent shaking of the head or force from a whiplash-type injury (often sustained in road traffic accidents).
- A concussion can lead to a brief loss of consciousness (not exceeding 20 minutes). A person may remain conscious after suffering a concussion but could feel “dazed” or “punch drunk” as a result of the injury.
- A concussion may or may not show up on a diagnostic imaging test, such as a CAT Scan.
- Physical signs of concussion, such as skull fractures, brain bleeding or swelling, may or may not be present. Concussive brain injuries are therefore sometimes defined by exclusion and are considered a complex neurobehavioral syndrome.
- A concussion can result in a diffuse axonal type injury, which in turn can lead to permanent or temporary brain damage.
- A blood clot in the brain can sometimes occur as the result of a concussion and is sometimes fatal.
- It may take a few months – or even a few years – for a concussive brain injury to heal.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury is one that is caused by a sudden or violent impact on the brain, or if the skull is pierced by an object causing damage to the brain.
Closed Brain Injuries
Closed brain injuries occur when the head accelerates and then rapidly decelerates or collides with another object (for example, the windshield of a car) and the brain is damaged, not by a penetrating blow to the skull and brain, but by the violent shaking, stretching and twisting of brain tissue within the skull. The nerve endings connecting the skull to the brain are often torn or become completely separated from the brain in cases of traumatic brain injury. Closed brain injuries typically cause diffuse tissue damage that results in mental and physical disabilities, which are highly variable.
Open (Penetrating) Brain Injury
An open brain injury occurs when an object (such as a bullet, knife or piece of shrapnel) fractures the skull, enters the brain and injures the brain tissue in the process. These injuries tend to damage localised areas of the brain and, if the victim manages to survive, often result in catastrophic injuries and severe disabilities.
Anoxic Events
Anoxic brain injury (also known as cerebral hypoxia or hypoxic-anoxic injuries (HAI)) is a serious, life-threatening injury that can cause serious cognitive disabilities. HAI injuries are caused by a partial or total lack of oxygen to the brain. The greater the loss of oxygen, the more widespread and serious the brain injury will be. The common causes of anoxic brain injuries include respiratory arrest, choking, chemical poisoning (accident at work) and complications at birth (birth injury).
Second-impact syndrome “Recurrent Traumatic Brain Injury”
Second-impact syndrome (SIS), also known as “recurrent traumatic brain injury”, occurs when the brain swells rapidly after a person suffers a second concussion before the symptoms of an earlier concussion have subsided. This second impact may occur minutes, days or even weeks after an initial concussion, and even the mildest grade of concussion can lead to SIS. Second-impact syndrome can be fatal.
Common causes of brain injuries
Brain injuries can be caused by a variety of incidents, some more common than others. Here at Blackwater Law, we see claims arising from:
- Accidents: Car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, and sports injuries are all leading causes of brain trauma.
- Medical negligence: Medical errors during surgery, childbirth, or other procedures can cause brain damage.
- Birth injuries: Complications during pregnancy or delivery can deprive a baby of oxygen, leading to brain injury.
- Assaults: Violent attacks can cause serious head injuries.
If you believe your brain injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, malicious act(s) or malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation.
What are the long-term effects of a brain injury?
Brain injuries can have a profound and lasting impact on a person’s life. The long-term effects can vary depending on the severity of the injury, but may include:
- Cognitive difficulties: Memory problems, concentration issues, and difficulty with learning or retaining new information.
- Physical problems: Speech difficulties, paralysis, loss of coordination, and chronic pain.
- Emotional problems: Anxiety, depression, personality changes, and mood swings.
These effects can significantly impact your ability to work, maintain relationships, and live independently.
Blackwater Law supports Headway – the Brain Injury Association
In Essex alone, someone is admitted to the hospital every 58 minutes with an acquired brain injury. Some of those will either be through medical negligence or an accident. That is where Blackwater Law can help.
For those living with an acquired brain injury, life can be completely turned upside down. To help deal with the effects of a brain injury, someone may need specialist care, and specialist equipment or may have to make significant changes to their professional life. Some may have to stop working altogether.
Blackwater Law is committed to helping support those who can make a compensation claim, to help support them in the future. We are proud to support Headway, and in particular Headway Essex and Headway Suffolk.
Blackwater Law have sponsored several events for Headway, including the Classic Car Show in Colchester organised by Headway Essex, and providing legal advice to sufferers of brain injuries at Headway Suffolk’s regional brain injury hubs.
Headway News
Blackwater Law were the proud sponsor of Headway Essex’s Classic Vehicle Show, held on 24th September in Colchester’s Castle Park. More
Blackwater Law recently sponsored and attended Headway Essex’s Coronation Ball 2023. More
Blackwater Law are proud to be sponsoring upcoming Brain Injury Rehab Clinics, at Headway Suffolk’s regional hubs in Newmarket, Sudbury and Haverhill. More
Brain injury compensation payouts
Brain injuries can be particularly complex. This is due to the significant debilitating effects such injuries can have and the impact they can have on the life of the injured individual. Each person’s life may be affected differently by a serious brain injury
Brain injuries can range in their complexity and therefore, the amount of compensation a person could be entitled to. A mild brain injury that involves minimal, if any brain damage could be valued between £2,210 – £12,770. A severe brain injury that causes serious disablement and dependence on others could be entitled to claim between £219,070 – £282,010.
Use our brain injury compensation calculator below to estimate the amount of compensation you may receive for your brain injury. Once you have calculated your potential compensation, call us and speak to one of our personal injury solicitors about commencing your claim.
Is there a time limit for making a brain injury claim?
In the UK, there is generally a three-year time limit from the date of the accident or injury to make a personal injury claim. However, there are some exceptions:
- When the victim is a child: Parents or guardians can make a claim on behalf of a child at any point until they turn 18. The child then has three years from their 18th birthday to make a claim themselves.
- Diminished mental capacity: If the brain injury affects your mental capacity to manage your own affairs, the time limit may be suspended until you regain the ability to do so.
It is always best to seek legal advice as soon as possible after a brain injury. This will ensure you don’t miss any deadlines and give you the best chance of a successful claim.
No Win, No Fee Brain Injury Compensation
We operate all our claims on a no-win, no-fee basis. This takes away any financial risk. It means that in the event your claim for brain injury compensation is unsuccessful, you will not pay us anything towards any legal fees. There will be nothing for you to pay.
If your compensation case is successful, our legal fees will be a percentage of your compensation.
Blackwater Law successfully represented Catherine in a brain injury claim after she suffered a long-term brain injury as a result of a car accident.
Why Choose Blackwater Law?
Blackwater Law has experience in dealing with serious brain injuries, brain damage, and the impact they have on people. We can not only get you the compensation you need but also help with specialist care and arrangements whilst we deal with your case.
Blackwater Law is recognised by the Legal 500, an independent legal directory, as a leading firm of solicitors dealing with brain injury compensation claims arising out of medical negligence and serious accidents. We are also accredited by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) as specialists in clinical negligence and personal injury.
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