Traumatic Brain Injury 

One of our firm’s areas of practice is representing persons who have suffered a brain injury due to someone else’s carelessness or negligence. If you or a loved one have suffered a severe or mild traumatic brain injury, you need an experienced brain injury attorney.  

Brain injury cases present complex medical and legal issues.  Our attorneys have the expertise to help you.   According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 1.7 million people annually sustain a traumatic brain injury.  A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury.  Even if someone does not lose consciousness, they can still sustain a traumatic brain injury.  Some brain injuries are easy to diagnose because the brain damage can be seen on MRI’s or CT scans.  Other, more subtle brain injuries, may initially be missed and only become apparent some time after an accident.   Even these so-called “mild” traumatic brain injuries can have a devastating impact on the injured person and their family.  Someone can suffer severe brain damage, causing substantial difficulty concentrating, memory problems, reduced attention span, headaches, impaired executive functioning, fatigue and personality changes, even though their injury does not show up on MRI’s or CT scans.  Compounding their misery is that to people who do not know them well, they may appear “fine”and be repeatedly thrust into painful, humiliating situations. 

At Karon & Dalimonte, LLP, we are familiar with the neuropsychological tests used to diagnose these impairments as well as more sensitive imaging techniques such as PET scans, diffusion tensor imaging and fMRI’s which are now being used to document this subtle brain damage.  We have also learned that defendants and their insurers can be expected to accuse the legitimately injured of either malingering (faking their injuries) or of suffering from a somatoform disorder, a psychiatric condition which the defense will claim is solely responsible for producing these symptoms.  Fortunately, our brain injury attorneys are well versed in the medical literature and the proper use of neuropsychological tests and personality assessments, such as the MMPI upon which defense “experts” can be expected to base these “opinions”.   This allows us to refute these arguments on the basis of sound scientific and medical principles. 

Even where there is an undisputed diagnosis of severe traumatic brain injury, such as when a head injury is followed by coma and clear radiographic evidence of brain damage, complex medical legal issues remain.  For example, to truly measure the full effect of a brain injury, an accurate understanding of an individual’s pre-injury functioning and how it compares to that person’s present impairments is required.   Moreover, it is well established that TBI can have a devastating effect on an individual’s social skills.  The inability to make friends or maintain relationships can lead to lonely isolation, destroy marriages and prevent future employment.  Where they have occurred, a skilled brain injury attorney must be able to explain these tragic consequences of traumatic brain injury to the jury.  At Karon & Dalimonte, LLP, we are experienced in using the testimony of friends and family, as well as qualified clinicians, to present a complete picture of the losses our clients have suffered.

We are also aware of the unique financial challenges faced by brain injured persons and their families.  We work with qualified consultants to document the future cost of necessary medical, rehabilitation, and assistive services.  Sadly, it is also established that traumatic brain injuries decrease the probability of post-injury employment in people who were employed before they were injured, lengthen the time it takes them to return to work (if they do return) and decrease the likelihood that they will return to the same positions.  At Karon & Dalimonte, LLP, we work with vocational experts and economists to calculate our clients’ loss of income.  It is our goal that our clients be provided with the resources they need to obtain the help they require as well as be compensated for the more intangible, yet real, losses they have sustained.

If you or a loved one have suffered a TBI due to someone else’s negligence, you should consult an attorney.  Brain injury lawyers can evaluate whether you may be able to obtain compensation from the responsible parties and, if so, can pursue such an action on your behalf.  We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you if you would like to consult with a Massachusetts traumatic brain injury attorney. 

Obviously, the legal system alone cannot address all of the challenges facing the brain injured.  The top priority must always be achieving the maximum possible recovery.  More information about the nature of traumatic brain injuries and the resources available to injured persons is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) and the Brain Injury Association of America (www.biausa.org) as well as your local state brain injury association (for example the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts www.biama.org).