Brain Injury

Miami Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

Strong advocacy for accident victims with TBIs or head trauma

Head trauma requires immediate medical care. Seconds matter. Just a brief loss of oxygen or any forceful damage to the brain can cause long-term physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral difficulties. Many brain injury victims require immediate surgery, ICU care, and long-term rehabilitative care. Some victims may never work or live functional lives again. Often, family members are required to alter their lives to care for a TBI victim.

Brain injuries are life-changing. When people need a specialist in life-altering injuries, people choose Hickey Law Firm. Attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey is double board-certified by The Florida Bar in Civil Trial and Admiralty and Maritime Law, distinctions held by few attorneys in Florida. He is also board-certified in Civil Trial by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA). The Best Lawyers in America© recognizes John H. (Jack) Hickey in three areas: Admiralty and Maritime Law, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and Medical Malpractice –­ Plaintiffs.

Personal injury attorney Jack Hickey has admissions to all three Federal District Courts in Florida—Southern, Middle, and Northern—as well as Federal Circuit Courts for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Our firm recovered $12,000,000 in a case where a dive boat backed over two of its divers, causing severe head and brain injuries. [Adkins v. Florida Keys Dive Center]

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What is a traumatic brain injury?

According to University of Florida Health, 1.4 million Americans sustain a TBI every year, nearly 50,000 TBI victims die from their injuries, and 235,000 need to be hospitalized. Over one million require emergency room treatment. They also note that head “trauma is the leading cause of death in people under the age of 40.”

Head trauma includes:

  • Skull fractures. These injuries result from a significant blow to the head.
  • Concussions. These injuries normally cause a brief loss of consciousness.
  • Cerebral contusions. University of Florida Health states that head injuries are “’brain bruises’ which occur from acceleration and de-acceleration of the head.”
  • Diffuse axonal injury. When head trauma causes microscopic brain changes, the injuries are called diffuse axonal injury (DAI). DAI refers to the “microscopic severing of axons (fibers which allow brain neurons to communicate with each other).” “If enough axons are injured in this way, then the ability of nerve cells to integrate and function may be lost or greatly impaired.”
  • Hematomas. Hematomas are classified as:
    • Intracerebral(in the brain)
    • Subdural(between the brain and the dura)
    • Extradural(between the skull and the duras)

Some head trauma patients suffer two injuries. The first injury is the direct blow to the head. The second occurs in the hours and days after the first injury. Secondary injuries can cause the brain to swell and blood clots.

How do doctors diagnose traumatic brain injury in Miami?

In diagnosing brain injuries, physicians typically ask the patient questions about what happened. Doctors also examine the patient’s cognitive and emotional state. If a patient is in a coma, the Glasgow Scale Test, a stimulation and response process, is used to determine the severity of the TBI. The Glasgow Scale Test consists of verbal and motor response questions to determine the ability of the patient to open his/her eyes and move his/her limbs. The lower the score, the more severe the TBI.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a CT scan may be used to determine if there is evidence of bleeding in the brain, hematomas, contusions, and swelling of brain tissue. MRIs may also be employed but typically only after the patient’s condition stabilizes.

WHEN RESULTS MATTER, PEOPLE CHOOSE HICKEY LAW FIRM.

What are the symptoms and complications of a TBI?

The symptoms of a TBI vary depending on the severity of the injury. TBIs are generally classified as mild, moderate, or severe. The signs and symptoms of a mild TBI include:

  • Physical symptoms. These include headaches, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and speech difficulties.
  • Sensory symptoms. These symptoms include blurry vision, ear-ringing, odd mouth tastes, sensitivity to light, and problems smelling.
  • Cognitive, mental, and behavioral symptoms. Patients may lose consciousness for a short time, be confused, have memory and concentration difficulties, mood changes, problems sleeping, and anxiety or depression.

Symptoms of a moderate or severe TBI include the same signs and symptoms of a mild brain injury. However, the symptoms may last longer and increase in severity. Additional symptoms include:

  • Physical symptoms. Convulsions or seizures, dilated pupils, inability to wake from sleep, numb or weak fingers and toes, and clear fluids that drain from the ears or nose.
  • Cognitive or mental symptoms. Combativeness or agitation, slurred speech, coma or other consciousness disorders, and profound confusion.

Children with TBIs may have additional difficulties, compounded by their inability to communicate.

TBI victims often have functional complications requiring the help of an occupational therapist so they can dress, bathe, and perform other daily living tasks. Many TBI victims have difficulty with social relationships.

What healthcare providers treat Miami TBI victims?

If you or a loved one is involved in a Miami accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury, you will likely be treated by one or more of the following healthcare providers:

  • ER doctors
  • Neurosurgeons
  • Rehabilitative care team that includes physical, occupational, vocational, speech, respiratory, and other types of therapists
  • Rehabilitative nurses
  • Psychologists or neuropsychiatrists
  • Physiatrists
  • Social workers
  • Nutritionists
Brain Injury

Who is liable for an accident that causes brain injuries in Miami?

At Hickey Law Firm, our team of Miami personal injury lawyers is skilled at determining how traumatic brain injuries happen and who should be held responsible. Some of the most common types of accidents that cause TBIs include:

  • Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, Uber accidents, and aviation accidents. Drivers and owners of the vehicles are often responsible. Other defendants such as trucking companies that hire the drivers may be liable too.
  • Maritime accidents include cruise ship accidents, boat accidents, and jet ski accidents. Owners, rental companies, and others may be defendants.
  • Falls or assaults while on the premises of property owners. Owners, tenants, and maintenance/repair companies may be liable.
  • Medical malpractice. Doctors, hospitals, and other health professionals may be liable.
  • Construction accidents. Site owners, architects, contractors, and others may be responsible.
  • Product liability accidents due to defective tools, equipment, vehicle parts, and other product defects. Manufacturers, distributors, and sellers may be held accountable.
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Do you have a traumatic brain injury lawyer near me?

Hickey Law Firm meets with clients and families at our office located at 12150 SW 128th Ct, Suite 225 in Miami, Florida. We meet with brain injury victims at their homes, a hospital, or other convenient locations if they cannot come to our office.

Speak with Hickey Law Firm in Miami today

At Hickey Law Firm, we will lead you on the journey to justice.  We are quality over quantity. We don’t have hundreds of lawyers, we have a few. We don’t have thousands of clients, we have a good number. We don’t advertise on TV.  We get interviewed on TV ... and in magazines, on RADIO, IN newspapers, and by online media. And we are not for everybody.  We are for you, the honest person who was seriously injured.

Talk with a seasoned Miami, Florida brain injury lawyer now. Initial consultations are FREE. You pay ABSOLUTELY NOTHING until and unless we recover compensation for you. Schedule an appointment now. Call 305.371.8000 or fill out our contact form. We serve accident victims throughout Florida and across the country.

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