The brain controls our mobility, and how our entire body functions. If a brain injury occurs, it loses the ability to function fully, and this can cause significant problems across all aspects of someone’s day-to-day life.
There are certain types of brain injuries:
Traumatic brain injury: caused by a blow to the head or external force
Acquired brain injury: related to pressure being exerted on the brain
Congenital brain damage: caused by birth trauma or genetic reasons
These injuries can vary in severity and can have a differing impact on someone’s emotional, physical, or cognitive function.
It’s important to seek advice as soon as possible if you are concerned that you, or a loved one, has suffered a brain injury because of negligent treatment.
Bringing a successful brain injury claim can help someone to cope better with their injury and enable them to pay for any equipment or adjustments, care, and therapies they may need to maximise their independence, as well as cover additional living expenses.
The majority of these claims are complicated as it often needs numerous forms of expert evidence to establish what happened, whether the treatment was of a reasonable standard, and, if not, whether it caused an otherwise avoidable injury.
A brain injury can have an impact on various aspects of someone’s life, and often further evidence is needed to establish the full impact on someone’s life now and in the future, on which the claim would be based.
Our medical negligence solicitors are highly skilled, vastly experienced, and work hard to understand what has happened and whether the treatment was negligent.
We seek to secure the most appropriate compensation possible to compensate for the pain and suffering caused.
We understand that brain injuries often cause life-changing traumas for the whole family and will treat the case with the utmost sensitivity.
We're also accredited by the Headway Head Injury Solicitors Directory 2024, demonstrating our expertise in handling brain injury cases.
We’re always there for you. Why not call us today for an informal chat about your situation?
We receive lots of questions about brain injuries caused by medical negligence.
Here are some commonly asked questions about the claims process and what to expect.
It’s very difficult to give an answer to this as it depends on a number of factors.
The first of these is who has been impacted by the injury. If the injury is to a child, it can often take many years as it is important to understand the long-term impact on the child, which may not become evident until they are older. If it is an adult who cannot bring the claim themselves, it can still take a long time because a court needs to be satisfied that the prognosis has been fully explored before approving any settlement.
If someone’s injury is less severe and they retain capacity, it is often more straightforward, but the nature of brain injuries means that they take longer to progress than a simpler medical negligence claim. This is because brain injury cases often span numerous expert fields which both we, on behalf of the injured person, and the defendant’s representative would need to obtain before determining how to proceed.
Whilst we have to investigate and prepare cases as if they are going to a trial, the vast majority of cases do not reach that far - either because our investigations demonstrate that there is not a viable claim or some form of compromise is reached.
A trial is an absolute last resort, and most cases, even where liability is denied, reach a resolution before a trial takes place.
However, when a case involves an injury that means that the person cannot bring the claim themselves and if a successful compromise is reached, the family would need to attend a relatively short and informal hearing so that the court could formally approve of any settlement.
If a brain injury is found to be a result of medical negligence, that person may be entitled to significant compensation for the pain and suffering caused. They could also claim compensation for:
Loss of income: if the injury means that a person is no longer able to earn what they previously did, or likely would have done in the future
Care, assistance, and therapies: if the negligence means that they now need care and assistance from professionals or family
Aids and equipment: if these would provide support and assistance to their day-to-day life and it is needed because of negligent treatment
Our brain injury solicitors will aim to demonstrate that there has been negligent treatment. If we can do that, we will then seek to obtain enough compensation to cover all costs for treatment, rehabilitation, and home adaptations you may need for the future.
Whilst the case is ongoing, we can seek 'interim payments' from the defendants as well, which are effectively payments up front whilst the case is still ongoing. These can be used to set up various forms of treatment and rehabilitation to maximise recovery.
We can also connect you with support groups, charities, and medical practitioners who can offer services to support you or your family.