As the capital city of South Carolina and the state's second-largest city, there are many reasons why people choose to live in or visit Columbia. The city's leaders have spent tremendous time and energy revitalizing the area in recent years, bringing new opportunities and an updated feel to the region. 

Unfortunately, while there are many things to love about Columbia, many hazards can result in serious injuries. One of the most severe injuries a person can incur is damage to the brain, as the brain controls nearly all of the body's functions and processes. These injuries are likely to produce permanent disabilities due to the well-documented difficulty that brains have in healing from damage.

If you or your loved one suffered a brain injury due to someone else's carelessness or recklessness, you could seek compensation for the expenses and effects of your injury by filing a personal injury claim against the at-fault party's relevant liability policy.

If the insurer who services that policy fails to compensate the claim, you have a second opportunity to seek compensation through a lawsuit filed in civil court. However, brain injury claims are often more highly valued and complicated than other types of personal injury claims, and an attorney has a crucial role in helping you navigate the process.

An experienced Columbia brain injury lawyer from Morris Law, LLC, can evaluate your case for free.

Why Trust Morris Law, LLC, With Your Brain Injury Claim?

The legal team at Morris Law, LLC, has a mission to give injured people and their families the highest quality customer service, representation, and available settlements. Each team member is encouraged to take responsibility for the clients and the results we are able to receive for their claims, to speak with potential clients on the same day they contact us by phone or online. Instead of giving clients empty promises, we provide answers, compassion, and aggressive advocacy. 

Having a local law office is convenient for our clients in Columbia, as it provides easy access to services provided by team members who live and work in their city, are familiar with the hospitals and roadways they travel, and the culture that is important to residents who live in the region. 

For a free case evaluation with an experienced brain injury lawyer from Morris Law, LLC, contact us any time of the day or night by calling our Columbia office or sending us a message online.

How Much Is a Brain Injury Claim Worth in Columbia?

As explained by the Brain Injury Association of America, no two brain injuries are exactly the same, and the effects of a brain injury vary significantly from person to person. The brain comprises several sections—called lobes—that control the body's functions and responses. The severity of the disabilities that will be incurred as a result of the injury depends not only on how bad the injury was but also on the part of the brain that sustained the damage. 

For example, an injury to the brain stem can result in the sufferer's body no longer having the ability to control heart rate, consciousness, or breathing without mechanical assistance.

Damage to the frontal lobe can result in memory loss, difficulty speaking or understanding spoken language, and damage to the cerebellum can result in the loss of the ability to move in a balanced and coordinated movement. Even the side of the brain where the damage occurred can result in significant changes to the sufferer's personality and affect their abilities, as the left and right hemispheres of the brain have different responsibilities in the body's function.

Beyond differences in injuries, other unique factors make up the value of a brain injury claim, including the availability of insurance coverage to compensate the sufferer for the financial and psychological costs of their injury. Many people are surprised that insurance coverage is a major factor in a claim's value. However, it is important to understand that insurance is almost always the source of payment for these claims as liable parties generally do not have the funds to compensate costs associated with life-altering or life-threatening injuries they've caused to others out of pocket.

Brain injuries are often catastrophic injury claims due to the high likelihood of permanent disabilities resulting from the injury. The legal term catastrophic injury refers to injuries that are likely to result in a permanent loss of earning capacity for the sufferer and are typically valued higher than other types of personal injury claims due to the need to account for the loss of income and lifelong medical needs resulting from the injury.

How Brain Injuries Occur Due to Negligence in Columbia

Traumatic brain injuries involve a blow to the head or body that damages the brain. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, falls cause more than half of all new brain injuries suffered in the U.S. each year. The construction projects in and around Columbia in recent years are a common source of fall injuries, as workers are often required to work in elevated areas. Falls can also occur throughout the area in retail, dining, and office environments due to property hazards such as damaged flooring or poorly lit stairwells.

Traffic accidents are the second-most common cause of traumatic brain injuries, including accidents involving passenger vehicles, large trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, or bicyclists.

According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, Richland County sees more than 10,000 traffic accidents yearly, giving it the third-highest traffic accident rate in the state. Nearly 3,000 of these collisions result in injuries to occupants of the vehicles involved, and around 125 of these accidents feature serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries.

Brain Injuries Can Influence Every Part of a Person's Life

While the disabilities incurred from a brain injury are variable based on the severity of the injury and the lobe that sustained the damage, one thing is generally true about nearly all brain injuries: They have a significant effect on every part of the sufferer's life, and often the lives of the sufferer's family members as well. 

Brain injuries commonly result in physical complications requiring additional and long-term medical treatment, resulting in hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in lifetime medical expenses.

The disabilities resulting from the injury can prevent the victim from earning an income, which commonly complicates the issue of affording needed medical treatment if the sufferer no longer has an employer-sponsored health insurance policy.

If the sufferer can no longer perform personal care tasks independently, they and their family members may need to hire a home healthcare provider or even secure a placement at a rehabilitation or long-term nursing care facility.

For brain injury sufferers who are able to be cared for at home, there can be significant emotional challenges for them and their family members, as family members commonly experience significant changes in their relationship with their injured loved one and isolation due to behavioral and mobility issues arising from the injury that can make them unable to participate in activities and events that were previously enjoyable for the whole family.

Anxiety, depression, and emotional distress are common among those living with brain injuries and their family members.

Why Getting Compensation After a Brain Injury Is So Difficult

Despite the significant financial and psychological impacts of brain injuries, insurance companies do not make seeking compensation for an injury easy for claimants. This is mostly because insurers make money selling policies, and paying out on claims contradicts that goal. 

When an insurer receives a brain injury claim against the relevant liability policy held by an at-fault party (such as an auto liability policy, a property damage policy, or even a workers' compensation policy), they will assign a claims adjuster to evaluate the claim and determine:

• Whether coverage is available through the policy for the damages the claimant is seeking.
• Whether the injury was the policyholder's fault for a personal injury claim. Worker's compensation is a type of no-fault insurance that covers most types of workplace accidents, regardless of fault. However, claims adjusters for worker's comp claims will look at the details of the accident to ensure that the worker was not responsible for their own injury due to drug or alcohol impairment, horseplay on the job site, intentionally causing their own injury, or sustaining an injury outside of the workplace.
• Whether compensation is owed to the claimant, and—if so—how much.

While all of these considerations seem reasonable—and at face value, they are—insurance claims adjusters are well-known for exploiting the claimant's lack of legal knowledge and experience to reduce the claim.

These tactics include presenting ridiculously low settlement offers and an arbitrary deadline by which a claimant can accept the offer or lose their compensation opportunity, attempting to show that the claimant caused their own injury or someone else was to blame, or even deliberately delaying their response to the claim.

An experienced brain injury lawyer can recover damages through the personal injury or worker's comp claims process by managing communication with the insurer, ensuring the claim can be proven through evidence and documentation, properly valuing the claim to account for all covered aspects of the injury, managing the timeline of the claim to avoid allowing the statute of limitations to expire and representing the claim through settlement negotiations or litigation.

What to Do to Protect the Value of a Columbia Brain Injury Claim

Hiring an experienced brain injury lawyer is an important part of successfully resolving the claim. A legal team can handle most aspects of the claims process, providing the claimant and their family with the opportunity to focus on physical recovery while their attorney handles their financial recovery. 

However, claimants and their loved ones can protect the value of the claim by:

• Providing the legal team at Morris Law, LLC, with any evidence and documentation they have that can help prove their claims, such as an official accident report, photos of the accident scene, receipts for injury-related expenses, information about the claimant's wages and ability to work, and any medical documentation provided to the claimant.
• Journaling about the injury to track the frequency of medical visits, day-to-day pain levels, and other effects that can be considered by the attorney when they are valuing the claim.
• Following the treatment plan of medical professionals, including attending scheduled appointments, taking prescribed medications, and participating in therapies designed to provide the sufferer with the greatest opportunity for recovery.

If You or Your Loved One Suffered a Brain Injury, Contact Us

Brain injuries are among the most significant injuries a person can suffer. Suffering a brain injury doesn't only cause immediate financial and psychological effects but can burden the sufferer and their family members for the rest of their life. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer.

The legal team at Morris Law, LLC, understands how devastating the effects of this type of injury can be. We are dedicated to helping those who incurred brain injuries due to someone else's negligence to receive the compensation they need by providing compassionate customer service and the knowledgeable advocacy they need as they navigate a complex catastrophic injury claims process.

For a free case evaluation from our Columbia legal team, contact us by calling (843) 232-0944 or sending us a message through our online contact form.