Causes of Brain Injuries

There are numerous causes of the brain injuries that residents of East Tennessee may suffer. The most common causes involve car accidents, slip and falls, and work injuries. The mechanisms of brain injuries include open head injuries, closed head injuries, hypoxia, tumors, infections, and chemical or toxic exposure. If you suffer a brain injury caused by someone else's negligence or misconduct, experienced Knoxville brain injury attorney Mark Hartsoe is ready to represent you in a claim or lawsuit.

The cause of a person's brain injury may affect whether they will prevail in a lawsuit for damages. If you believe that your brain injury was caused by someone else's negligence or misconduct, you may be able to recover compensation. Negligence requires you to establish that someone else's breach of reasonable care was the cause of your injuries. For example, if a drunk driver runs a red light, T-bones your car, and causes you to hit your head in the ensuing wreckage, you may be put into a coma. You would need to establish that the drunk driver breached the duty to drive safely by running the red light and that this breach was the cause of your coma and brain injuries.

If another driver violates a safety law, and this violation is the cause of injuries that are of the type that the safety law was designed to prevent, you may have a basis to allege negligence per se, or negligence as a matter of law.

In some instances, the standard of care must be established through expert testimony. For example, if your child suffers brain injuries while being born, it would be important to investigate whether the doctor handling the delivery responded appropriately to the mother's medical history and any signs of distress. Sometimes a C-section is warranted, and if a doctor fails to order a timely C-section, a baby may be cut off from air, and the hypoxia may result in brain damage. When the brain is deprived of essential oxygen during the birthing process, the result may be the death of some brain cells and possibly cerebral palsy. We would need to retain an expert to testify about the standard of care that competent doctors in the same field and geographic location would have used with the same or a similar mother and fetus. Hartsoe has represented numerous children injured during birth and appreciates the legal and emotional issues involved.

In Tennessee, property owners are expected to keep their premises safe for lawful visitors. Falls from unsafe heights due to broken stairs, balconies, or second stories may result in serious head trauma and brain injuries. Among other things, in order to recover compensation under a premises liability cause of action, you will need to establish that the property owner had actual or constructive notice about the hazardous condition that caused your brain injuries.

No two brain injuries are exactly the same. However, brain injuries may change your life and the lives of your loved ones forever. There are ways to make life easier after you have suffered these injuries, including medications and various forms of therapy. These tend to be expensive. If someone else caused your brain injury, you should consult experienced Knoxville brain injury lawyer Mark Hartsoe about pursuing damages. Call the Hartsoe Law Firm at 865-804-1011 or contact us via our online form to set up a free appointment. Mark Hartsoe represents victims who need a car accident attorney or assistance in another type of personal injury claim throughout East Tennessee, including in Knox, Blount, Monroe, Loudon, Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, Campbell, Hamblen, Greene, Anderson, Cumberland, and Fentress Counties.