Kenton Koszdin Law Office

Head and Brain Injuries

At Kenton Koszdin Law Office, we fight to get our clients compensation for medical costs and lost wages through a workers’ comp claim or personal injury case. We won’t rest until we get the workers’ comp head injury settlements our clients deserve after a traumatic brain injury.
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An Experienced Los Angeles Head Injury Attorney Will Help You Sue for a Work-Related Brain Injury Claim

Injuries to the head can be disastrous, leading to serious conditions such as post-concussion syndrome and paralysis. The weight of these injuries is often shared, with families becoming caregivers and helping the victim cover their medical expenses and fill the gap left by lost wages.

If you’ve suffered an injury while you were on the job, you may be entitled to file for workers’ compensation benefits. You may also potentially file a personal injury lawsuit against a third party. Our compassionate legal team has helped innumerable people get compensation when they become victims of head and traumatic brain injuries, as well as those suffering conditions like post-concussion syndrome.

For over a decade, we’ve fought for workers with head injury claims from Los Angeles, Palmdale, Van Nuys, and Bakersfield. To maximize your head injury or traumatic brain injury claim, schedule a free consultation with a brain injury lawyer in Los Angeles today.

An Experienced Los Angeles Head Injury Attorney Will Help You Sue for a Work-Related Brain Injury Claim

Common Types of Head and Brain Injury Cases

Any given head or brain injury falls under the term “acquired brain injury” (ABI). Victims of such injuries typically face significant medical expenses that could follow them for the rest of their lives. This is why many seek workers’ compensation claims.

There are several ways that an ABI can be classified. Some of the most common include:

  • A traumatic brain injury
  • A nontraumatic brain injury

A traumatic brain injury occurs when the brain is subjected to various types of trauma, such as external piercing traumas and internal trauma resulting from an impact on the skull. These traumas form the basis of many brain injury claims.
In contrast, a nontraumatic brain injury might be caused by several factors, including seizures, an electrical shock, stroke, an infection or disease, tumors, toxic exposures, metabolic disorders, poisonous substances, oxygen deprivation, or a drug overdose. In many cases, nontraumatic injuries develop over time, leading many to seek workers’ compensation.

In addition to these two broad categories, a personal injury affecting the brain may be further defined as:

  • Focal Injuries: Typically limited to a single area of the brain
  • Diffuse Injuries: Impacting a larger portion of the brain
  • Primary Injuries: An immediate consequence of an accident
  • Secondary Injuries: Typically occurring gradually over the course of hours, days, weeks, or longer
  • Diffuse Axonal Injuries: A shearing of the brain’s nerve fibers — one of the most damaging types of injuries
  • Concussion Injuries: Either mild or moderate, usually taking a long time to heal
  • Post-concussion syndrome: Symptoms and consequences of a concussion that last longer than normal and interfere with everyday life — post-concussion syndrome is common and often overlooked
  • Hematomas: Blood pooling within the brain tissue
  • Contusions: Localized bruising that has effects ranging from minor swelling to fatalities
  • Coup-Contrecoup Injuries: A type of contusion that occurs at the point of impact (known as the coup), as well as on the opposite side of the brain (contrecoup)
  • Skull Fractures: Breaks in the cranial bone, typically causing severe damage

When a personal injury results in a permanent disability, the medical bills victims face are astronomical, and the loss of the enjoyment and experience of life. Thankfully, workers’ compensation cases can help victims recuperate losses.

Even without a permanent disability, the impact of something like post-concussion syndrome can be overwhelming for an injured worker.

Common Causes of Workplace Head Injuries

Head injuries are not uncommon, and employers go to great lengths to prevent them and associated workers’ compensation claims. Of course, they still occur, but far less frequently than if no safety measures were employed.
Common causes of workplace head injuries include:

  • Vehicle accidents
  • Slip and fall accidents resulting in head trauma or brain trauma
  • Falls from high places, which commonly occur in construction work
  • Violence, such as when another worker or a customer commits assault
  • Work-sponsored recreational events, from picnics to retreats
  • Exposure to dangerous chemicals leading to temporary or permanent brain damage

Injured workers should seek immediate and extensive medical treatment from an emergency room doctor for any on-the-job head injury, even if it appears minor. Issues like post-concussion syndrome are no small matters.

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Symptoms of Head and Brain Injuries

A wide range of symptoms can occur after a head injury like a traumatic brain injury (TBI). For example, traumatic brain injury victims may lose consciousness after a workplace injury, often waking up in terrible pain and sometimes being unable to move their limbs.

However, some of the symptoms of a serious or mild head injury may be so initially mild that a traumatic brain injury may be difficult to detect. Mild TBIs are some of the most prevalent injuries, although they can easily be missed during an initial assessment of a victim of a workplace accident.

Symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury can include:

  • Tiredness
  • Problems with vision
  • Headaches
  • Loss of memory
  • Difficulty in concentrating
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Dizziness
  • Moods that change rapidly
  • Seizures
  • Nausea
  • Changes in the ability to smell
  • Increased sensitivity to visual or audio input
  • A sense of confusion

At higher levels of severity, such as a moderate to severe TBI, initial symptoms may include a loss of consciousness that lasts from 20 minutes to six hours (moderate) or loss of consciousness that extends more than six hours (severe). At the more extreme end, severe TBIs can lead to physiological and mental damage that can last a lifetime.
The symptoms that severe traumatic brain injuries produce include:

  • Diminished or total loss of mental capacity, memory, and language skills
  • A change in personality traits
  • Incomplete or complete sensory loss (tactile, sense of smell, etc.)
  • Extreme sensitivity to light and sound
  • Partial or full paralysis
  • Physical difficulties, including recurrent pain and bowel or bladder dysfunction

Due to the complexities involved, the cost to treat head injuries (especially severe brain injury) can be devastating, which is why many victims seek a workers’ compensation attorney to help recover treatment costs.

How Do You File a Head Injury Claim?

You’re entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, but you must follow the strict rules governing the filing of workers’ compensation claims in Los Angeles.

  • Get Immediate Medical Attention
    If you need emergency medical care, do not hesitate to seek medical attention, especially if you have concussion symptoms. Head to the hospital for treatment, even if you don’t have medical benefits.
    It’s unwise to risk what seems like mild concussions going untreated, or you may need future medical care.
    While talking with healthcare professionals, make sure to request your medical records.
  • Complete a Claim Form
    Your employer, once aware of your injury, will give you a DWC-1 claim form to fill out. It is at this time that a seasoned workers’ compensation attorney will be particularly helpful in maximizing your claim. On the form, you will need to state the location, time, and circumstances of your accident. You must also describe the injury, from its severity to its location. After filling out the DWC-1, keep a copy for yourself, and give one to your employer. Your workers’ comp lawyer will need this for your workers’ compensation case.
  • Obtain Further Medical Treatment from a Qualified Provider
    You will have the option of choosing doctors within LA County’s Medical Provider Network (MPN).
    Time is of the essence when seeking a brain injury workers’ comp settlement. Injured workers have one year to file a workers’ compensation claim.
    However, they only have 30 days from the date of the accident to report the injury to their employer, who will work with their insurance company.
    Other factors come into play (such as wage loss benefits), which makes it wise for injured workers to take swift action and contact a Los Angeles head injury lawyer as soon as possible to begin a workers’ compensation case.

 

Obtain Further Medical Treatment from a Qualified Provider

You will have the option of choosing doctors within LA County’s Medical Provider Network (MPN). Time is of the essence when seeking a brain injury workers’ comp settlement. Injured workers have one year to file a workers’ compensation claim. However, they only have 30 days from the date of the accident to report the injury to their employer, who will work with their insurance company. Other factors come into play (such as wage loss benefits), which makes it wise for injured workers to take swift action and contact a Los Angeles head injury lawyer as soon as possible to begin a workers’ compensation case.

Treatments for Head and Brain Injuries

For less severe brain and head injuries, recovery can consist of a simple ice pack and some aspirin. But it’s important to remember that new symptoms can arise in the days and weeks after a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion injury.

On the other hand, moderate to severe injuries may necessitate emergency care for victims. Treatment for a severe TBI victim can include pain medication, precautions to reduce fluid buildup, and measures to stop or prevent seizures.

Typically, rehabilitation will begin at a hospital, although specialized rehab centers may be used after initial treatment.
Some patients require the aid of physiatrists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech/language pathologists, and neurologists. Complications like post-concussion syndrome can require the need for other specialists.

The ultimate treatment goal for a victim of a TBI is to preserve their lives and to ease suffering (whether it’s physical or emotional in nature) as well as to help them return to normal, everyday life. This is why workers’ compensation settlements and personal injury cases are so important.

Results Matter

Fair compensation for your work-related injuries can save your health and finances.
In one case, our client developed carpal tunnel syndrome and fibromyalgia over many years at a mail processing facility. Multiple insurers denied her workers’ compensation claim. We took her case to trial to obtain compensation of $267,000 plus medical care for the rest of her life.
In another case, our client was unable to work due to multiple hand, neck, and back injuries. The workers’ comp insurers for the hotel where she worked denied her claim of total permanent disability. We tried the case and obtained lifetime medical care and a 100% total permanent disability award worth $246,000.

More Verdicts & Settlements

Which Occupations Are at the Highest Risk for a Head Injury?

Injuries can happen at any work site. However, some occupations carry greater risk than others for head injuries like post-concussion syndrome.

Construction

Heavy machinery, dangerous heights, and other characteristics of construction work make the industry particularly risky for head injuries from falls, falling objects, and dangerous tools and equipment.

Manufacturing and Warehouse

Falling objects and dangerous equipment cause many a head injury in these sectors. Despite safety measures, they still occur.

First Responders

First responders can experience head injuries while responding to emergencies. Police officers especially may also experience violence after arriving on the scene of an emergency.

Commercial Trucking

Commercial trucking accidents invariably lead to serious injuries, with TBIs being quite common. In some cases, victims may be entitled to a car accident settlement as well.

Aviation

Flight attendants and baggage handlers are in danger of being struck by falling luggage and dangerous equipment and can face debilitating conditions, such as post-concussion syndrome or loss of motor skills.

Regardless of your industry, you deserve head injury compensation for your on-the-job head injury. A Los Angeles brain injury lawyer can help with your workers’ compensation claim.

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