Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms Years Later
If you are still suffering from traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after your car crash, then your own auto insurance company must continue to pay your No-Fault benefits. A case for pain and suffering compensation and economic damages must be filed within 3 years of your auto accident.
An experienced brain injury attorney can help you bring a case to protect your legal rights to compensation and benefits for traumatic brain injury symptoms that continue to occur years later after the auto accident that caused your TBI.
The brain injury attorneys at Michigan Auto Law have more than 50 years of experience helping TBI survivors like you. Our specialized skill, resources and track record of recovering record-setting settlements and trial verdicts for TBI survivors allows our lawyers to settle cases for more money and faster.
Documenting your traumatic brain injury symptoms early rather than years after a car crash
To ensure that you are properly diagnosed and treated and that all of your legal rights are protected, it is crucial that your traumatic brain injury symptoms be documented as early as possible after your auto accident rather than years later.
Sooner really is better when it comes to brain injuries. Not only will early medical documentation help get you better faster and rule out a potentially life-threatening injury, but – critically – early documentation of your TBI symptoms also helps you avoid future legal problems with your No-Fault auto insurance company, your own health insurance company, and/or with the insurer for the at-fault driver whose negligence caused your brain injury when they later try to get out of taking responsibility for your TBI by using a large gap of time or long delay in diagnosis to claim your brain injury is not related to your car crash.
Insurance companies and insurance defense lawyers will look for any reason they can to minimize or even to refuse to pay for your medical treatment, your lost wages and the pain and suffering compensation that you are legally entitled to. A long delay in treatment, diagnosis, or even documentation of complaints of problems you may be having from a brain injury makes this easier for them.
How long do I have to sue if I suffer traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after an auto accident?
To sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering compensation, you only have 3 years from the date of the crash to file your tort lawsuit in Michigan. To recover No-Fault medical and wage loss benefits from your auto insurer, you only have 1 year from the auto accident to file your application for benefits with your insurer.
Do I have a case for No-Fault benefits for traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after my car accident?
If you have been receiving No-Fault benefits for a TBI that you suffered in a car crash, then you will have a case to bring a No-Fault insurance lawsuit to keep receiving those insurance benefits if you are continuing to suffer traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after your auto accident.
In order to begin receiving No-Fault benefits to pay for your medical bills and lost wages, you must initially file an application for No-Fault benefits – which is also called a “written notice of injury” – with the responsible auto insurance company within one (1) year after the crash. (MCL 500.3145(1) and (4))
If the application is not filed on time, then you will have no case against the auto insurance company for No-Fault insurance benefits in the event your insurer denies your claim and/or stops paying your PIP No-Fault benefits. Failure to file the application on time means you will be barred from being able to sue your auto insurer.
Do I have a case for pain and suffering compensation if symptoms years later after my car accident?
If you still have traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after having suffered a TBI in a car crash, you may have a case for compensation for pain and suffering damages, but you only have 3 years from the date of the crash to file your car accident lawsuit. (MCL 600.5805(2))
To make a successful case for pain and suffering compensation claim if you continue to experience years later, you will be required to show that your TBI has resulted in a “serious impairment of body function.” (MCL 500.3135(1), (3)(b) and (5))
A case for excess medical expenses and excess lost wages can also be made along with your case for compensation for your pain and suffering resulting from your TBI.
What traumatic brain injury symptoms may continue years later after a crash?
Tragically, many TBI survivors suffer traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after the auto accident that caused their injury. For some, the symptoms last a lifetime. These long-term TBI symptoms include:
- Movement disorders
- Seizures
- Headaches
- Visual deficits
- Sleep disorders
- Mood disorders
- Memory impairment
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty with language use and communication of ideas
- Difficulty with problem-solving
- Difficulty planning
- Difficulty processing information
- Becoming more aggressive verbally and physically
- Decreased impulse control
- Anxiety and depression
Will traumatic brain injury symptoms appear years later for the first time?
Your traumatic brain injury symptoms will not show up for the first time years later after you suffered a TBI in a car crash. They have been present from the moment you suffered your injury. The only reason it seems they are showing up years later is because the emergency room and other doctors missed the diagnosis.
This happens far too often. Research has shown that hospital emergency room visits and early doctor appointments after a crash fail to identify and diagnose TBIs between 55-80% of the time. Either the providers overlook the symptoms or they attribute them to a different injury.
To complicate the situation even more, the medical and scientific literature has documented that because brain injuries evolve and worsen over time the neuroinflammatory and chemical changes in the brains of some people manifest themselves in ways that make it appear they are symptoms which are “suddenly” showing up years later.
Get Help Now From A Michigan Brain Injury Lawyer
If you are experiencing traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after having been involved in a car crash and you have questions about your legal rights to pain and suffering compensation, economic damages and No-Fault benefits to cover medical expenses and lost wages, you can speak to an experienced Michigan brain injury attorney at (800) 968-1001 for a free consultation. You can also get help from an experienced TBI attorney by visiting our contact page or you can use the chat feature on our website.
For more than 50 years, our lawyers have been helping TBI survivors like you who have suffered traumatic brain injury symptoms years later after an auto accident. We understand what you are going through – the physical, emotional and psychological hardships. We can help.
Michigan Auto Law traumatic brain injury attorney Steven Gursten has received the highest recorded jury verdicts and settlements for Michigan closed head injury and traumatic brain injury cases over multiple years, according to year-end compilations of brain injury settlements and trial verdicts by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. These include a $5.65 million verdict on a $1 million dollar settlement offer, a $4.2 million verdict on a $100,000 settlement offer and a $2.5 million trial verdict on a $250,000 settlement offer.
Steve is past-President of the American Association for Justice’s Traumatic Brain Injury Group. Steve is also an in-demand speaker at legal lectures and seminars across the country where he teaches personal injury attorneys how to successfully litigate brain injury cases.
Our law firm consistently wins record-breaking verdicts and settlements in the state on behalf of crash victims who are TBI survivors like you. Significantly, our brain injury attorneys at Michigan Auto Law have also now recovered over 25 separate trial verdicts or judgments of a million dollars or more on insurance company settlement offers of only $0 to $30,000. This trial record allows our brain injury attorneys to settle cases faster and for significantly more money than other personal injury lawyers and law firms who do not have this proven record of success protecting accident victims with mild traumatic brain injury.
Even more important than our record settlements in the state is how our attorneys treat the people we help. To see what our own clients have to say about the caring, compassion, and communication they received from us, you can read in their own words about their experience here on our testimonials page from the crash victims we have helped. You can also read about our 100% client satisfaction guarantee.
