Brain Injury Claims
The Deadline to File a Brain Injury Claim
The
deadline for filing most brain injury claims in
court in Hawaii is two (2) years from the date when (a) the
victim was exposed to the danger and (b) SOME injuries resulted
therefrom. The time is NOT necessarily measured from when
the brain injury actually becomes full-blown.
It should be noted, however, that there are
exceptions to this rule- for example, claims
against the City and County of Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii and
the various other Counties must be filed with the appropriate agency
within six (6) months of the date of the accident. Claims against
the State of Hawaii may have to be filed within two (2) years
of the date of the accident - regardless of when or how the injury
manifests itself.
You must file your claims in
court (or otherwise) prior to the expiration of such deadlines, or your
claims may be lost—regardless of their merit.
To be wise it is recommended that you immediately contact an attorney
after an accident giving rise to a possible brain injury occurs- please do not
hesitate to :
Contact
Brain Injury Lawyer Hawaii now for a free evaluation of your case.
Brain Injury - the "silent epidemic"
According
to the Brain Injury Association of America- each year, brain injury
claims more than 50,000 lives and leaves more than 80,000 individuals
with lifelong disabilities. The silent epidemic of brain injury is
illustrated best by a 1999 statistic from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, there currently are at least 5.3 million
Americans living with a disability as a result of brain injury.
A
brain injury is often the result of a vehicle crash, a serious
fall, a medical error or a sports injury. It has been said that
every 21 seconds someone
suffers a brain injury. The impact of a brain injury
can be devastating, but a brain injury
attorney can help lessen the impact that the brain injury
has on the lifestyle of the patient and his or her family, by helping
to reduce the financial strain caused by the brain injury.
Brain Injury - Medical treatment
What parts of the brain the brain injury has affected-
will determine what symptoms may appear. When an accident
has not resulted in visible damage to the outside
of a patient's head, there can still be extensive brain injury.
A brain injury with no external damage to the head is
often left untreated because the individual and his health
care providers underestimate
the impact of the injury. It can be important to have
an MRI taken in order to obtain an accurate diagnosis
of a brain injury, even when the head itself
does not display a visible wound.
All
potential brain injury victims should seek proper
medical evaluation from a doctor trained to recognize
brain injury signs and symptoms. The brain injury symptoms
are generally easiest to recognize
in the days immediately following when a brain injury
is been experienced. As the internal swelling and recent trauma to
the brain have a chance to heal, the relationship
between a specific trauma and brain injuries can be obscured.
A brain injury will not always
heal completely, and when it does not, it may leave residual effects on
the cognitive functioning, the emotions, the personality and other basic
functions. The sooner that a brain injury is diagnosed,
the sooner treatment can begin to reduce the long term
impact of the brain injury on the patient and to try to
prevent further deterioration and recover any lost functioning.
Living with a Brain Injury
Patients who have experienced permanent brain
injury symptoms can sometimes learn to retrain other parts
of their brain in order to compensate for
the lost functioning. Such compensation generally has the
best results when the proper brain injury treatment is
commenced shortly after the accident has occurred.
Such brain injury treatment can be costly. Moreover,
it comes at a time when the brain injury patient's
family is already experiencing financial loss and emotional upheaval.
When a brain injury limits the victim's ability
to participate in work and social activities- the strain on
the patient and the patient's family can be very challenging.
In such circumstances obtaining the assistance of a competent
brain injury attorney may help to ease the financial strain.
.
Spouses, children acting as caregivers and
parents of those who have sustained a brain injury often find
themselves overwhelmed with an ongoing need for information.
Finding help can be a complicated and exhausting task. An
experienced brain injury attorney can often help with these
challenges as well.
For further information about brain injury, you
may wish to:
Contact
the Brain Injury Association of America for more information.
To confer with
a brain injury attorney, please
contact us.
1999-2005 by Hawaii Brain Injury Lawyer Hawaii
