Selecting Legal Representation

People who sustain brain injuries from vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, falls, defective products, or other incidents caused by another person or entity often find it helpful to talk to an attorney. Medical treatment like rehabilitation and long-term care services can be expensive and have the potential to span years, if not decades.

Why Hire an Attorney?

Pursuing compensation from a person or corporation that caused a brain injury is a way to ensure justice and accountability and may also provide additional financial resources to aid with long-term care or rehab if the injury causes a chronic or permanent disability.

An attorney will seek to obtain full compensation for medical bills, lost income, and future care costs. The attorney may also seek damages for pain and suffering. Importantly, an experienced attorney can help to preserve any entitlements to federal and state benefits. Without careful planning, valuable benefits may be lost.

It’s important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after a person is injured, as the attorney can help determine whether or not the plaintiff – the person bringing the suit – has a case. The plaintiff may be the person with a brain injury, or it may be their family, caregiver, or estate. The defendant, meanwhile, is the party or parties that caused the brain injury.

Determining who the defendant is may not always be clear cut, and a lawyer can help with determining who is legally responsible for the brain injury. For example, in a motor vehicle crash that results in a person getting a traumatic brain injury, there are several potential defendants, including the driver, the automobile manufacturer, the local government or its employees, could all be liable. If the driver was under the influence of alcohol, the bartender who served them could also be liable. If the crash occurred at a work event, an employer may be liable as well. An attorney can investigate the case, determine what kind of case to bring against which defendant or defendants, and work on preparing the case, allowing the injured person to focus on recovery.

Choosing the Right Attorney

When choosing an attorney, it’s important to consider many factors, including education and training, knowledge of the consequences and treatment of brain injury, knowledge of how to structure and manage awards, and experience with similar cases.

An attorney must have the financial resources to try the case as well as access to the best experts. Most personal injury attorneys work under a contingent fee arrangement, which means the attorney does not receive a fee if the plaintiff is not compensated. As such, attorneys will often invest substantial time and money during the investigation, preparation, and resolution of the case.

The Brain Injury Association of America provides a list of Brain Injury Preferred Attorneys who have experience handling brain injury cases. BIAA’s Preferred Attorneys have extensive knowledge and experience representing the brain injury community and understand the cognitive, physical, behavioral, and social difficulties that people with brain injury may experience. To find a list of BIAA’s preferred attorneys and to locate one in your area, visit biausa.org/preferredattorneys.

Questions to Ask

Preparing a set of questions ahead of your meeting with an attorney can help you ensure you’re getting all of the information you need. Here are some questions you may want to ask a prospective attorney:

• How much of your practice is dedicated to personal injury?
• What experience do you have with brain injury cases?
• How did you first get involved with brain injury cases?
• Based on the information you have about my case, what are the strengths and weaknesses you’re seeing?
• What additional information about my case would be helpful for you to have?
• Who else in your practice would you involve in my case? What sort of role would they have?
• Who will be my primary contact with your practice?
• Have you been successful handling cases similar to mine in the past?
• What is your involvement with legal associations, local, state, or national brain injury associations, or other organizations?

This information originally appeared in the BIAA’s Guide to Selecting Legal Representation for Brain Injury Cases.

---

This article originally appeared in Volume 17, Issue 3 of THE Challenge! published in 2023.