Brain Injury Lawyer | Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Brain Injury Lawyer: What You Need to Know After a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury is one of the most serious and life-altering consequences of an accident. When another party’s negligence causes a TBI, the physical, emotional, and financial devastation that follows can last a lifetime. A brain injury lawyer who understands the medical complexity of these cases — and the legal strategies needed to hold responsible parties accountable — is essential to pursuing the full compensation your recovery demands. Whether the injury resulted from a car accident, a truck crash, a fall caused by dangerous conditions, or another traumatic event, experienced legal representation makes a decisive difference in the outcome of your claim.

TBI cases are legally and medically complex in ways that most personal injury claims are not. The long-term effects of a brain injury are often difficult to quantify at the outset, and insurance companies take advantage of that uncertainty to push for early settlements that fail to account for ongoing care, lost earning capacity, and the profound impact on quality of life. Traumatic brain injury attorneys who handle these cases know how to document the full spectrum of a TBI’s effects — using medical experts, neuropsychological evaluations, and life care planning specialists — to build claims that reflect what an injury of this severity actually costs a person and their family over a lifetime. More info on this San Antonio auto accident attorney page.

If you or a loved one has suffered a TBI in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, contact our office today for a free, private consultation. Our TBI attorneys will review the details of your case, explain your legal options, and go to work building the strongest possible claim on your behalf. More info on this car accident attorney page.

What the Data Says About Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States

The scale of traumatic brain injury in the United States is staggering, and the CDC’s most recent data makes clear that TBI remains a leading cause of death and long-term disability across all age groups. Understanding the scope of the problem helps explain why these injuries demand serious and sustained legal advocacy.

Deaths and Hospitalizations

According to the CDC, there were approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2020 — more than 586 hospitalizations every single day. In 2021, TBI-related deaths in the United States reached 69,473, representing roughly 190 deaths per day. These figures do not include the far larger number of brain injuries treated only in emergency departments, urgent care settings, or not treated at all. TBI accounts for approximately 30 percent of all injury-related deaths in the country, making it one of the most consequential injuries a person can sustain.

Who Is Most at Risk

TBI affects people of all ages, but certain groups face disproportionately high risk. Adults 75 years and older account for about 32 percent of TBI-related hospitalizations and 28 percent of TBI-related deaths — reflecting the severe consequences of falls in the elderly population. Falls are also the leading cause of TBI across most age groups. Among children and young adults, motor vehicle crashes are among the most significant contributing causes. Men are roughly 1.5 times more likely than women to sustain a traumatic brain injury, and the 0-to-4 and 15-to-19 age ranges represent two of the highest-risk windows in the population.

Long-Term Disability and the Cost of Care

An estimated 5.3 million Americans — nearly two percent of the entire U.S. population — live with long-term or lifelong disability resulting from a traumatic brain injury, requiring ongoing assistance to carry out basic daily activities. The lifetime cost of care for a single TBI patient is estimated to range from $600,000 to $1.8 million, depending on severity and the nature of the disability. These figures reflect the reality that a serious brain injury does not simply produce a period of recovery followed by a return to normal life — it can permanently alter a person’s cognitive function, emotional regulation, independence, and ability to work.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Falls are the leading cause of TBI-related emergency department visits across most age groups, followed by motor vehicle crashes, being struck by or against an object, and assaults. Firearm-related injuries represent a disproportionate share of TBI fatalities — a firearm-related brain injury is substantially more likely to result in death than a TBI from any other cause. Sports-related TBIs are also a significant and growing concern, with the CDC estimating 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related brain injuries occurring each year across the country.

Why TBI Claims Require Specialized Legal Representation

The medical and financial complexity of traumatic brain injury cases makes them among the most demanding in personal injury law. The full effects of a TBI may not be immediately apparent, even to medical providers. Cognitive difficulties, personality changes, memory loss, and emotional instability can emerge gradually or worsen over time, and the connection between those symptoms and the original injury must be carefully documented and presented. Insurance companies and defense attorneys often attempt to challenge that connection, minimize the severity of documented symptoms, or argue that the injured party had pre-existing conditions that account for the deficits they are experiencing.

Our attorneys work with neurologists, neuropsychologists, vocational rehabilitation specialists, and life care planners to build TBI claims that account for the full lifetime impact of the injury — not just the immediate medical bills. We do not accept early settlements that shortchange our clients, and we are fully prepared to take these cases to trial when the compensation offered fails to reflect what a brain injury of this severity actually demands.

If you or a loved one has sustained a traumatic brain injury in an accident, call us today for a free, confidential consultation with a knowledgeable brain injury attorney. We are here to answer your questions, explain your rights, and fight for the full compensation you deserve.


Read More

Car Accident Attorney in Alexandria, MN — Schoep & McCashin, Chtd.

A collision at the intersection of State Highway 29 and County Road 82. A rear-end crash on I-94 east of Alexandria. A T-bone at one of the busy intersections in the Lakes Area. A rollover on a county road during a Minnesota winter storm. Within hours of any serious car accident, a process starts that most drivers do not fully understand — and the early decisions often determine the value of the entire claim.
At Schoep & McCashin, Chtd., we represent injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians in car accident cases throughout Alexandria, Douglas County, and the surrounding west-central Minnesota communities.

Minnesota Is a No-Fault State
Minnesota operates a no-fault auto insurance system under the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, Chapter 65B of Minnesota Statutes. Every Minnesota auto policy must include Basic Economic Loss Benefits — generally called PIP, for Personal Injury Protection — that pay medical expenses and a portion of lost wages regardless of who caused the accident. The minimum coverage is $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for wage loss and other economic losses, though many policies include higher limits.

PIP applies first. Your own auto carrier pays for medical bills and lost wages from the no-fault coverage before any claim against the at-fault driver becomes relevant. This affects nearly every aspect of how a Minnesota car accident case proceeds — what forms get filed, what deadlines apply, and how medical bills get handled during the claim.

The Threshold for Suing the At-Fault Driver
Minnesota’s no-fault system limits when injured drivers can step outside the system and sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering. Under Minn. Stat. § 65B.51, the injured person can pursue a tort claim against the at-fault driver only if the injuries meet one of the statutory thresholds: more than $4,000 in reasonable medical expenses (excluding diagnostic X-ray costs), permanent injury, permanent disfigurement, sixty days or more of disability, or death.

The $4,000 medical threshold is the one most often contested. Soft-tissue cases involving neck and back strains often hover around the threshold, and whether the case can proceed depends on consistent medical treatment and credible documentation. Carriers fight threshold cases hard, and the cases that survive are the ones where the medical record was built carefully from the start.

Comparative Fault in Minnesota
Minnesota follows a modified comparative fault rule under Minn. Stat. § 604.01. The injured plaintiff can recover damages so long as their share of fault does not exceed the at-fault parties’ combined fault — typically expressed as the 50-percent bar. If the plaintiff is 50 percent or less at fault, recovery is reduced proportionally. If the plaintiff is more than 50 percent at fault, recovery is barred entirely.

This makes fault allocation a significant battleground in Minnesota car accident cases. Every percentage point matters financially. The difference between a 49 percent and 51 percent finding determines whether the case has value at all.

Car Accident Matters We Handle
Our car accident practice covers:

  • Rear-end and chain-reaction collisions
  • T-bone and intersection crashes
  • Head-on collisions
  • Distracted driving accidents
  • Drunk and drugged driving collisions
  • Hit-and-run cases
  • Uber, Lyft, and rideshare accidents
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims under the rider’s own policy
  • Pedestrian and bicycle collisions
  • Multi-vehicle pile-ups on I-94, Highway 29, and other regional roads
  • Wrongful death claims arising from fatal collisions
  • Catastrophic injury cases involving brain or spinal cord damage
  • Winter weather accidents and questions of road conditions

The Six-Year Statute of Limitations
Minnesota imposes a six-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims under Minn. Stat. § 541.05 — substantially longer than the two or three years that most states allow. The longer window provides flexibility, but it should not be confused with permission to wait. Evidence still disappears quickly, witness memories still fade, and a case investigated promptly is invariably stronger than the same case worked years later. Acting early preserves the case.

How We Approach the Work
Car accident cases run on contingency. There are no fees unless we recover compensation for the client. We advance the costs of investigation, expert witnesses where needed, medical record retrieval, and the development of the case necessary to make it strong at every stage — including, where appropriate, accident reconstruction and biomechanical analysis.

Contact Schoep & McCashin
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car accident in Alexandria, Douglas County, or anywhere in west-central Minnesota, contact Schoep & McCashin for a free consultation. The earlier we get involved, the more we can do to protect the case and pursue full compensation.

Read More