San Francisco Brain Injury Lawyers

The San Francisco California brain injury attorneys at the Law Offices of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have been helping clients since the late 1970s. We have been given many awards during the years but the top award anyone can bestow upon us is their trust. We want to start earning your trust by offering you a free initial consultation and case evaluation.

Let Us Start Helping You

The goal of the client and the goal of our firm usually are the same: ethically win your brain injury case and win for you the maximum compensation or settlement you are due under the law. Our workers’ compensation, work injury and personal injury law firm is experienced in brain injury law and ready by to take your call 24 hours a day at (415) 200-0701.

Definition of a Brain Injury

Internal causes for brain injuries include infection, cancer, heart attacks, toxins, strokes, and hemorrhaging. External brain injuries occur because of outside objects, pressure, or force affecting the brain including blast waves, suddenly stopping or suddenly speeding up, an object penetrating the skull and then penetrating the brain, or an impact because of a flying or falling object.

Definition of Brain Damage

Brain damage is when brain cells are destroyed, lost, or damaged. Brain damage could cause a loss of consciousness or mental, emotional, or physical function.

Brain Injuries & Damage: Causes

Brain injuries and damage can be caused by many illnesses, events, circumstances, or injuries. Some of the most common causes are: defective products, sports injuries (including basketball brain injuries, hockey brain injuries, football brain injuries, rugby brain injuries, karate brain injuries, lacrosse brain injuries, soccer brain injuries, diving brain injuries, tennis brain injuries, racquetball brain injuries, and softball/baseball brain injuries), car and auto accidents, skateboarding accidents, electric shock, factory or mine accidents, malignancy, on the job accidents, choking, motorcycle accidents, strangulation, slip, trip and fall injuries, near drowning, pedestrian accidents, lack of enough blood or oxygen getting to the brain, construction site accidents, work injuries, crosswalk accidents, and violence. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation has stated that car accidents and being struck by a foreign object each account for around 20% of brain injuries annually whereas people tripping and falling accounts for 28% and violence and non-motorized bicycle accidents account for a combined 15% of the annual total for brain injuries in this country.

Brain damage can occur for a variety of reasons. This includes the fact that most of the brain injuries listed above can cause brain damage. Additionally, neurological illnesses, chemotherapy, poisons, a lack of oxygen, aneurysms, or infections can also cause brain damage. The San Francisco brain damage injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo are ready to start discussing your brain damage injury case and fighting for you.

Brain Injuries that Might be Severe

Of course, all traumatic injuries are to be taken seriously. This is especially true for possible injuries to the spine, skull, brain, neck, and head. The following is a list of conditions that might also signal a severe brain injury: slurred speech, convulsions, dilation of both or just one pupil, tired eyes, lightheadedness, loss of coordination, a headache that lingers, confusion, aphasia, listlessness, irritability, agitation, unequal pupil size, weak or numb extremities, and vomiting/nausea.

After a Brain Injury

The results from a brain injury vary rather widely. Some brain injury victims will heal completely given proper treatment and adequate time. Many will not be as fortunate. Concussions are one type of brain injury. It could happen because of sudden movement to the brain (like hitting your head on the ground) that stretches the blood vessels while damaging cranial nerves. Athletes who participate in contact sports like soccer, football, equestrian or horseback riding, boxing, and wrestling have a higher percentage chance of getting a concussion than athletes who play sports with less physical contact. A contusion is another type of injury. It is a bruise on the brain. Coup-contrecoup injuries are when there is an injury at the original site of the trauma and an injury directly opposite of it.

Comas

Comas can be a very difficult result of some traumatic brain injuries. A comatose patient is thought to be in a very deep state of unconsciousness. After a coma, some patients have recovered all of their physical and cognitive functions along with all of their memories. Other victims are not as fortunate and have come out of the coma in a vegetative state, been lethargic, or in a stupor.

Possible Syndromes

The following are three syndromes that are possible with brain injuries. The first is Locked-In Syndrome where the only movements a patient can perform are blinking or moving their eyes. The second is Shaken Baby Syndrome which could be the result of a Diffuse Axonal Injury where someone shook a baby or infant quickly. The third is Second Impact Syndrome and that is when a second brain injury has happened before a first injury to the brain has had sufficient time to fully heal.

Brain Injury Treatments

The first responders after a brain injury will want to stabilize the patient and their body, get them ready for possible transportation and help create and maintain breathing, proper pressure, and neck/spine support. The next set of priorities will be to try to remove big blood clots, stop any active bleeding, control the internal skull pressure, and allow the needed amount of blood flow for the brain. Further treatment includes using a ventricular drain to assist the patient to breath while being able to drain fluids as needed, restricting the overall fluid intake, using anticonvulsants to attempt to help prevent seizures from happening, and using diuretics to try to control the total amount of water in the body.

Possible Brain Surgeries

Brain surgeons can perform the following surgeries on brain injury or brain damage victims. The first type of brain surgery they do is a craniotomy. This is actually when the brain surgeon creates an opening in the skull in order to attempt to resolve the medical problems that are causing the pressure to increase. The second type is a bone flap removal brain surgery. This is done to relieve internal pressure. The third type of brain surgery is Burr Holes which is done to remove blood clots. All of these surgeries have potential pros and cons you should know about so you must fully consult your doctor and brain surgeon.

The Glasgow Coma Scale

The Glasgow Coma Scale was created to communicate to any health professional just how severe a brain injury is in an easy and quick way. The patient is scored based upon verbal, motor, and the reaction of the patient’s eyes to stimulation. A 3 to 8 score for the Glasgow Coma Scale indicates severe brain injury; a 9 to 12 score indicates moderate brain injury; and a 13 to 15 score means it is probably a mild brain injury.

Brain Injury While On the Job

Brain injuries also occur during the scope of employment. Many jobs involve at least one of the following risk factors for being at a higher risk for sustaining a brain injury: motorcycles, conveyor belts, heavy objects, working with or around big construction, electricity, trucks, mine equipment, cars, tractors, farm or factory equipment, and chemicals. The work injury law firm of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo will work diligently to handle your workers’ compensation claims.

Contact Us for a Free Consultation

After representing brain injury and brain damage victims since the late 1970s, we know how complicated brain injuries are. We also know how much work needs go into the legal process to make sure you receive your maximum compensation that is legally due to you. We are ready to work as hard as it takes for you. We offer a free initial consultation and case evaluation so you can get to know our firm while being given time to discuss your case, learn what the process would look like and get your questions answered. Our law firm works on a contingency basis so we will not charge you for our time and services unless and until we win your case. The San Francisco brain injury attorneys at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo are very much willing to come to you at your home or hospital room if you are unable to come to our office. We available to meet during the normal hours of Monday through Friday between 8:30am and 5:30pm and we will also meet you, by appointment, on Saturdays, Sundays and in the evening.

Law Firm of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo
San Francisco, California - (415) 200-0701