There has been a lot of attention on brain injuries in the media lately, and for good reason. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States alone, every year upwards of 1.4 million people sustain brain injuries. Brain injuries can be relatively minor and temporary in nature, such as a mild concussion, or they can cause serious and lifelong impairment and brain damage.
There are numerous causes of brain injuries. People may sustain brain injuries in car crashes, sports accidents and even slips and falls. While some brain injuries are not the fault of anyone, but are simply the result of unfortunate occurrences, other times they are due to the negligence of another person. In such cases, an injured person may be entitled to compensation under North Carolina law.
The most common basis of a brain injury lawsuit is negligence. These types of claims are brought by victims who argue that another person acted or failed to act in a reasonable way and their actions caused the plaintiff to suffer a brain injury.
To find success in such a suit, the victim must show that the defendant owed them a duty of care. This may sound like a high standard, but what it really means is that a person was required to either safeguard the other person or at least refrain from injuring them. For instance, a person driving a car down the road owes a duty of care to anyone with whom he or she could collide. Next, the plaintiff must show that the defendant failed to honor that duty of care. In other words, in the above example, a plaintiff would need to show that the driver crashed into another vehicle or pedestrian. Finally, the plaintiff would need to demonstrate that he or she was injured as a result of the defendant’s actions.
If you have suffered a brain injury as a result of the negligence of another party, you may be able to seek monetary damages. Contact the skilled personal injury attorneys at Lanier Law Group, P.A. in North Carolina to learn more.