Brain injuries lead to profound changes in quality of life and the impact of a head injury is often permanent and varied. Head injuries are complex and require expert medical attention.  If compensation is required, head and brain injury cases also require expert legal attention. The full impact of head injuries on the injured person and their family is often not revealed until a significant amount of time has passed. We cannot underestimate the subtle impact of head injuries, often causing emotional and psychological difficulties including cognitive deficits and serious personality changes, which are often not obvious at first.

The term “brain damage” encompasses a wide variety of extremely serious injuries. More accurately, “brain damage” or “brain injury” is a general term which can include a variety and diverse area of serious injuries to the white and gray matter and connected nerves of the part of your body that dictates thought, speech, intelligence, memory, movement, personality, executive functioning, vision, balance, emotion and related functions.

In most cases, serious head and brain injuries have profound long lasting devastating consequences for the brain injured person and their family. Serious brain and head injuries are life altering events.

At our injury law firm, we have the experience and necessary team of lawyers and other legal professionals to fully and comprehensively assess, handle, litigate and settle head injury cases. We ensure that our clients are fully and comprehensively compensated for all of the consequences of head injuries. Our law firm represents people throughout Ontario who have suffered brain injuries. We are experienced lawyers who work endlessly to maximize the compensation and benefits our clients require as a result of suffering a head injury.

There are many different accident which can cause of traumatic brain injuries. The most common ones we see include:

  • Car accidents
  • Gunshot wounds
  • Blow to the head
  • Whiplash injuries
  • Flexion-extension injuries
  • Bicycle accidents
  • Pedestrian accidents
  • Medical error / medical negligence
  • Construction accidents
  • Industrial accidents
  • Slip and fall accidents

We have handled a broad range of brain injury cases, including but not limited to injuries caused by a sudden physical damage to the brain, including severe traumatic brain injury, moderate traumatic brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury, various closed head injuries and concussions.  Traumatic brain injuries result in different medical and legal challenges which require experienced legal and medical analysis and assessment.

The types of specific brain injury cases we have handled are extensive and include:

  • comatose patients
  • concussion
  • diffuse anoxal inury
  • permanent vertigo
  • loss of senses
  • loss of smell
  • loss of taste
  • loss of sight
  • coup injury
  • contrecoup injury
  • head penetration
  • fractured skulls
  • reduction in IQ
  • traumatic retardation
  • traumatic epilepsy
  • cognitive dysfunction
  • cognitive impairment
  • brain hemorrhage
  • swelling of the brain
  • hypoxic brain injury
  • subdural hematoma
  • shaken baby syndrome
  • cerebral palsy

Traumatic brain injuries can result from a variety of accidents. Many of the brain injury cases we handle result from car accidents, blow from falling objects or falls. We also handle brain injury cases arising from medical negligence.  Injury to the brain can be caused by trauma which may or may not cause penetration to the skull and by the imposition of external forces which causes the head to twist or shake violently.  There are other causes of head injuries. All result in significant negative adverse consequences.

We understand that head injuries cause profound physical, emotional and psychological damage. We understand that the impact of head injuries can be obvious and yet some are more subtle and can develop over time. We understand that brain injuries cause short and long term pain and life consequences. We understand that brain injuries have significant impact on the injured person and also on their families. We understand that brain injuries require short and long term treatment and the costs associated with the various treatments can be significant, including physical and psychological rehabilitation.

At our accident and injury law firm, we have the experience needed to address head injury cases fully and comprehensively. We have represented many clients in personal injury and other accident cases where the injuries are severe, prolonged and permanent, including head and spinal cord injury cases.

On behalf of our clients, we retain and rely on medical experts to provide professional medical legal assessments and opinions. We also hire and rely on various non-medical experts such as actuarial experts, economists, engineers, rehabilitation experts, accountants, tax experts and life care specialists such as certified life care planners. Our experts assess past and future needs of our clients and also assess the financial cost of fulfilling those needs. We hire experts in every field necessary to full assess our client’s needs.

If the case proceeds to trial, we use technical evidence such as demonstrative evidence, graphic evidence, photographs, enlarged medical test results such as films and scan results, animation software and more.  In many cases, we hire experts in the field of life assessment and have them prepare day-in-the-life videos which have proven very successful in depicting the day to day challenges of persons injured. This level of complex analysis and legal work is absolutely required in spinal cord and head injury cases.

We assign a team of lawyers and law clerks to each injury case. Our strength lies in the fact that we have teams of lawyers and legal professionals who can work toward the common goal of advancing our clients’ interests in these complicated cases.

Our lawyers are strong legal advocates. Each case is assessed fully from a liability perspective and from a damages-compensation perspective; and a strategy for achieving positive results and success is formulated in every single case.  We apply winning proven strategies and techniques to mediation and other forms of alternate dispute resolution, such as judicial pre-trials, arbitration and settlement conferences. We first focus on reaching maximum compensation through non litigation means. If necessary however, we are not afraid of the courtroom and we do take cases to trial.

We assess all costs associated with the short and long term medical and non-medical needs of our clients. While the obvious costs such as medical care expenses, rehabilitation expenses, assistive aid expenses, medical device expenses and similar expenses must be fully assessed, we focus as well on the less obvious costs such as the impact on social and family relationships, pain and suffering from every conceivable angle, loss of income and benefits and the short and long term impact on quality of life.

When someone suffers from a head injury, they suffer greatly and their family members also suffer greatly. We also focus on ensuring all family members are full compensated. We advance claims for loss of care, guidance and companionship, for care services, expenses, loss of income and more.  In cases of motor vehicle accidents having caused the spinal cord injury or injuries, we work on obtaining statutory motor vehicle accident benefits for the injured person and any eligible family members.

Brain injuries are unlike any other injury.  Brain injuries can occur on a microscopic level. In many cases of head and brain injuries, the physical aspects such as a fractured skull or brain hemorrhage, are easy to visually identify. Not all injuries appear on objective tests such as an X-ray, EEG or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).  In most cases of brain injury, the impact of the injury is much more than physical and requires specialized assessment.

Things like the loss of ability to concentrate, distractibility, attention deficits, frequent fatigue and related syndromes, communication issues, memory problems, sensation losses or reductions, loss of muscle coordination, loss of IQ, changes in behaviour, changes in personality, changes in executive functioning and other significant changes are much more complicated and will not appear on any standard objective test. Therefore, they require highly skilled and specialized medical assessment, analysis and treatment. In brain injury cases, proof of injury and impairment requires multiple focussed specialized testing using the best clinical psychological and other testing available by skilled clinical professionals such as psychologists and neuropsychologists.

Despite the lack of physical evidence in some cases, brain injuries have serious consequences.  Even individuals that do not suffer a loss of consciousness or only briefly lose consciousness can suffer permanent cognitive impairment.

Our law firm has the resources, knowledge and experience required to obtain compensation in head injury, brain injury and spinal cord injury cases. To arrange a free consultation about your injury case, please contact us by e-mail at mquinn@pqtlaw.com or call us at 613-315-4878 or 613-563-1131.

Ottawa Accident and Injury Lawyers –  We level the playing field between insurance companies and injured persons throughout Ontario.

We represent clients throughout Ontario, with a special focus on eastern Ontario and Ottawa in particular.