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Our firm maintains an impressive 99% win rate, even while accepting difficult cases other law firms have turned away.
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A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen in a wide variety of accidents in Bakersfield: in a car accident on the Barstow-Bakersfield Highway, a fall from a ladder at a Hillcrest home, in a collision on a playing field in Beach Park. No matter where the accident that causes a TBI happens, however, the injury can cause severe disruption in the victim’s life.
Individuals in Bakersfield who suffer traumatic brain injuries because of someone else’s wrongful conduct have rights under California law to receive compensation for the harm done to them. The May Firm can help. We represent Bakersfield residents, workers, and visitors in legal actions seeking to hold wrongdoers accountable for the physical, emotional, and financial damages caused by their negligent or intentional actions.
If you or a loved one suffered a TBI in a preventable accident or incident in Bakersfield, contact a Bakersfield traumatic brain injury attorney at The May Firm today for a free consultation about your legal rights and options.
The May Firm is an award-winning personal injury law firm serving Californians who have suffered harm because of someone else’s careless, reckless, or intentionally harmful actions. Ours is a community-oriented firm that takes pride in treating its clients like members of the family.
The talented lawyers and legal professionals of The May Firm also know how to get results. We recently secured a $1.5 million policy-limits settlement for a car accident victim who suffered a traumatic brain injury. While we cannot promise that all cases we take will achieve similar outcomes, we can and do give our solemn commitment to fight for our client’s interests day-in, and day-out, and to build the strongest possible cases on their behalf.
A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a disruption of normal brain function resulting from an external force. A TBI typically occurs when an individual sustains a sharp blow to the head or body. The force of impact causes the brain to twist, shake, or deform inside the skull. That movement can cause physical damage to brain structures, trigger chemical changes within the brain, and lead to potentially harmful bleeding or swelling.
Medical professionals classify TBIs as mild, moderate, or severe based upon an assessment of symptoms (such as loss of consciousness and disorientation) and diagnostic testing (such as CAT scans or MRI imagery) performed shortly after the injury occurs. That classification, however, does not necessarily reflect the seriousness of the injury or the long-term impact on the victim’s life.
Even a so-called mild traumatic brain injury, also known as a concussion, can cause long-term severe disruption in a person’s ability to think, communicate, and go about everyday life.
Treatment of traumatic brain injuries can vary depending on the nature and extent of the injury. Severe brain injuries may require immediate emergency medical interventions, including surgery, to prevent an injury from worsening. Other treatments may include rest, occupational therapy, meditation, and medication. Recovery from a TBI can be a long and difficult process, and TBI victims may have to contend with an array of symptoms that come-and-go, or evolve, over time.
The nature of the symptoms a traumatic brain injury sufferer encounters will depend on the part of the brain affected. The brain is a dazzlingly complex organ, and a difference of millimeters in the location of bleeding, swelling, or bruising can mean the difference between retaining and losing (at least temporarily) sensory, motor, or cognitive functions.
TBI victims commonly contend with:
These and other outcomes from traumatic brain injuries can cause severe disruption in a person’s life, education, career, and relationships. At The May Firm, we understand the challenges our clients suffering from TBIs face, and we work diligently and compassionately to guide them through the process of seeking compensation to help them recover their health and rebuild their lives.
A wide range of circumstances and scenarios can lead to a person suffering a TBI in Bakersfield. Here are some common incidents and accidents that lead individuals to seek our help at The May Firm after they or their loved ones suffer a TBI.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unintentional falls are the most common mechanism leading to hospitalization for a TBI in the United States. Falls account for nearly half (47 percent) of all TBI-related hospitalizations.
Anyone can fall and suffer a traumatic brain injury, but some groups face heightened risks for these injuries:
Bakersfield property owners and tenants have a basic responsibility to keep their premises safe for visitors so that falls do not happen. At The May Firm, we work to hold those individuals and businesses accountable for hazardous property conditions that lead to falls and traumatic brain injuries.
Car, truck, and motorcycle crashes constitute the second most common cause of traumatic brain injuries in the United States, according to the CDC. In car and truck crashes, vehicle occupants often strike their heads against steering wheels, dashboards, or windows. But even if they don’t strike their heads on a hard surface, they can still suffer a TBI from the sheer force of a collision.
Motorcyclists face an even higher risk of suffering a TBI than vehicle occupants because they only have a helmet to protect their heads in an accident. Wearing a helmet drastically reduces the probability of suffering a fatal or severe TBI in a motorcycle wreck, but helmeted riders can still suffer brain trauma.
The May Firm regularly represents victims of all types of motor vehicle accidents in legal actions seeking compensation for the traumatic brain injuries they suffered because of someone else’s careless or reckless driving.
Bakersfield is a relatively safe city, but it still sees its share of violent crime. The city has averaged around 1,800 violent crimes per year over the past decade, according to California Department of Justice data. Virtually any type of violent crime can inflict a TBI on a victim, but most commonly, they include assaults, gun violence, and domestic abuse.
The team at The May Firm works with victims of violent crime to help them seek justice and compensation not just from the perpetrator of the crime but also from others who failed to take reasonable steps to prevent that crime from happening.
Awareness has recently grown about the potential dangers of traumatic brain injuries in sports, especially concussions in California youth athletics. There was a time when “getting your bell rung” came with the territory in playing sports. Today, athletic program directors, coaches, and sports parents understand the potential harm associated with a hard hit, accidental collision, or dangerous fall in practice or competition. In addition to the danger of athletes suffering concussions and more severe, acute brain injuries, research has begun to emerge that repeated on-field concussions may heighten athletes’ risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease, later in life.
At The May Firm, we take athlete safety seriously. In particular, our team works to hold adults responsible for putting young athletes in dangerous situations in which they suffer brain trauma and other severe injuries.
“My number one goal is to help others. When you step foot into our firm, you’ll be treated like family, period.”
Robert May, Attorney | Founder
Individuals in Bakersfield who suffer a traumatic brain injury because of someone else’s unreasonably dangerous decisions or conduct have rights under California law to seek compensation for the harm done to them. The May Firm represents those individuals in taking that legal action. Drawing on years of experience in fighting for the rights of injured Californians, our team assesses the unique facts of every client’s case. Then we design and executes legal strategies aimed at securing the maximum compensation available for our clients’ injuries and for the losses those injuries inflicted on their lives.
One of the ways we obtain compensation for our clients is by taking legal action against the party or parties at fault for causing their TBI. The range of individuals, businesses, organizations, and institutions that could face liability to one of our clients is too broad to list here.
In general, however, our team evaluates every client’s case individually to identify anyone who could and should have taken reasonable steps to prevent our client’s injuries. Then, if the facts and law permit, we take legal action against those parties on behalf of our clients.
In a typical lawsuit, we may seek compensation for our client’s:
In some cases, we can also convince a court to award our client punitive (or exemplary) damages, which serve to punish the party at fault for our client’s TBI for engaging in extreme or outrageous conduct.
If a worker in Bakersfield suffers a TBI in connection with a workplace accident or incident, The May Firm can help that worker secure full workers’ compensation benefits and any other compensation to which the worker is entitled. Virtually all Bakersfield employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. Workers’ comp pays for an injured worker’s medical care and lost wages resulting from any workplace injury, regardless of the worker’s fault for that injury.
Workers’ compensation is available for all workers, even undocumented workers.
The May Firm understands the process of seeking workers’ compensation benefits in California, and of appealing denials of workers’ compensation claims. We also understand how to research the circumstances of a work-related TBI to figure out if a worker has additional rights to seek compensation in addition to workers’ comp benefits, and how to fight to get that work every penny of compensation the law allows.
If you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury in Bakersfield, either because of someone else’s wrongful actions, or in a work-related accident, you may seek significant financial compensation. Do not delay in seeking legal advice. You may have a limited amount of time in which to take action before you lose your rights altogether.
The May Firm fights for TBI victims like you. Our compassionate, family-and-community-oriented firm goes to work every day with the sole mission to do right by our clients and to secure them the money they deserve.
For a free case consultation, contact us today online or call our Bakersfield office at (843) 881-8644.
5500 Ming Avenue, Suite 390
Bakersfield, California, 93309
A wide range of circumstances and scenarios can lead to a person suffering a TBI in Bakersfield. Here are some common incidents and accidents that lead individuals to seek our help at The May Firm after they or their loved ones suffer a TBI.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unintentional falls are the most common mechanism leading to hospitalization for a TBI in the United States. Falls account for nearly half (47 percent) of all TBI-related hospitalizations.
Anyone can fall and suffer a traumatic brain injury, but some groups face heightened risks for these injuries:
Bakersfield property owners and tenants have a basic responsibility to keep their premises safe for visitors so that falls do not happen. At The May Firm, we work to hold those individuals and businesses accountable for hazardous property conditions that lead to falls and traumatic brain injuries.
Car, truck, and motorcycle crashes constitute the second most common cause of traumatic brain injuries in the United States, according to the CDC. In car and truck crashes, vehicle occupants often strike their heads against steering wheels, dashboards, or windows. But even if they don’t strike their heads on a hard surface, they can still suffer a TBI from the sheer force of a collision.
Motorcyclists face an even higher risk of suffering a TBI than vehicle occupants because they only have a helmet to protect their heads in an accident. Wearing a helmet drastically reduces the probability of suffering a fatal or severe TBI in a motorcycle wreck, but helmeted riders can still suffer brain trauma.
The May Firm regularly represents victims of all types of motor vehicle accidents in legal actions seeking compensation for the traumatic brain injuries they suffered because of someone else’s careless or reckless driving.
Bakersfield is a relatively safe city, but it still sees its share of violent crime. The city has averaged around 1,800 violent crimes per year over the past decade, according to California Department of Justice data. Virtually any type of violent crime can inflict a TBI on a victim, but most commonly, they include assaults, gun violence, and domestic abuse.
The team at The May Firm works with victims of violent crime to help them seek justice and compensation not just from the perpetrator of the crime but also from others who failed to take reasonable steps to prevent that crime from happening.
Awareness has recently grown about the potential dangers of traumatic brain injuries in sports, especially concussions in California youth athletics. There was a time when “getting your bell rung” came with the territory in playing sports. Today, athletic program directors, coaches, and sports parents understand the potential harm associated with a hard hit, accidental collision, or dangerous fall in practice or competition. In addition to the danger of athletes suffering concussions and more severe, acute brain injuries, research has begun to emerge that repeated on-field concussions may heighten athletes’ risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease, later in life.
At The May Firm, we take athlete safety seriously. In particular, our team works to hold adults responsible for putting young athletes in dangerous situations in which they suffer brain trauma and other severe injuries.
Individuals in Bakersfield who suffer a traumatic brain injury because of someone else’s unreasonably dangerous decisions or conduct have rights under California law to seek compensation for the harm done to them. The May Firm represents those individuals in taking that legal action. Drawing on years of experience in fighting for the rights of injured Californians, our team assesses the unique facts of every client’s case. Then we design and executes legal strategies aimed at securing the maximum compensation available for our clients’ injuries and for the losses those injuries inflicted on their lives.
One of the ways we obtain compensation for our clients is by taking legal action against the party or parties at fault for causing their TBI. The range of individuals, businesses, organizations, and institutions that could face liability to one of our clients is too broad to list here.
In general, however, our team evaluates every client’s case individually to identify anyone who could and should have taken reasonable steps to prevent our client’s injuries. Then, if the facts and law permit, we take legal action against those parties on behalf of our clients.
In a typical lawsuit, we may seek compensation for our client’s:
In some cases, we can also convince a court to award our client punitive (or exemplary) damages, which serve to punish the party at fault for our client’s TBI for engaging in extreme or outrageous conduct.
If a worker in Bakersfield suffers a TBI in connection with a workplace accident or incident, The May Firm can help that worker secure full workers’ compensation benefits and any other compensation to which the worker is entitled. Virtually all Bakersfield employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. Workers’ comp pays for an injured worker’s medical care and lost wages resulting from any workplace injury, regardless of the worker’s fault for that injury.
Workers’ compensation is available for all workers, even undocumented workers.
The May Firm understands the process of seeking workers’ compensation benefits in California, and of appealing denials of workers’ compensation claims. We also understand how to research the circumstances of a work-related TBI to figure out if a worker has additional rights to seek compensation in addition to workers’ comp benefits, and how to fight to get that work every penny of compensation the law allows.
Each personal injury claim looks a little different, and the compensation you can recover may depend on several factors related to your injury. An attorney cannot guarantee the compensation you will recover but can help break down how much compensation you should, generally speaking, expect from the party that caused your injuries.
After relatively mild traumatic brain injury, you might face nothing more than the need for rest. However, more serious traumatic brain injuries may lead to the need for much more substantial medical treatment. You may need to have to go on specific medications to reduce the risk of seizures or even find yourself in an induced coma while your brain and body attempt to heal. Sometimes, you may have to go through surgery to remove blood clots, repair skull fractures, or prevent further bleeding in the brain.
In addition, you may have considerable rehabilitation costs as you recover from your traumatic brain injury. Often, people with severe TBI cannot remain alone, unsupervised, for a long time. You may need a caregiver to help you with many of the basic tasks of life. You may also need to go through substantial occupational therapy to learn how to cope with your new limitations.
Those medical costs can serve as a vital foundation for your claim following a traumatic brain injury. The higher your medical costs, the more compensation you may need to seek from the party that caused your accident.
Traumatic brain injury makes it very difficult for many patients to continue their usual work responsibilities and requirements. If you work in customer service, for example, the mood swings and lack of emotional regulation often associated with traumatic brain injury can make it very difficult for you to deal with people fairly. If you work at a desk job, you may have a hard time concentrating on the task at hand. Traumatic brain injury may interfere with your creative thinking skills or your working memory.
Frequently, your employer may prefer that you remain out of work until you start to recover from your injuries. For many traumatic brain injury patients, that can mean a long time out of work. Symptoms of even minor traumatic brain injury can linger for more than a year after the initial accident, leaving you struggling to figure out how to compensate in the meantime.
For patients with more severe traumatic brain injury, symptoms may prove lifelong. The longer your symptoms linger, the more time you may miss at work, and the more income you may lose. You can include that lost income as part of your traumatic brain injury claim.
In addition to clear compensation based on your actual financial losses after your accident, most traumatic brain injury claims will include compensation for the pain and suffering related to your accident. You may have faced substantial suffering due to your injuries. Many brain injury victims find that their injuries change their relationships, their perception of themselves, and even their memories.
Severe traumatic brain injuries may leave you without short-term or long-term memory. While those memories may come back with time, sometimes, you may lose them forever. The entire experience can prove traumatic on multiple levels. As part of your traumatic brain injury claim, you can include compensation for those losses. A lawyer can help you break them down and assign financial amounts based on the suffering you have faced.
Many Bakersfield traumatic brain injury victims pursue treatment through the Centre for Neuro Skills Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation. This world-class facility offers a variety of services that can help TBI patients learn how to cope with their new limitations and even, in some cases, surpass their limitations. That treatment, however, can prove very expensive, especially if you suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and need to spend considerable time in rehabilitation.
As the injured party, you will need to make arrangements for paying your medical bills, from emergency medical treatment in the emergency room to ongoing therapy with the CNS Traumatic Brain Injury Rehab Clinic.
That does not mean, however, that you have no options for payment.
If you suffered your TBI in a California auto accident, and you carry MedPay insurance, you can use that insurance to cover your immediate medical costs after the accident. MedPay insurance may not provide the full assistance you need with all your medical bills, but it can serve as a great start as you pursue evaluation and assistance in managing the symptoms of traumatic brain injury.
Medical insurance can prove incredibly helpful after any type of serious accident. After traumatic brain injury, you may find that your medical insurance helps provide immense financial support as you manage the costs associated with your recovery. Talk to your medical insurance provider about what type of coverage (and how much coverage) you have for the types of treatment you will need. Keep in mind that your medical insurance provider may offer limited coverage for things like rehabilitation and therapy services, so you may want to talk to your insurance provider before creating a treatment plan, so the plan will better reflect your financial needs as well as your physical ones.
Filing a personal injury claim can make it much easier to manage many of the expenses associated with traumatic brain injury. After a traumatic brain injury, the liable party will not pay your medical bills directly. Instead, you will receive payment through a settlement or court award, which you can then use to cover your medical costs.
Settling a traumatic brain injury claim can prove tricky. In the case of mild traumatic brain injury, you may not have extreme medical bills that you can point to as evidence of your losses. Even patients with moderate traumatic brain injury may need relatively little medical support throughout their recoveries. Nevertheless, your traumatic brain injury can have a substantial impact on many areas of your life, and you should pursue compensation for those losses.
Most of the time, insurance companies prefer to settle out of court for most personal injury claims, including traumatic brain injury claims. However, you may have to go to court if the insurance company will not issue a fair settlement offer, or if the insurance company tries to claim that you or another party caused your accident. You may have greater odds of going to court if you need to ask for considerable compensation for your injuries.
When possible, you should avoid talking to the liable party’s insurance company directly after your Bakersfield traumatic brain injury. Frequently, insurance companies will utilize several tactics that can minimize the compensation they have to pay out for your injuries. Those strategies may leave you scrambling to secure the compensation you need to cover the full cost of your injuries.
For example, many insurance companies will start with a very low settlement offer shortly after the accident. Not only do you have cognitive challenges related to the traumatic brain injury that can make it very difficult to make important financial decisions, but also you may not yet have any idea what your medical costs will look like or even how long the symptoms of traumatic brain injury will linger. In those early days, you might not know how much a traumatic brain injury will impact every area of your life.
If you accept that low settlement offer, however, the insurance company will face no further liability for your injuries, even if you later discover a much more severe impact than you initially thought.
Furthermore, some insurance companies will try to trip you up or back you into a corner where you accept partial liability for the accident. In some cases, they may even try to convince you to accept full responsibility.
Instead of talking to the insurance company yourself, contact a lawyer to learn more about your legal rights. A lawyer can deal with the insurance company on your behalf, increasing the odds that you will recover the compensation you need to cover the full cost of your injuries, including future costs.
A lawyer can offer some of the most valuable support you will receive as you file a traumatic brain injury claim. When you work with a lawyer, you will have a source of legal advice at every stage of the claim process. Many Bakersfield traumatic brain injury victims find that having a lawyer on their side can help them maximize the compensation they recover, which may prove incredibly valuable as they try to rebuild their lives following TBI.
A lawyer offers several critical services that can benefit your claim.
You do not want to inadvertently sign away your right to compensation or accept less compensation than the full value of your claim. A lawyer can work with you to help you understand your rights and create a comprehensive claim that includes all of your losses.
How did your traumatic brain injury occur? Did you suffer injuries in a Bakersfield store or business? Did you suffer injuries in a Bakersfield car accident? A lawyer can help investigate all the details of the incident to give you a better idea of anyone who caused or contributed to the accident. Not only can that strategy provide vital evidence that will establish your right to compensation, but it can also offer you a look at whether any additional parties may have contributed to the incident, which may further raise the compensation you can recover.
Each traumatic brain injury claim looks a little different. However, you should not expect to see a fast settlement for your claim. Often, brain injury victims need time to recover before they can definitively say how much their injuries will impact them in the years following the accident.
You may not know how long it will take you to recover or what losses might prove permanent. Your lawyer may recommend waiting until you know what your long-term medical costs will look like and what limitations you will face before moving forward with your traumatic brain injury claim. In some cases, it may take six months to a year before your doctors can offer an accurate prediction.
While you recover, both your lawyer and the insurance company can investigate the circumstances that led to your accident. An in-depth investigation may take time, especially if the investigation uncovers more than one party that may share liability for the accident.
Then, you may need time to negotiate. If the insurance company negotiates aggressively, it can take longer to settle your claim.
Finally, if you have to go to court to settle your claim, it may take longer to resolve.
Your lawyer will work with you to establish the evidence you need to move forward with a claim.
That may include:
Contact a traumatic brain injury lawyer at The May Firm today to start on your path toward compensation.
Contact us to get started. It is important to have the proper legal representation on your side if you’re involved in a motorcycle crash. Often wrongful blame is placed on the rider in a multi-vehicle collision due to the increased risk that comes with riding a motorcycle. Insurance companies are reluctant to side with the motorcyclist and oftentimes will attempt to place the full or partial blame on them. Don’t accept that blame and the legal repercussions that come with it.
Call (866) 619-6679 to schedule a free consultation with our award-winning motorcycle accident lawyers. We’ll help determine the viability of your case based on your testimony and help you determine the best way to proceed. Working on a contingency fee means our lawyers are only compensated when your case or settlement is won, and our extensive experience and case history allow us to settle most claims out of court, giving you a faster resolution to your case and allowing you to focus on your recovery process. We factor in every possible expense when building your settlement: Medical bills, wage loss, property damage, and emotional suffering are all considered. Our goal is to help you put your life back in order to the best of our ability.
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