Fort Worth Child Brain Injury Lawyer

Fort Worth Child Brain Injury Lawyer

Has an accident in Fort Worth left your child struggling with a brain injury? Contact Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents for immediate legal assistance. Your family could be entitled to compensation, and a Fort Worth child brain injury lawyer will fight to get you all of the money you deserve.

Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents offers a free initial consultation, so please do not hesitate to call the Fort Worth law office at (817) 420-7000 to schedule yours today.

Jason Stephens will listen to your story, provide a brief overview of the legal options that might be available to you, and answer the questions you have. 

How Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Jason Stephens Can Help If Your Child Has a Brain Injury

traumatic brain injury

Few things are more terrifying than when your child gets hurt. That’s certainly the case when their injury affects their brain.

A child’s brain injury can have devastating consequences – both in the short-term and for years to come.

Your child might struggle with chronic pain, experience cognitive difficulties, have trouble regulating their emotions, and even struggle with limited mobility.

These things can directly impact your child’s ability to enjoy their life and when they got older, work. While medical treatment, rehabilitation, and therapy can help, these things are expensive. Over the course of your child’s life, their brain injury could end up costing your family hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more.

Fortunately, your family could be entitled to receive compensation if your child was injured as a result of someone else’s negligence. By filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit, you can demand the money your family not only needs, but also deserves during this incredibly difficult time. 

Jason Stephens is a Fort Worth personal injury lawyer with more than 25 years of experience. He knows that you probably don’t have the time or energy to navigate a complex legal claim. That’s where he can help.

When you call Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents for help, Jason and his talented support staff will do everything possible to secure a substantial monetary award from an insurance company or at-fault party on your family’s behalf. Money won’t fix everything, but it can make a huge difference in your child’s road to recovery.

Give Jason Stephens and his Fort Worth law firm a call today to arrange a free initial case assessment to learn more.

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be defined to include any trauma to the head that disrupts normal brain function. In children, brain injuries can be a result of closed head injuries or penetrating head injuries.

A closed head injury occurs when a bump, blow, or jolt to the head causes the brain to move around violently in the skull. Penetrating head injuries, on the other hand, occur when the skull is compromised and fails to protect the brain inside (e.g., gunshot wounds, stabbing wounds).

How Common Are Traumatic Brain Injuries in Children?

Every year, roughly 2.87 million Americans visit the emergency room because of a traumatic brain injury. Many of those people are children. In 2010, emergency rooms treated 473,947 patients under the age of 15 for a TBI.

When hospitalizations and deaths are factored in, the number of children between the ages of 0 and 14 who suffered a traumatic brain injury increases to more than 511,250. Based on those figures, roughly 17 percent of all TBI victims in the United States are young children.

Younger Children Suffer TBI More Than Older Children

Emergency departments treat a lot of young patients for TBI every year. The younger the child, the higher the rate of TBI-related hospital visits.

  • Ages 0 to 4: 1,256 per 100,000
  • Ages 15 and 19: 757 per 100,000

For all children and young adults under the age of 24, the estimated rate of hospitalization for a TBI is 691 per 100,000. The United States regularly sees more traumatic brain injuries in children than most other countries around the world.

Boys More Likely to Sustain TBI Than Girls

Boys suffer traumatic brain injuries more often than girls. One study revealed that for children under the age of 10, boys are 1.4 times more likely than girls to suffer a TBI. The risk of TBI only increases with age. For kids between the ages of 10 and 20, boys are 2.2 times more likely to get a TBI.

However, girls appear to be at a higher risk of suffering a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This is most evident in high school-age girls. Why? Girls seem to be more susceptible to suffering a concussion while playing sports.

How Severe Are Child Brain Injuries?

The good news is that 8 out of every 10 child brain injuries are categorized as mild. In fact, it’s estimated that 1 out of every 220 kids will be treated for a concussion. A mild brain injury means that confusion or loss of consciousness is sustained for less than 30 minutes. Most adult victims of mild brain injuries recover in full within one year. As many as 20 percent of mTBI victims can struggle with the complications of a mild TBI for years.

However, for many children who suffer a traumatic brain injury, the results are catastrophic. TBI is classified as the leading cause of disability and death in children. Every year, 23,000 children are hospitalized for treatment related to a TBI. Another 2,500 suffer a traumatic brain injury that is ultimately fatal.

Children tend to be more susceptible to severe brain injuries than adults. There are several reasons for this. Kids, especially boys, tend to be more impulsive and take more risks. Children, especially young children, do not have fully formed and fused skulls.

Their brains are still growing and developing. Trauma during this developmental period can do a lot of damage. Even if the impact is the same, a child’s brain may be damaged much more severely than an adult’s. 

What Causes Pediatric Brain Injury? 

Why do thousands upon thousands of children suffer brain injuries every year? Many – if not most – are the result of high-impact sports and recreational activities. However, a large number of pediatric brain injuries are the result of accidents and abuse, including:

If your child has suffered a brain injury because someone else was negligent, Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents can help you fight to recover compensation. Give the firm’s Fort Worth law office a call to discuss your case today.

Who is Liable For My Child’s Brain Injury?

Children, especially young children under the age of 5, can’t always be held responsible for the things they do. They simply don’t appreciate that their actions might have negative consequences.

That’s why adults typically have a responsibility to make sure that children are safe. Adults have to exercise reasonable care and caution when children are around. When an adult fails to exercise necessary care and a child gets hurt, they can potentially be responsible for the consequences. 

If your child has sustained a brain injury in an accident in Fort Worth, TX, you could potentially be entitled to an award from one or more of the following parties:

  • Motor vehicle driver
  • Property owner
  • Business owner
  • Dog owner
  • School
  • Caretaker
  • Bus driver
  • Coach
  • Employer
  • Product manufacturer, or
  • Government agency.

Anyone who contributes to your child’s brain injury can potentially be responsible for your damages. 

Damages Available in Child Brain Injury Cases in Texas

A brain injury can fundamentally change your child’s life forever. As a result, it can create severe physical, emotional, and financial hardships. Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents will work day and night to help your child and family secure compensation from anyone who allowed or caused them to get hurt. A brain injury attorney in Fort Worth can seek economic and non-economic damages for:

Valuing a child brain injury case can be challenging. That’s why Jason Stephens will not hesitate to enlist the help of experts and specialists, including medical doctors, therapists, vocational specialists. With their help, he’ll be able to determine what your child’s injury is likely worth.

Call a Brain Injury Lawyer in Fort Worth

Has your child has suffered a brain injury in Fort Worth? Contact Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents to learn about your legal rights and potential options for financial recovery.

Fort Worth personal injury lawyer Jason Stephens can help you fight to secure the compensation your family deserves. He offers a free consultation, so give his law firm a call or connect with him online today.