The two leading causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) in the United States are falls and motor vehicle accidents. Combined, they are responsible for a staggering number of TBI-related hospitalizations. Assaults and incidents where a person is struck by or against an object, such as in sports or on a construction site, account for most of the remaining injuries.
A TBI is a disruption of normal brain function that might permanently alter personality, memory, and basic motor skills. The effects ripple through every aspect of your life, from your ability to work to your relationships with family.
The hard truth is that while statistics classify these events as "accidents," many are the direct result of preventable negligence. Think about a landlord who ignores a broken railing on a staircase, a driver distracted by their phone, or a construction company that cuts corners on safety protocols.
When someone else’s negligence causes a TBI, you have the right to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and the significant impact on your quality of life.
If you have questions about a head injury you or a loved one suffered, call us at (512) 477-7333.
Key Takeaways for Traumatic Brain Injury Claims
- Falls and car accidents are the leading TBI causes, and they are often preventable. Many injuries happen not because of simple accidents, but because a property owner or another driver failed to act with reasonable care.
- TBI symptoms are frequently delayed, a fact insurance companies exploit. The full effects of a brain injury may not appear for days or weeks, but this delay does not disconnect the injury from the initial incident.
- Fair compensation must account for future needs, not just past bills. A TBI claim's value includes a lifetime of potential medical care and lost earning ability, which far exceeds the initial hospital costs.
The Mechanics: How a Brain Injury Actually Happens
Your skull is a hard, protective casing, but your brain is soft and has the consistency of gelatin. You don't need to fracture your skull to sustain a serious TBI. The real damage happens inside.
In many impacts, especially car accidents, the brain is subjected to violent forces. Imagine what happens in a sudden stop: your head snaps forward, causing your brain to slam against the front of your skull. This is the coup injury. Then, just as quickly, your brain rebounds and smacks against the back of your skull, causing a second injury known as the contrecoup injury. This double impact causes significant bruising and bleeding in two distinct areas.
Another severe type of injury is a diffuse axonal injury (DAI). This happens when violent shaking or rotational forces (common in high-speed crashes or violent falls) stretch and tear the brain's long connecting nerve fibers, called axons. This damage disrupts the brain’s communication network and may not be visible on standard CT scans or MRIs.
The specific mechanism of your injury explains why TBI symptoms sometimes take hours, days, or even weeks to appear. Insurance companies may use this delay to argue the injury isn't related to the accident. We know how to counter that argument with medical evidence that shows how these injuries develop over time.
Falls: The Leading Cause of TBI
Statistically, falls are the single largest cause of TBI-related hospitalizations, accounting for nearly half of all cases. While anyone might suffer a TBI from a fall, these incidents disproportionately affect two specific groups: young children under the age of five and older adults over 75. For these vulnerable populations, a simple fall has devastating consequences.
Many of these falls are not due to simple clumsiness but are caused by dangerous conditions on someone else’s property. This is where the legal concept of premises liability comes into play.
Premises Liability: The Legal Angle
- Slip and Falls: A freshly mopped floor in a grocery store without a wet floor sign, an unmarked puddle from a leaky freezer, or an icy walkway during a rare Texas freeze leads to a serious fall. Property owners have a duty to address these hazards or warn visitors about them.
- Structural Failures: Dangerous conditions are built right into a property. This includes things like uneven or cracked pavement, loose handrails on staircases, poorly lit hallways in apartment complexes, or defective escalators. These are safety failures.
- Nursing Homes: Falls are tragically common in elder care facilities. While some falls are unavoidable, many happen because a facility is understaffed or fails to follow its own fall-prevention protocols. When a nursing home resident falls due to neglect, it is a breach of the facility's duty to provide a safe environment.
In Texas, premises liability cases are challenging. Texas law generally requires you to prove the property owner knew, or reasonably should have known, about the dangerous condition but failed to fix it or warn you. This is why you must act quickly. Preserving evidence, like taking photos of the hazard before it’s cleaned up or repaired, makes all the difference in proving your case.
Motor Vehicle Accidents: The Primary Danger for Young Adults
For young people between the ages of 15 and 24, car crashes are the leading cause of TBI-related death. Overall, traffic accidents account for about a quarter of all TBI hospitalizations.
The Scenarios
- Passenger Vehicles: High-speed impacts on I-35 or MoPac generate immense force. Modern safety features like airbags save lives, but the explosive force of their deployment also causes concussions and other head injuries.
- Truck Accidents: The physics are simple and brutal. An 80,000-pound 18-wheeler colliding with a 4,000-pound sedan creates a catastrophic force mismatch. This is why truck accidents frequently result in moderate-to-severe TBIs, even when the property damage to the car seems minor.
- Motorcyclists: Riders lack the protection of a car's steel frame. In a crash, a motorcyclist's head makes direct contact with the pavement or another vehicle. Helmets dramatically reduce the risk of death, but they do not eliminate TBIs, especially those caused by violent rotational forces.
- Pedestrians: When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the potential for a severe TBI is extremely high. With no protection whatsoever, the human body absorbs the full impact.
Struck By or Against Objects (Workplace & Sports)
Another of the most common causes of TBI falls into the "struck by or against" category. This broad group includes everything from a worker being hit by a falling tool on a construction site to an athlete colliding with another player. It accounts for around 15% of all TBI cases.
Workplace Injuries
With Austin's skyline constantly growing, construction sites are a frequent source of these injuries. A dropped tool, a piece of falling debris, or a malfunctioning piece of equipment all cause a severe TBI. The legal side of these cases is nuanced.
In most cases, an injured worker is covered by workers' compensation. This system provides benefits for medical bills and a portion of lost wages. However, workers' comp does not pay for non-economic damages like pain and suffering. But there is an exception: if a third party (such as a subcontractor from another company or the manufacturer of faulty equipment) was responsible for your injury, you may file a separate personal injury lawsuit against them under Texas law. This provides the compensation that workers' comp leaves out.
Sports Injuries
In high-impact sports, some risk of injury is expected. Legally, this is known as the assumption of risk. However, this doesn't give leagues, schools, or coaches a free pass to be negligent. If an injury is caused by defective equipment, like a helmet that cracks on impact, or by negligent coaching, such as forcing a player with concussion symptoms back into the game too soon, the legal landscape changes. In those situations, a valid personal injury claim may exist.
Violence and Assaults: Intentional Torts vs. Negligence
Assaults are another significant source of TBIs, making up roughly 10% of cases. Tragically, firearm-related injuries carry the highest mortality rate of any type of TBI.
When a TBI is caused by a violent act, the attacker is held responsible in both criminal and civil court. The state's criminal case is about punishment, like jail time. Your civil case is about compensation for your medical care, lost income, and trauma.
Negligent Security
In many cases, the person who committed the assault has no money to pay for the damages they caused. This is where the concept of negligent security applies. Instead of focusing on the attacker, a negligent security claim looks at the responsibility of the property owner where the attack occurred. For example:
- A bar that continues to serve an obviously intoxicated and aggressive patron who then starts a fight.
- An apartment complex with a history of break-ins that fails to repair broken security gates or inadequate lighting in a parking garage.
- A concert venue that doesn't provide enough security staff for a large, rowdy crowd.
Property owners have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to protect visitors from foreseeable criminal acts. If they fail in that duty and you are injured as a result, they may be held liable. You may pursue a civil claim for negligent security even if the criminal charges against your attacker are reduced or dropped.
The Hidden Variables: Gender and Substance Use
Looking at the data reveals a few patterns that insurance companies may try to use against you in a claim. For instance, males are significantly more likely to sustain a TBI than females.
Additionally, studies show that a substantial percentage of TBI patients—sometimes as high as 30-50%—are under the influence of alcohol at the time of their injury. This creates a legal "gotcha" moment. If you had a drink before your accident, the insurance company will work hard to pin as much blame as possible on you to reduce or deny your claim.
This is where Texas's rule of comparative fault is applied. Under this doctrine, also known as proportionate responsibility, you still recover damages as long as you are not found to be 51% or more at fault for the incident. However, your final compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. Simply put, being intoxicated does not give someone a license to run a red light and hit you with their car or for a property owner to leave a dangerous hole in the floor.
FAQ for Traumatic Brain Injury Claims
What if symptoms didn’t show up for weeks?
This is very common with brain injuries. The brain swells slowly, and symptoms like headaches, dizziness, or cognitive fog may not appear right away. See a neurologist as soon as you notice any delayed symptoms. A medical professional helps establish the link between the accident and your injury before an insurance company tries to close your file.
How long do I have to file a TBI claim in Texas?
In most cases, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Texas is two years from the date of the injury. However, waiting is never a good idea. Evidence disappears, witness memories fade, and building a strong case becomes much harder over time.
What if my pre-existing condition made the TBI worse?
Texas law follows the Eggshell Skull rule. This legal doctrine states that the at-fault party must "take the victim as they find them." In other words, they are responsible for all the harm they caused, even if you were more susceptible to injury than an average person would have been. Your pre-existing condition does not give them a pass for their negligence.
Do I need a lawyer for a mild TBI?
We always advise speaking with a lawyer. "Mild" is a medical classification; it is not a description of how the injury is impacting your job, your family, and your life. An attorney helps you understand the potential future costs and ensure you are not leaving money on the table that you will need later.
Don’t Face This Alone
While you’re feeling lost, struggling with memory fog or chronic pain, or watching a loved one change in ways you don't understand, the very last thing you need is to battle an insurance adjuster who is trained to believe you are exaggerating your symptoms to get a bigger payout.
Our role is to prevent them from minimizing what has happened to you. We gather the necessary medical evidence, consult with specialists, and build a case that proves the full extent of your TBI. We force the insurance company to account for your future needs, not just your past bills.
You focus on healing. We will handle the rest. Call Lorenz & Lorenz, PLLC today at (512) 477-7333 for a free, no-obligation consultation. We will listen to what happened and give you a straightforward assessment of your legal options.
