Brain injuries can interfere with various aspects of normal life. Brain injury survivors may suffer permanent impacts on their mental, physical, and emotional health. If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury in San Diego, contact The Law Offices of Howard Kitay for a free consultation with our San Diego brain injury attorneys. You could be eligible for financial compensation.
Why Choose Us?
- We exclusively practice personal injury law. This gives us focused attention on practice areas such as brain injuries.
- We have more than 20 years of experience handling complex personal injury and wrongful death claims.
- We have recovered millions of dollars in damages for our clients.
- We operate on a contingency-fee-basis. You only pay attorney’s fees if we win your case.
Why You Need a San Diego Brain Injury Attorney
Insurance companies often try to take advantage of brain injury victims; especially victims without legal representatives. Insurance companies want to save money by offering lowball settlements in the hopes that clients will not realize the true value of their claims. If you hire an attorney, you can receive an honest evaluation of your damages. Your lawyer will negotiate a fair settlement with insurance companies while you focus on healing. You can have peace of mind while your attorney handles complex legal processes.
Do I need a brain injury lawyer?
YES. The insurance companies employ experienced claims adjusters to settle your case for as little as possible. Their bonuses are based on tricking you into an unfair settlement as quickly as possible. Let’s face it, after an accident, many people are upset, injured, in pain, on medication, often without transportation, and want their life back to normal as quickly as possible. The insurance adjusters know this and prey on it. Do not talk to them! You need an attorney to represent YOUR interests and make sure you are protected now and in the future. And, at the end of the case, you want to make sure your personal injury attorney gets you the maximum settlement value for your damages. The Law Offices of Howard Kitay will handle all aspects of your case, and get you the settlement you deserve, while you concentrate on getting better.
Can I afford a brain injury lawyer?
YES. At the Law Offices of Howard Kitay, you owe NO FEE UNTIL YOU COLLECT. We advance all costs, and there is never a fee until you are compensated for your injuries, at the end of the case. You pay nothing upfront, and you pay nothing until you collect. If there is no recovery, you pay nothing.
Don’t settle for less
The best possible result is our goal in every case. We work for YOU, NOT the insurance companies. There is never a fee until we win your case, and then you pay us a percentage of the amount we recover for you. There is no charge for a case evaluation. We serve clients in Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove , National City, Oceanside, Poway, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, and Vista.
Our offices are conveniently located in El Cajon, Mission Valley, and Chula Vista.
To schedule a Free Consultation, please call (619) 442-0542. Our San Diego brain injury attorneys can speak with you every day, 24/7.
Who is responsible for my injuries?
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), each year in the United States nearly 1.7 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury (“TBI”). A great many of these TBIs are caused by car accidents and slip and fall accidents. Handling personal injury cases involving traumatic brain injury requires special training, experience, and resources. At the Law Offices of Howard Kitay, we have been successfully handling traumatic brain injury cases for twenty-five years. We have special training, experience, and resources to determine who is responsible for your injuries and get the best possible result in your traumatic brain injury case.
Traumatic brain injuries are caused by trauma to the head, which can occur a number of ways. Head trauma is broken down into categories: open head injury (a depressed, basilar, diastatic, or linear skull fracture); closed head injury (concussions, contusions, or intracranial hemorrhage); and, a particular type of closed head injury common in rapid deceleration situations like car accidents, called diffuse axonal shearing. Diffuse axonal shearing can result from whiplash, which is common in car accidents. Falls are also a common cause of traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury can affect an individual’s ability to live a normal life. Headaches, memory problems, concentration problems, sleep problems, irritability, and personality changes are all common symptoms of brain injury. Changes in personality often affect marriages, families, and friendships. Head injury patients may be unable to return to work and may suffer significant wage loss and loss of earning potential. Some head injury patients require expensive long-term attendant care. No matter the level of your traumatic brain injury, we are here to help.
What do I do first?
Get Treatment Immediately
Any DELAY in getting treatment will be used by the insurance company to show you were not very injured, and instead sought treatment just to bring a “legal case.” If you don’t have health insurance or enough money to see a doctor, we can assist you in getting a qualified doctor right away; we can arrange for the doctor to wait for payment until the end of your case. After you start treatment, any GAP in treatment will be used by the insurance company to show you were not very injured, and instead sought treatment just to bring a “legal case.” At this point, you might see a theme. Insurance companies will say your injury was your own fault and you are exaggerating whatever injuries you really have.
How do I prove my injuries?
Brain injuries are hard to prove – because they are usually invisible. In order to prove your brain injury case, we work with medical specialists – neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, life-care planners – who are able to accurately diagnose and treat you and testify regarding the cause, nature, and extent of the injury. This expert testimony is ESSENTIAL to prove your case at trial. At the Law Offices of Howard Kitay, we prepare every case for trial; as a result, most of our clients obtain full compensation without having to go to trial. When the trial is necessary, we are ready and fully prepared to take your case to the jury and get the best possible result. We consistently obtain PROVEN RESULTS for brain injury victims.
Types of Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury occurs when an outside force, such as blunt trauma or a gunshot wound, injures the brain. An acquired brain injury occurs when internal forces injure the brain. Acquired brain injuries can stem from a lack of oxygen to the brain, or a diffuse-axonal injury, which damages the brain from excessive rotational forces (such as in an auto accident). Common types of brain injuries include:
- Brain hemorrhage, or bleeding in the brain, can place pressure on the brain that ultimately causes damage. Brain bleeds can cause seizures, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, difficulty speaking, and other serious symptoms.
- Paraplegia/quadriplegia. Some catastrophic brain injuries can cause loss of feeling and movement in certain limbs. Paraplegia involves paralysis of the legs, while quadriplegia is paralysis of all four limbs.
- Child brain injuries. Developing brains are more susceptible to serious and permanent injuries. Childhood brain injuries before or during birth, or during childhood, can cause long-lasting effects on movement, speech, cognition, memory, and mood.
Every patient reacts differently to a brain injury. Many patients can fully recover from serious brain injuries, while others may notice lifelong effects despite treatments, surgeries, and therapies. Brain injuries can cost millions of dollars over a patient’s lifetime. If you wish to seek financial recovery for your or a loved one’s brain injury, you or your lawyer will need to prove negligence.
Who Is Liable?
Another person or entity could be financially responsible for your brain injury if he or she negligently caused the accident. For example, if a drunk driver caused the crash that gave you a traumatic brain injury, you may have a civil case against the drunk driver for recklessness. Potentially liable parties in your case could include:
- A driver
- An employer
- A physician
- A property owner
- A product manufacturer
- A sports team coach
- The city of El Cajon
Filing an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit against the liable party could result in compensation for your past and future medical bills, lost wages, property damages, and pain and suffering. Determining the liable party or parties in your case may take assistance from an attorney.
Contact Our San Diego Brain Injury Attorneys Today
Brain injuries can be life-changing. The severity of these injuries makes it important to contact a brain injury lawyer in El Cajon as soon as possible after the incident. The Law Offices of Howard Kitay have experience handling these types of claims, and know-how great they can affect victims. We are passionate about fighting for fair compensation for those who survive serious brain injuries. Discuss your case with an attorney. Request a free consultation today.
Remember, the best way to prove your injuries is to treat them with a doctor and tell the doctor everything that is bothering you. The doctor will record your complaints in the medical record, which documents and helps prove your injuries.
Because of the life-changing nature of a traumatic brain injury, it is important to contact experienced San Diego brain injury attorneys as soon as possible after the accident. We understand the special needs of people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury, and we have the experience and resources to successfully navigate your case through the complex legal system.
Call The Law Offices of Howard Kitay for a Free Consultation and Case Evaluation. We are here for you 24/7. (619) 442-0542.