Brain injuries are among the most misunderstood and undervalued injuries in personal injury law. A person can walk away from an accident looking fine on the outside while their brain is struggling to perform functions it handled effortlessly before the trauma. Memory problems, difficulty concentrating, personality changes, chronic headaches, emotional dysregulation, an inability to work at the same level as before. These are real, measurable consequences of a real injury. But because they are not always visible on a standard scan, insurance companies deny them, minimize them, and argue they are exaggerated or pre-existing.
Winning a traumatic brain injury case requires more than documenting medical bills. It requires an attorney who understands the neuroscience, knows how to work with the right experts, and knows how to present the full picture of cognitive and emotional loss to a jury in a way that cannot be dismissed.
At Hamo Law Firm, traumatic brain injury cases are not new territory for us. We have been handling brain injury cases since before the medical and legal communities even standardized the term "traumatic brain injury." For decades, these cases were called closed head injuries, and we were fighting them then too. That depth of experience means we know the defense tactics, we know the medical landscape, and we know how to close the gap between what a victim lives with every day and what an insurance company is willing to acknowledge.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain caused by an external physical force. That force can be a direct blow to the head, a violent jolt or shaking that causes the brain to move inside the skull, or a penetrating injury that directly disrupts brain tissue.
TBIs are classified by severity:
- Mild TBI, which includes concussions, involves a brief alteration of consciousness, confusion, or disorientation. Standard imaging often appears normal, yet the symptoms can be persistent and significantly disruptive to daily life.
- Moderate TBI involves a longer period of unconsciousness or confusion and typically produces more pronounced and longer-lasting neurological effects.
- Severe TBI involves extended unconsciousness, significant structural brain damage, and often produces permanent disability.
How TBI Is Documented and Proven
Building a TBI case that withstands the insurance company's challenge requires layering multiple types of evidence to create a complete and compelling picture of the injury and its consequences.
The tools and methods we rely on include:
- Neurological evaluations by qualified neurologists who can assess the clinical presentation and document objective findings
- Neuropsychological testing, which produces quantifiable measurements of cognitive function across multiple domains, including memory, attention, processing speed, and executive function, and compares those measurements to standardized norms
- Advanced imaging, including MRI sequences and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which can detect axonal injury and white matter damage that standard CT and conventional MRI miss
- Functional assessments that document how the injury affects the victim's ability to perform work tasks, household activities, and daily functioning
- Vocational expert testimony documenting the impact of cognitive deficits on the victim's earning capacity and career trajectory
- Lay witness testimony from family members, friends, and coworkers who knew the victim before the injury and can describe the changes they have observed firsthand
What Compensation Can You Recover?
TBI cases can involve significant damages across multiple categories. A thorough claim accounts for every dimension of what the injury has cost and will continue to cost. Recoverable damages include:
- Medical expenses, covering emergency evaluation, acute care, neurological treatment, and all future medical costs related to the brain injury
- Cognitive rehabilitation and therapy, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and neuropsychological rehabilitation programs
- Lost wages for the period the victim was unable to work following the injury
- Loss of earning capacity, reflecting the long-term impact of cognitive deficits on the victim's ability to maintain their prior career or earn at their prior level
- Pain and suffering, including chronic headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and the physical consequences of the injury
- Cognitive and emotional impairment as distinct compensable damages that reflect the disruption to mental function and emotional life that a brain injury produces
- Loss of enjoyment of life, recognizing that activities, relationships, and experiences the victim valued before the injury are no longer accessible in the same way
- Loss of consortium for spouses and family members who have lost the person they knew before the injury
- In-home care and attendant care for victims with severe TBI who require ongoing assistance with daily living
- Wrongful death damages for surviving family members when a traumatic brain injury proves fatal
Why Choose Hamo Law for Your TBI Case
We Have Been Handling Brain Injury Cases Since Before They Were Called TBI
When traumatic brain injury was still referred to as closed head injury, Hamo Law was already fighting these cases. That history is not a credential. It is a foundation of knowledge, experience, and relationships with the medical experts that these cases require. We know this area of law from the inside.
We Know How to Document the Invisible
Standard imaging that comes back normal does not mean there is no injury. We know which diagnostic tools produce objective evidence of TBI at the cellular and axonal level. We know which neuropsychological tests produce the kind of documented, measurable findings that hold up under cross-examination. We know how to build the case that makes the invisible undeniable.
We Understand the Defense Tactics and Counter Them Effectively
Insurance companies follow a consistent playbook in TBI cases. We know every page of it. We prepare our cases anticipating their challenges, and we work with experts who are credible, well-prepared, and persuasive under pressure.
We Fight for the Full Value of Cognitive and Emotional Loss
Many attorneys handle TBI cases by focusing primarily on the medical bills and missing the larger picture. The cognitive losses, the career impact, the relationship damage, and the emotional consequences of a brain injury are real damages that belong in your claim. We pursue all of it.
No Fee Unless We Win
You pay us nothing unless we recover compensation for you. There is no upfront cost and no financial risk to calling us today.
What to Do After a Traumatic Brain Injury
- Seek medical evaluation immediately, even if your symptoms seem mild. Tell the treating physician about every symptom you are experiencing, including cognitive and emotional changes, not just physical pain. TBI is frequently missed in emergency settings when patients do not report all of their symptoms.
- Follow all treatment recommendations and attend every follow-up appointment. Gaps in treatment are used by insurance companies to argue that your symptoms were not serious.
- Keep a daily symptom journal. Write down your symptoms, how they affect your daily activities, what you can and cannot do, and how you feel emotionally. This contemporaneous record documents the true day-to-day impact of the injury in a way that medical records alone cannot capture.
- Ask for specialist referrals. If your primary care physician has not referred you to a neurologist or neuropsychologist, ask. Specialized evaluation is essential both for your care and for building your legal case.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with an attorney. Statements made in the days or weeks after a TBI, when cognitive function may be compromised, can be used to minimize your claim.
- Contact Hamo Law as soon as possible. The earlier we are involved, the better positioned we are to ensure you receive the right medical evaluation and that all necessary evidence is preserved and documented from the start.
Your Brain Injury Is Real. We Know How to Prove It.
A traumatic brain injury is not something you imagined and not something you should have to fight alone. At Hamo Law, we have the experience, the experts, and the determination to build the case that reflects the true impact of what you have been through.
Consultations are free, there is no obligation, and you pay nothing unless we win. Call us today at 810-234-3667, email us at ahamo@hamolaw.com, or visit our office at 614 S. Grand Traverse Street, Flint, Michigan 48502. You can also fill out our contact form and a member of our team will reach out to you promptly.
Relentless Advocacy. Compassionate Counsel.
