Los Angeles Brain Injury Attorney

As you can probably guess by the name, traumatic brain injuries are often severe, life-altering, and permanent. If your newborn or young child has suffered a brain or head injury and you believe it was due to medical malpractice in Los Angeles, reach out to Dr. Bruce Fagel today.

For a complicated issue like a brain injury, you need a lawyer who is well-versed in the law but also in medicine. Dr. Fagel is a licensed physician in California. For a medical malpractice case, it can’t get much better than hiring a lawyer who is also a doctor. Call (800) 541-9376 for a free consultation with a Los Angeles brain injury attorney from The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates.

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Why Choose the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates?

  • At the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates, medical malpractice cases are all we do. We have extensive experience handling complex medical mistakes claims, and we know what it takes to help you secure compensation.
  • Doctor Bruce Fagel has tried and settled more medical malpractice plaintiff cases than any other attorney in California.
  • Dr. Fagel practiced emergency medicine for 10 years before he became an attorney, and he currently maintains his medical license in California.
  • Our team handles brain injury cases in Los Angeles on a contingency fee basis. This means that our clients will not have to pay any legal fees until after we successfully recover the compensation they are entitled to.

Why You Need a Los Angeles Brain Injury Lawyer

If you believe that a doctor’s professional negligence has caused a traumatic brain injury to your newborn or young child, it’s essential to contact an experienced attorney immediately. There are many complexities in traumatic brain injury cases, such as filing deadlines, how much you can recover in compensation, and obtaining different medical records and documents. Dr. Bruce Fagel is a Los Angeles doctor and a lawyer, so it will be hard to find someone better to hire for a complex medical case like this. He is also able to handle your wrongful death cases in Los Angeles related to brain injuries as well.

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

When we examine information available from the Mayo Clinic, we can see that a traumatic brain injury “usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body.” Additionally, these injuries can occur anytime an object goes through brain tissue, such as pieces of skull, a bullet, or another type of projectile. In 2019, about 66 Americans died each day from traumatic brain injuries, and more than 600 Americans are hospitalized.

Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can range from mild concussions to severe brain damage. Symptoms vary depending on the severity of the injury, the area of the brain affected, and the age of the victim. In newborns and young children, signs of a brain injury may be especially subtle or misinterpreted.

Common symptoms of TBIs include:

  • Loss of consciousness (even briefly)
  • Persistent or worsening headaches
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Fatigue, drowsiness, or trouble waking
  • Dizziness or balance problems
  • Blurred vision or sensitivity to light
  • Slurred speech or trouble finding words
  • Seizures or convulsions
  • Behavioral changes, including increased irritability or confusion
  • Memory loss or difficulty concentrating
  • Muscle stiffness or abnormal movements (in infants)
  • Difficulty feeding, poor responsiveness, or unusual crying in newborns

Any of these symptoms, especially in a baby or young child, should prompt immediate medical evaluation. When a brain injury is the result of medical negligence, a delay in diagnosis can make the damage worse and lead to lifelong consequences.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries can occur in a wide variety of ways. This includes vehicle accidents, sports injuries, workplace accidents, slip and fall injuries, and various other catastrophic injuries. Our attorneys, however, focus on traumatic brain injuries caused by the careless or negligent actions of a medical professional or medical facility. We help those who have sustained brain injuries caused by:

  • Car Accidents
    • Although car accidents are a common cause of TBIs in adults and children, brain injuries can also happen during prenatal treatment or early labor, occurring due to trauma after emergency crash scenarios. If the child’s care was delayed due to a mismanaged maternal injury, this may give rise to a malpractice claim.
  • Emergency room negligence
    • Patients with a head injury who are sent home too soon, misdiagnosed, or not scanned for internal bleeding can deteriorate quickly. In babies, symptoms like lethargy or vomiting are often misattributed to benign causes.
  • Medical misdiagnosis
    • Early and accurate diagnosis is critical for preventing long-term damage from a brain injury. Unfortunately, TBIs, especially in infants, are frequently overlooked or mistaken for other conditions.
    • Common diagnostic errors include:
      • Failing to recognize subtle neurological symptoms
      • Not ordering appropriate brain imaging tests (like CT or MRI scans)
      • Assuming developmental delays are unrelated to medical care
      • Dismissing parental concerns about feeding issues or abnormal crying
      • Misattributing symptoms like seizures or loss of motor control to other causes
    • Misdiagnosis not only delays treatment, but it can also prevent families from getting answers or pursuing rightful compensation. If your child’s brain injury was misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late, you may have a valid claim for medical malpractice.
  • Nursing home malpractice
  • Birth injuries
    • Brain injuries during labor and delivery can happen if a doctor fails to monitor for fetal distress, improperly uses forceps or a vacuum extractor, or delays a necessary C-section. Conditions like oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) and intracranial hemorrhage are common culprits.
  • Surgical mistakes
    • If a surgical procedure results in brain swelling, oxygen loss, or a stroke, the damage may be permanent. Neurosurgical errors, improper monitoring under anesthesia, or failure to control bleeding can all cause TBI.
  • Anesthesia errors
    • Improper dosage or monitoring under general anesthesia can cause a drop in oxygen levels or blood pressure, both of which may result in brain injury. This is especially dangerous in infants undergoing surgery.
  • Prescription medication errors
    • Some medications, when improperly administered or combined, can cause seizures, stroke, or brain swelling. Newborns are especially vulnerable to dosage errors or incorrect prescriptions during and after delivery.

If you think that you or somebody you love has sustained a traumatic brain injury caused by the negligence of a medical professional, we encourage you to reach out to one of our Los Angeles brain injury attorneys as soon as possible. We need to get started on your claim immediately. Our team will work with trusted medical professionals who can conduct an evaluation of your situation and help provide valuable assistance when it comes to your medical care.

Who is Held Responsible for Traumatic Brain Injuries?

There may be various parties that could be held liable for a traumatic brain injury in Los Angeles. No two brain injury claims are exactly alike, and we know that these cases can arise in a wide variety of ways. Anytime the careless or negligent actions of another individual, business, or entity cause a traumatic brain injury, those other parties could hold liability.

At the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates, our brain injury attorneys have extensive experience helping clients who have sustained brain injuries and/or head trauma caused by medical errors. Dr. Fagel has the added benefit of being a doctor, which helps him as he moves forward with these complex claims. 

Our team has helped those who have sustained brain injuries caused by the actions of medical providers and medical facilities. In these situations, individual providers may hold liability. Additionally, the facilities where these medical procedures were performed could also be held liable. Our team will explore all possible routes of compensation on behalf of our clients.

Two Main Categories of Brain Injuries

When it comes to brain injuries that occur due to medical malpractice. Some brain injuries can result from birth injuries. There are two common types of brain injuries in a newborn or young child:

1. Progressive Brain Injury

A progressive brain injury usually occurs as a result of an underlying genetic or developmental problem in the brain. The injury and the symptoms get worse as time progresses.

2. Non-Progressive Brain Injury

A non-progressive brain injury is generally caused by a specific incident, such as hypoxia (lack of oxygen). While a non-progressive brain injury usually occurs at one particular time, the consequences are most often life-long. An example of this type of brain injury is cerebral palsy.

Compensation for a Brain Injury

Although no amount of money can ever make up for a traumatic brain injury caused by a doctor’s negligence, it’s important that you get the compensation that you deserve and hold the doctor and/or hospital accountable. In a brain injury medical malpractice case, you may be entitled to recover economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include reimbursement for medical expenses, including expenses for treatment and rehabilitation required to address the injury. There is no cap on economic damages in a traumatic brain injury medical malpractice case.

Non-economic damages are usually awarded for pain and suffering, inconvenience, scarring and disfigurement, loss of enjoyment, and loss of the use of a limb or organ. There is a cap of $250,000 for non-economic damages.

Punitive Damages

The court will only award punitive damages in this type of case if your attorney can prove to the court by clear and convincing evidence that the medical professional engaged in fraud, malice, or oppression. In a medical malpractice case that relies on proving negligence, your lawyer will need to show that the defendant’s conduct was despicable, and either done intentionally or with a willful and conscious disregard of the rights and safety of others. In other words, your lawyer will have to provide evidence that the defendant acted recklessly or with gross negligence.

Call a Los Angeles Brain Injury Lawyer Today

If you’re looking for a medical malpractice attorney who can help you with a traumatic brain injury case, look no further. The Los Angeles brain injury lawyers at The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates have the experience and compassion you need. Call 800-541-9376 for a free consultation.