Personal injury claims related to trucking accidents often involve traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). As the name suggests, these injuries are some of the most dire, complicated, and expensive medical conditions to treat. As a result, trucking companies must be prepared to face claims alleging TBI. What are your options?
Defending against Traumatic Brain Injury Claims
The strategy for defending against a trucking accident claim involving a TBI often includes the following key elements:
- Driver fault, including the driver of the truck and operators of other vehicles involved in the accident.
- Possible issues with how third parties loaded the truck.
- Road conditions.
- Mechanical failure due to potentially faulty parts.
Any of these factors may have contributed to the accident, thereby minimizing your company’s liability.
Fighting against a TBI claim can be extremely complicated, and beyond building a defense based on the aforementioned factors, your legal team needs to be well-versed in the intricate medical issues involved in these cases. Although it is a sensitive issue, to protect your company from the astronomical damages a jury might award a plaintiff in a TBI case, you will have to prove that the treatments are either ineffective, unnecessary, or unrelated to the injury.
How Would a Treatment Be Unrelated to an Injury?
It is not uncommon for TBIs to be misdiagnosed. There have been instances in which patients thought to be suffering from a TBI were in fact afflicted with a traumatic spinal cord injury. In addition, other medical conditions such as seizure disorders or various mental illnesses can mimic the symptoms of a brain injury. If the plaintiff has a documented history of mental illness or seizures, it is critical to establish that the symptoms were observed prior to the accident that prompted the claim against your company. Your best course of action is to engage a legal team with a strong track record for defending against personal injury claims involving TBIs.