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Brain Injury Claims

If a member of your family has suffered a traumatic brain injury you are likely to have many questions regarding your entitlement to make a brain injury claim. Below you will find key extracts from our guide to traumatic brain injuries and to instigating brain injury claims. You may also wish to start the process of bringing a claim by clicking the button below.

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What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Unlike acquired brain injury, traumatic brain injuries are caused by external factors only such as a physical assault, a traffic collision, or striking one’s head after a fall.

How Do I Know if I Have Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Obviously, your GP together with a consultant neurologist are the people best placed to advise you on this. The symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can vary and may be very obvious in severe cases such as coma, seizures, and headaches. However, more subtle symptoms, particularly cognitive changes may be more difficult to spot. These changes can include memory problems, poor concentration, affected planning and problem-solving capabilities, communication difficulties, etc. One may also suffer fatigue, loss of taste and smell and behavioural changes such as irritability. Naturally, it may be difficult for the injured party to identify these symptoms and they might only be noticed through the observations of friends and family members.

Can I Recover Compensation if I Have Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury?

This depends on the external factor that caused your injury. For example, if you have been involved in a road traffic accident where you believe the driver of the other car (or the driver of the car in which you were a passenger) is responsible then you should investigate a possible claim for personal injuries against that driver. If you are a victim of an assault then you may wish to bring an action against the person who assaulted you and seek compensation from the criminal injuries compensation tribunal.

If you have suffered a brain injury it is advisable that you or a family member on your behalf seek the advice of a solicitor who can advise you on any potential case.

Speak to our legal team now about your case. Call us Freephone on:

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What Compensation Can I Recover?

You will be entitled to recover “general damages” for your pain and suffering and “special damages” for your out of pocket expenses such as medical bills and loss of earnings. Loss of earnings in this type of case can be particularly difficult. Obviously, the cognitive difficulties outlined above can have a significant impact on a person’s performance levels and in turn their employment and career progression prospects. Various tests can be applied to establish a person’s cogitative abilities but the difficulty arises if there is nothing to compare those results against from prior to the accident.

One common way in which this can be done is by comparing academic performance from before and after the accident. For example, if you had been achieving consistently high scores in exams and tests before the accident but those results have diminished since the accident then this could be used to demonstrate the difficulties that you are experiencing.

Once you can establish these difficulties then a skilled actuary will be able to prepare a report illustrating the effect that the injury has had on your earning capabilities.

 

When Should I Speak With My Solicitor?

While your recovery must be paramount you must always be mindful of the time limits for bringing a claim. Typically speaking this is two years but there are some exceptions and you should speak with your solicitor as soon as possible to establish when time will run out against you. Your solicitor will then be in a position to assist you in stopping time running against you and you can continue to focus on your recovery.

 

Can Any Solicitor Handle These Types of Cases?

Technically yes. But these are complex cases as illustrated above in the segment relating to loss of earnings. You are best served by a solicitor who is experienced in handling these claims.

 

Further Advice on Bringing a Brain Injury Claim

If you have any questions relating to a brain injury you or your relative has sustained, our live chat operator is available to help you with any queries you may have at any time or, you can just give us a call on our nationwide Local number 1800 390 555 during office hours. Our brain injury claims solicitors are based at our offices in Dublin and Cork but assist people from across Ireland.

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About McCarthy + Co

With more than 30 years of experience in dealing with personal injury claims, McCarthy + Co. has brought many successful claims involving head and brain injuries. We are a family-run business, and we pride ourselves on offering honest, impartial, and helpful advice.

Our offices are based in Dublin and Cork but we work with clients throughout Ireland in locations ranging from Galway to Waterford. You can count on us for legal advice, guidance, and assistance on any form of personal injury.

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We are a multi-award winning firm, accredited by the Law Society of Ireland.

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In contentious business, a legal practitioner shall not charge any amount in respect of legal costs expressed as a percentage or proportion of any damages (or other moneys) that may become payable to his or her client or purport to set out the legal costs to be charged to a junior counsel as a specified percentage or proportion of the legal costs paid to a senior counsel. A legal practitioner shall not without the prior written agreement of his or her client deduct or appropriate any amount in respect of legal costs from the amount of any damages or moneys that become payable to the client in respect of legal services that the legal practitioner provided to the client.

Our Partners

Directly contact our partners via email about your case.

Flor McCarthy

Flor McCarthy

Email: flor@mccarthy.ie
Follow Flor on Social Media

Twitter: @flormccarthy LinkedIn: /in/flormccarthy/

wears multiple hats, not only as the managing partner of one of Ireland’s leading law firms, but also as an author, speaker and an acknowledged expert in client service, innovation and marketing.

Beginning his academic journey at UCC, Flor furthered his education with a master’s degree in law from UCD. After gaining valuable experience as a solicitor in Dublin, the allure of home and the family brought him back to West Cork to contribute his expertise to the family business.
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John McCarthy

John McCarthy

Email: john@mccarthy.ie
Follow John on Social Media

LinkedIn: /in/johnmccarthysolicitor/

is a seasoned solicitor with almost 20 years of experience, specialises in personal injury and medical negligence claims, focusing particularly on high-value compensation cases. His extensive litigation experience spans Circuit Court, High Court and Supreme Court levels.

John's practice involves a diverse range of cases, from personal injury and wrongful death to property damage, defective products, professional negligence and judicial reviews.
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