New York Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

A traumatic brain injury doesn’t just affect the person who suffered it — it reshapes an entire family’s daily life, finances, and future. Some brain injuries are immediately obvious; others, including many concussions, take days or weeks to reveal their full impact. In either case, when someone else’s negligence caused the injury, New York law entitles the injured person to compensation for the full scope of their medical care, lost income, and the profound, often lifelong, changes a brain injury can bring.

For more than 45 years, Hill & Moin LLP has represented victims of catastrophic and traumatic brain injuries throughout New York City, recovering significant compensation across cases involving falls, construction accidents, and motor vehicle collisions, including a $13 million recovery for a worker who suffered a serious fall injury and a $1.5 million recovery in a case involving a severe brain injury from medical negligence. We understand that a brain injury case is rarely just about the initial hospital bill — it’s about a lifetime of therapy, lost earning potential, and the support an injured person will need for years to come.

If you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, call (212) 668-6000 for a free, 24/7 consultation. There is no fee unless we win.

Traumatic Brain Injuries Are a Leading Cause of Death and Disability in the United States

Traumatic brain injury is far more common — and far more serious — than most people realize, and recent federal data underscores just how significant the ongoing public health impact is.

• The CDC reports approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in its most recent published data year and 68,663 TBI-related deaths in 2023 — more than 586 hospitalizations and 190 deaths every single day in the United States.
• These CDC figures do not include the many traumatic brain injuries treated only in emergency departments, urgent care, or primary care settings, or those that go entirely untreated, meaning the true scope of TBI is substantially larger than hospitalization and mortality data alone suggest.
• TBI is estimated to contribute to roughly 30% of all injury-related deaths in the United States, and falls remain one of the leading mechanisms of TBI-related death and hospitalization nationwide.
• An estimated 5.3 million Americans — about 1 in 6 — are currently living with a long-term disability related to a traumatic brain injury, according to figures drawn from CDC and Brain Injury Association of America data.
• The CDC has calculated that the total annual healthcare cost of nonfatal TBIs exceeds $40.6 billion, with Medicare and Medicaid alone covering more than $30 billion of that burden — underscoring both the medical severity and the enormous financial impact TBI has on injured individuals, families, and the healthcare system.
• Older adults bear a disproportionate share of this burden: people age 75 and older account for roughly 32% of TBI-related hospitalizations and 28% of TBI-related deaths, largely due to falls.

These aren’t abstract numbers. Every one of these injuries represents someone whose life was permanently altered — often by a fall, a crash, or a workplace accident that could have been prevented. An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer can help ensure that the full, lifelong cost of a brain injury is properly accounted for in your case.

Understanding the Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injury

Not all brain injuries are alike, and the type of injury significantly affects diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and the value of a legal claim. Common categories include:

Concussions (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury)

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow, jolt, or sudden movement that causes the brain to move rapidly within the skull. The word “mild” refers only to the initial clinical presentation — it does not mean the consequences are minor or short-lived. Symptoms can include headache, confusion, dizziness, memory problems, and sensitivity to light or noise, and post-concussion syndrome can persist for months or even years, seriously disrupting work, relationships, and daily functioning.

Diffuse Axonal Injury

Diffuse axonal injury occurs when rapid acceleration and deceleration forces — common in motor vehicle collisions — cause widespread tearing of the brain’s nerve fibers (axons) throughout multiple areas of the brain. This is among the most severe forms of TBI, frequently resulting in prolonged unconsciousness, coma, and significant permanent disability, since damage is distributed rather than localized to a single area.

Contusions

A brain contusion is a bruise on the brain tissue itself, caused by direct impact, often when the head strikes an object or the brain strikes the interior of the skull. Contusions can cause localized bleeding and swelling and may require surgical intervention if they create dangerous pressure within the skull.

Penetrating Brain Injuries

Penetrating, or open head, injuries occur when an object breaks through the skull and enters brain tissue. These injuries are frequently associated with construction accidents involving falling objects or tools, and they carry a high risk of infection, hemorrhage, and severe, permanent neurological damage.

Hypoxic and Anoxic Brain Injuries

Hypoxic brain injury occurs when the brain receives an inadequate oxygen supply, while anoxic injury involves a complete lack of oxygen. These injuries can result from a crash that causes prolonged unconsciousness and airway obstruction, near-drowning incidents, or medical negligence during surgery or delivery. Because brain cells begin to die within minutes of oxygen deprivation, even a short period of hypoxia can cause devastating, irreversible damage.

Symptoms, Long-Term Effects, and Diagnosis

TBI symptoms vary enormously depending on the severity and location of the injury, and some symptoms may not appear for days or weeks after the initial trauma. Common symptoms include:

• Headaches, dizziness, and nausea
• Confusion, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating
• Slurred speech or difficulty finding words
• Sensitivity to light and noise
• Mood changes, irritability, anxiety, and depression
• Sleep disturbances
• Loss of consciousness, ranging from momentary to prolonged coma
• Seizures
• In severe cases, paralysis, permanent cognitive impairment, or persistent vegetative state

Long-term effects of a serious TBI can include permanent cognitive deficits, personality changes, chronic headaches, an increased risk of epilepsy, difficulty maintaining employment, and in some cases, an elevated long-term risk of neurodegenerative conditions.

Diagnosis typically involves a combination of clinical neurological examination, CT scans, and MRI imaging to detect bleeding, swelling, or structural damage. More subtle injuries, including many concussions and diffuse axonal injuries, may not show up clearly on standard imaging, which is why neuropsychological testing and ongoing clinical evaluation by a neurologist are often essential both for proper treatment and for accurately documenting the injury in a legal claim.

Treatment and rehabilitation can include emergency neurosurgery, inpatient hospitalization, cognitive and physical rehabilitation therapy, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and long-term psychological support. Many TBI survivors require ongoing, sometimes lifelong, medical monitoring, therapy, and personal care assistance.

Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries in New York

Brain injuries can result from virtually any accident involving a blow to the head or violent movement of the body, and identifying the cause is central to identifying who is legally responsible. We regularly handle TBI cases arising from:

• Motor vehicle accidents, including car, truck, motorcycle, and bicycle collisions, where the head strikes the steering wheel, window, or dashboard, or where whiplash-type forces cause diffuse axonal injury
• Construction accidents, including falls from height, falling objects, and being struck by equipment or materials — a leading cause of penetrating and severe TBI among New York workers
• Slip and fall accidents, including falls on stairs, sidewalks, and other hazardous premises, which are especially dangerous for older adults
• Workplace accidents beyond construction, including warehouse, retail, and industrial settings
• Pedestrian accidents, where a person is struck by a vehicle and suffers head trauma from the initial impact or from striking the pavement
• Acts of negligence more broadly, including inadequately maintained premises, defective products, and medical negligence during surgery or childbirth

If you or a loved one suffered a brain injury in a construction accident, our construction accident team can help you understand your rights under New York Labor Law. If the injury resulted from a fall, our slip and fall attorneys can help investigate the hazardous condition involved, and if a vehicle was involved, our motor vehicle accident and pedestrian accident attorneys can help identify every liable party.

Proving Liability in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

Because TBI symptoms can be subtle, delayed, or contested by insurance companies, proving both the cause of the injury and its full severity requires careful, often complex, evidence gathering, including:

• Accident scene evidence, including photographs, witness statements, and, where available, surveillance footage
• Emergency medical records, including EMS reports, emergency department records, and initial imaging
• Neurological and neuropsychological evaluations, which help establish the full scope of cognitive, emotional, and physical impairment, particularly in milder cases where CT or MRI results may appear normal
• Long-term medical records documenting ongoing treatment, therapy, and any decline or change in function over time
• Expert testimony from neurologists, neuropsychologists, and life care planners, who can explain the injury’s mechanism, prognosis, and the type and cost of care the injured person will need for the rest of their life
• Vocational expert analysis, establishing how the injury has affected, or will affect, the person’s ability to work and earn income
• Testimony from family members and coworkers, who can describe cognitive and personality changes that may not be fully captured in medical records alone

Because brain injury cases often turn into a battle of experts, with defense-retained doctors minimizing the injury’s severity, working with attorneys who have deep experience assembling strong, well-documented TBI claims is essential.

The Role of Neurologists and Medical Experts

Medical experts are central to nearly every serious TBI case. Treating neurologists document the injury and its progression, while retained expert neurologists, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, and life care planners help translate complex medical findings into terms a jury or insurance adjuster can understand — and, critically, help quantify what the injured person will need for the rest of their life. This can include projected costs for future surgeries, rehabilitation, home health aides, cognitive therapy, and assistive equipment. Because insurance companies frequently retain their own experts to argue that an injury is less severe than claimed, particularly with concussions and other milder TBIs, having credible, well-qualified experts on your side is often the deciding factor in securing full and fair compensation.

Comparative Negligence and Traumatic Brain Injury Claims

New York follows a “pure comparative negligence” rule, meaning an injured person can still recover compensation even if they were partly at fault for the accident that caused their brain injury, though their total recovery is reduced by their assigned percentage of responsibility. Insurance companies frequently attempt to shift blame onto the injured person — arguing, for example, that a pedestrian wasn’t looking, a worker wasn’t wearing required safety equipment, or a fall victim was distracted. An experienced attorney can push back on these arguments and help ensure that a defendant’s negligence, not the injured person’s conduct, is properly recognized as the true cause of the injury.

Compensation Available in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

Given the severity and long-term nature of many brain injuries, compensation in a New York TBI case often needs to account for decades of future needs, not just the immediate aftermath of the accident. Depending on the facts of your case, compensation may include:

• Past and future medical expenses, including hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and ongoing neurological care
• Past and future lost earnings and diminished earning capacity, particularly significant given that many severe TBI survivors cannot return to their prior occupation, or to work at all
• Cost of future care, including home health aides, assisted living, cognitive therapy, and adaptive equipment
• Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability and loss of cognitive function
• Home modifications, including accessibility renovations for those with permanent physical or cognitive impairments
• Loss of consortium for spouses in appropriate cases
• Wrongful death damages for surviving family members in fatal cases

Because the lifetime cost of a serious TBI can range from tens of thousands of dollars for a milder injury to several million dollars for a severe, permanently disabling injury, it’s essential to work with attorneys who understand how to properly document and project these long-term needs, rather than settling for an amount that only covers your bills to date.

Steps to Take After a Traumatic Brain Injury

1. Seek immediate medical attention, even if symptoms seem mild at first. Some of the most serious effects of a TBI, including many concussions, take days or weeks to fully appear.
2. Follow up with a neurologist, even after being cleared in an emergency room, since standard imaging can miss more subtle brain injuries.
3. Keep a symptom journal, documenting headaches, memory issues, mood changes, and any other changes you notice, since these details are often critical to proving the full impact of the injury.
4. Avoid returning to work, driving, or strenuous activity until cleared by a medical professional.
5. Preserve evidence related to the accident, including photographs, witness contact information, and any available surveillance footage.
6. Avoid giving a recorded statement to an insurance company before speaking with an attorney.
7. Contact an experienced New York traumatic brain injury lawyer as soon as possible, so evidence can be preserved and a proper medical and legal investigation can begin.

Why Choose Hill & Moin LLP for Your Traumatic Brain Injury Case

Hill & Moin LLP has spent more than 45 years fighting for injured New Yorkers, recovering over $400 million for our clients across catastrophic injury, construction accident, and premises liability cases, including a $13 million recovery for a serious fall injury and a $1.5 million recovery in a case involving a severe brain injury caused by medical negligence during childbirth. We understand that brain injury cases require far more than proving fault — they require building a complete picture of a person’s future, working closely with treating physicians, retained neurological experts, and life care planners to ensure every future medical and financial need is properly valued.

We are fluent in Spanish, Russian, French, Yiddish, and Ukrainian to serve New York’s diverse communities, and we handle every case on a contingency-fee basis: there is no fee unless we win.

We also regularly represent clients in related catastrophic injury matters, including spinal injuries, construction accidents, slip and fall accidents, motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and, in the most tragic cases, wrongful death claims, giving injured New Yorkers and their families a single, experienced team no matter how their brain injury occurred.

Frequently Asked Questions

My doctor called it a concussion, not a TBI. Does that mean my claim is less valuable? No. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. The word “mild” refers to the initial clinical presentation, not the long-term consequences. Post-concussion syndrome can persist for months or years and cause serious disruption to work, relationships, and daily life, and a claim should reflect that full impact, not just the initial diagnosis.

What if my brain scan came back normal, but I still have symptoms? Standard CT and MRI imaging can miss more subtle brain injuries, including many concussions and some diffuse axonal injuries. Neuropsychological testing and ongoing clinical documentation from a neurologist are often essential to establishing the injury when imaging alone doesn’t tell the full story.

How is a traumatic brain injury claim valued differently from other injury claims? TBI claims often require projecting decades of future medical care, lost earning capacity, and life care needs, since brain injuries can affect cognitive function, employability, and independence for the rest of a person’s life. This makes expert testimony from neurologists, neuropsychologists, and life care planners especially important in accurately valuing these claims.

Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault for the accident that caused my brain injury? Yes. New York’s pure comparative negligence rule allows recovery even if you were partially at fault, though your total compensation will be reduced by your assigned percentage of responsibility.

How long do I have to file a traumatic brain injury lawsuit in New York? Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the accident. Claims involving a government entity require a Notice of Claim within 90 days, and medical malpractice claims involving a brain injury carry their own distinct filing deadlines, so it’s important to consult an attorney as soon as possible.

My family member sustained a brain injury and can no longer manage their own affairs. What should we do? In addition to pursuing a personal injury claim, families in this situation should speak with an attorney about guardianship or power of attorney arrangements to help manage medical decisions and finances, alongside pursuing the compensation needed for lifelong care.

What if my child suffered a head injury in an accident? Children’s developing brains often require especially thorough evaluation, since symptoms can present differently than in adults and may affect long-term development, learning, and behavior. An attorney experienced in pediatric brain injury cases can help ensure a child’s future needs are fully accounted for in any claim.

Suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury? Call Hill & Moin LLP Today

A brain injury changes everything — for the person injured and for everyone who loves them. Hill & Moin LLP has spent over four decades fighting for New Yorkers facing exactly this kind of life-altering injury, working with the medical experts needed to prove not just what happened, but what the future will require. The sooner you call, the sooner we can begin building the strongest possible case for your family’s future.

Call (212) 668-6000 now for a free, 24/7 consultation. There is no fee unless we win.

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