You need a lawyer after a concussion for a simple reason: a concussion is unlike other injuries.
It is often invisible to standard diagnostic scans, yet it quietly affects your daily life. Without legal representation, insurance companies frequently classify these serious brain injuries as minor soft-tissue issues. This approach ignores the significant risk of long-term cognitive decline and conditions like Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS), leaving you without the resources you need for a full recovery.
The core conflict you face is that the medical reality of your brain injury—the headaches, the brain fog, the irritability—clashes with the proof an insurance adjuster demands. Proving the severity of a concussion requires more than a hospital discharge summary stating you had a mild head injury. It requires building a compelling legal narrative, supported by specific medical opinions and evidence that illustrates the injury's true impact on your life.
At Abels & Annes, P.C., our practice focuses on ensuring a settlement reflects today's medical bills and the potential future costs of neurological issues. Your symptoms are real, and you do not have to accept a lowball offer just because your injury does not show up on a scan.
If you have a question about a recent concussion or head injury, call us today for a free consultation.
Key Takeaways for Concussion Claims
- A concussion is an invisible injury that requires specific proof. Because concussions do not show up on standard MRIs or CT scans, insurance companies will try to devalue your claim. A brain injury lawyer builds a case using specialist medical reports and testimony from those who have witnessed the injury's impact on your life.
- Insurance companies use specific tactics to minimize concussion payouts. Adjusters may offer a quick, low settlement before the full extent of your injury is known or argue that your symptoms are from a pre-existing condition. Legal representation protects you from these strategies and focuses on securing fair compensation for the injury's long-term effects.
- Damages include more than just your initial medical bills. A concussion settlement should account for future medical needs, lost earning capacity, and the injury's effect on your quality of life, such as chronic headaches or the inability to enjoy hobbies. An attorney works to calculate these comprehensive costs to ensure your settlement is adequate.
The Medical Reality: Why Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Legally Complicated
The term mild concussion is a medical classification based on initial presentation, not a reflection of the injury's impact on your life. Many people hear "mild" and assume a quick recovery, but the reality for many is a long and frustrating journey. This disconnect is where legal challenges begin. Your injury is invisible, and that makes it easy for others to dismiss.
Unlike a broken arm visible on an X-ray, a concussion does not appear on standard emergency room imaging like a CT scan or MRI. These scans are designed to detect structural damage, such as brain bleeds, fractures, or tumors. A concussion, however, is a functional injury. It is a disruption of how your brain cells communicate, not necessarily a visible bruise on the brain tissue.
An experienced legal team understands how to document these functional injuries using other forms of evidence, such as neuropsychological exams, specialist reports, and detailed impact statements from you and your family.
How Insurance Companies Exploit the Invisible Nature of Concussions
The Nuisance Value Offer
One common tactic is to offer a quick, small settlement right after the accident. This nuisance value offer is designed to close your case before you have a chance to understand the true extent of your brain injury. They know that once you sign a release, you cannot seek further brain injury compensation, even if your symptoms worsen dramatically.
This stands in stark contrast to the actual value of these brain injury claims. Concussion-only settlements range from tens of thousands of dollars to over a million in severe cases. Without legal representation, you are steered toward the lowest end of this spectrum, accepting an amount that might not even cover your initial medical bills.
Common Defenses and Delay Tactics
Insurance companies also build defenses designed to create doubt about the cause of your symptoms.
- The Pre-Existing Condition Argument: The insurer might comb through your medical records to find any past mention of headaches, stress, or anxiety. They will then argue that your current symptoms are not from the accident, but are simply a continuation of a pre-existing condition. We anticipate this and work to gather the necessary medical documentation to refute these claims.
- The Deny, Delay, Defend Strategy: The brain injury claims process is long and filled with tedious paperwork. Claimants often become frustrated as medical bills accumulate. Some claimants, worn down by delays and denials, give up and accept a low offer out of desperation. Having an attorney manage this process for you removes that pressure and shows the insurance company you are serious about receiving fair compensation.
How a Lawyer Accurately Values Your Claim
We work to calculate the full lifetime cost of the injury, ensuring that the hidden losses are made visible.
Economic Damages: The Tangible Costs
These are the direct financial losses resulting from your injury.
- Lost Wages & Earning Capacity: If you are a software developer who now gets migraines from screen time, or an accountant who can no longer concentrate on complicated spreadsheets, your future earning capacity is damaged. We frequently work with vocational economists to quantify this loss over the course of your career.
- Future Medical Care: A full recovery may involve more than a few follow-up appointments. It may involve cognitive rehabilitation therapy, sessions with a neurologist, specialized vision therapy, or ongoing pain management. Your settlement should account for all of these potential future needs.
Non-Economic Damages: The Intangible Costs
These damages compensate you for the ways the injury has affected your quality of life.
- Pain and Suffering: This includes the physical pain of chronic headaches and the emotional distress of dealing with a brain injury.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This refers to your inability to participate in activities you once loved. Perhaps you no longer tolerate the loud noises of a concert or a family gathering. Maybe vertigo prevents you from playing with your children or participating in sports. These are real losses that deserve real compensation.
- Loss of Consortium: A brain injury affects personal relationships. If your personality has changed (perhaps you have become more irritable, withdrawn, or prone to mood swings), it can strain your marriage. A loss of consortium claim allows your spouse to be compensated for the negative impact the injury has had on your relationship.
Punitive Damages
In rare cases involving extreme negligence, such as an accident caused by a drunk driver or a company that knowingly put a dangerous product on the road, you may pursue punitive damages.
These are not meant to compensate you for your losses, but rather to punish the at-fault party for their reckless behavior and deter similar conduct in the future.
Establishing Negligence and Causation in Brain Injury Cases
You do not receive compensation just because you were hurt. First, you must prove that someone else was legally at fault for the accident. Second, you must prove that their specific act of fault is what caused your concussion.
Proving Fault: The Legal Standard of Negligence
Proving fault in a personal injury case means establishing negligence. This legal concept means showing that the other party failed to exercise a reasonable level of care, and that failure caused your injury.
In Illinois, this is further complicated by the state's modified comparative negligence rule. This law stipulates that if you are found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident, you do not recover any compensation. If you are found to be 20% at fault, your final award is reduced by 20%.
Insurance companies know this and will look for any evidence to shift a greater percentage of the blame onto you. Our role is to build a strong case that minimizes your fault and holds the other party accountable for their share of the responsibility.
Proving Causation: The Medical Link
This is the most challenging part of a concussion case.
- The Importance of the Timeline: A significant gap in treatment (for example, waiting several weeks to see a doctor because you thought the headaches would go away) is very damaging to your claim. The defense will argue that something else must have happened in the intervening time to cause your symptoms. We guide our clients on maintaining a consistent timeline of care to build a strong, defensible case.
- The Power of Expert Testimony: We do not rely solely on your family doctor. We consult with neurologists, neuropsychologists, and other specialists who understand the complicated mechanisms of brain injuries. These experts provide testimony that explains how the force of the impact caused your specific functional deficits, creating an undeniable link between the accident and your condition.
In some tragic instances, a brain injury is worsened by a diagnostic failure at the hospital. A significant number of deaths in the U.S. have been linked to medical errors, and failure to diagnose a brain bleed or other serious head trauma has catastrophic consequences.
If medical malpractice played a role in the severity of your outcome, that is another avenue of recovery we will explore.
Legal Deadlines and Why You Cannot Wait and See
While the symptoms of a brain injury take weeks or months to fully reveal themselves, the legal clock starts ticking on the day of the accident. Waiting to see if it gets better is a risky strategy that jeopardizes your ability to recover any compensation at all.
The Statute of Limitations
Every state has a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, known as the statute of limitations. In Illinois, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim.
If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly bar you from ever seeking compensation for your injuries, no matter how severe they are. There are very few exceptions to this rule, so acting promptly is a necessity.
The Preservation of Evidence
Time is also the enemy of evidence:
- Surveillance video from a nearby business that captured the accident is erased or looped over
- The black box data from the vehicles involved is overwritten
- The memories of witnesses fade
The sooner we begin an investigation, the stronger our ability to preserve the evidence needed to prove the severity of the impact.
FAQ for Concussion Claims
What if I didn't lose consciousness at the scene?
Loss of consciousness happens in less than 10% of concussions. It is neither a requirement for a medical diagnosis nor for a valid legal claim.
The insurance company offered to pay my ER bill if I sign a release. Should I?
No. Signing a release terminates your right to all future compensation. If your symptoms develop into post-concussion syndrome, you will have no legal recourse to seek additional funds for treatment or lost wages.
How do lawyers prove pain and suffering for an invisible injury?
We use testimony from impact witnesses, such as your family, friends, and coworkers. They provide powerful accounts of the changes they have observed in your personality, memory, and daily functioning since the accident.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a mild concussion?
Yes. “Mild” is a medical classifier, not a measure of the injury’s effect on your life. If that injury impacts your job, your mood, or your cognitive abilities, its financial value may be substantial. This is often why people choose to hire a brain injury lawyer, to ensure they are not undercompensated simply because the injury is not easily seen.
Don't Let an Insurance Company Define Your Recovery
Do not allow an insurance adjuster with a profit motive to tell you that your headaches, memory loss, or confusion are minor.
The civil justice system is designed to help make you whole again, but it demands determined advocacy to function properly. At Abels & Annes, P.C., we handle the legal process, from gathering evidence and consulting with medical specialists to negotiating with insurers, so you can dedicate your energy to healing.
If you or a loved one is struggling with the lingering effects of a concussion, contact Abels & Annes, P.C. today. Let us review your case and help you understand your rights before you sign on the dotted line.
Call us today for a free consultation.
David Abels
Partner | Personal Injury Lawyer | Abels & Annes, P.C.
David Abels has carved a niche for himself in the personal injury law sector, dedicating a substantial part of his career since 1997 to representing victims of various accidents. With a law practice that spans over two decades, his expertise has been consistently recognized within the legal community.
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