Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers in Chicago

Medical professional reviewing brain MRI scans for a traumatic brain injury evaluation

A traumatic brain injury can change a person’s memory, judgment, movement, personality, career, relationships, and ability to live independently. Some injuries are immediately obvious. Others initially appear to be a minor concussion but produce headaches, confusion, fatigue, mood changes, or cognitive problems that interfere with daily life for weeks, months, or longer.

A person does not have to fracture the skull, strike the windshield, or lose consciousness to sustain a traumatic brain injury. Rapid acceleration, deceleration, rotation, or violent movement can cause the brain to move and twist inside the skull even when there is no visible wound.

Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC represents people and families affected by concussions, moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries, penetrating brain trauma, and other forms of brain damage caused by accidents or negligent medical care. We investigate how the injury occurred, identify the responsible parties, preserve medical and accident evidence, and document the full effect on the injured person’s future.

Medical care comes first after a suspected brain injury. Once the emergency is addressed, call (312) 243-9922 or contact Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC online for a free and confidential case evaluation. When we accept a case, attorney fees are collected only if compensation is recovered.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury, commonly abbreviated as TBI, is an injury caused by an outside physical force that disrupts normal brain function. It may result from a blow, bump, jolt, violent movement, blast wave, or object penetrating the skull.

A TBI can occur through:

Direct impact: The head strikes a steering wheel, pavement, stair, beam, dashboard, sports surface, or another object.
Acceleration and deceleration: The head and body stop or change direction suddenly while the brain continues moving inside the skull.
Rotational force: Twisting movement stretches and damages nerve fibers and blood vessels.
Penetrating trauma: A projectile, fragment, tool, or broken bone enters the skull and damages brain tissue.
Blast exposure: Pressure waves and movement generated by an explosion injure the brain.

Not every blow to the head causes a TBI, and not every TBI causes permanent disability. The outcome depends on the force, location, affected brain structures, secondary complications, medical response, age, prior health, and many other factors.

Current medical information is available from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Traumatic and Nontraumatic Brain Injuries Are Different

The term traumatic brain injury should not be used for every form of brain damage. A TBI requires an external physical force.

A nontraumatic acquired brain injury can result from an internal medical event or lack of oxygen, including:

Cardiac arrest
Stroke
Respiratory failure
Anesthesia complications
Carbon-monoxide poisoning
Drowning or strangulation
Severe infection
Hypoxic-ischemic injury during labor or delivery

Hypoxic brain injury occurs when the brain receives insufficient oxygen. Anoxic injury refers to a complete or near-complete loss of oxygen. These injuries can produce severe cognitive, motor, behavioral, and neurological effects similar to those seen after TBI, but their medical mechanism is different.

A single event can involve both diagnoses. For example, a person may strike the head during a collision and then experience prolonged oxygen deprivation while trapped or submerged.

Concussions Are Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

A concussion is classified medically as a mild TBI. The word “mild” generally describes the initial clinical classification and does not mean that the symptoms are imaginary, insignificant, or guaranteed to resolve immediately.

A concussion may occur without:

Loss of consciousness
A skull fracture
Visible bleeding
An abnormal CT scan
An obvious wound to the head

Some people recover within a relatively short period. Others develop persistent headaches, dizziness, sleep disruption, sensitivity to light or noise, memory problems, irritability, anxiety, depression, or difficulty returning to work and school.

Repeated concussions or repeated head impacts can complicate recovery. A person should follow medical instructions before returning to driving, work, sports, hazardous equipment, or other activities that create a risk of another injury.

Mild, Moderate, and Severe TBI

Healthcare providers may classify TBI as mild, moderate, or severe by considering factors such as:

The person’s level of consciousness
Glasgow Coma Scale findings
Length of unconsciousness
Duration of confusion or post-traumatic amnesia
Neurological findings
CT or MRI results
The need for intensive care or surgery

The initial category does not perfectly predict recovery. A person initially diagnosed with mild TBI can experience substantial ongoing symptoms. A person who sustained a severe injury may make meaningful progress through emergency treatment, rehabilitation, therapy, family support, and time.

Closed and Penetrating Brain Injuries

Closed or Nonpenetrating TBI

A closed TBI occurs when the skull and protective covering around the brain remain intact, but external force causes the brain to move, twist, bruise, bleed, or stretch inside the skull.

Closed injuries include many concussions, contusions, hemorrhages, and diffuse axonal injuries. They are common in vehicle collisions, falls, sports accidents, workplace incidents, and assaults.

Penetrating TBI

A penetrating or open injury occurs when an object passes through the skull and protective tissues into the brain. Gunshots, fragments, tools, construction materials, and broken pieces of the skull can cause penetrating injuries.

These injuries may damage a specific pathway through the brain and can also cause bleeding, infection, swelling, seizure risk, and widespread secondary injury.

Common Types of Brain Trauma

Concussion

A concussion can temporarily alter thinking, balance, memory, vision, mood, and other brain functions. Symptoms may begin immediately or appear later.

Brain Contusion

A contusion is bruising of brain tissue. It may occur beneath the area of impact or on the opposite side when the brain moves against the inside of the skull.

Coup-Contrecoup Injury

A coup injury occurs at the point of impact. A contrecoup injury occurs on the opposite side as the brain rebounds within the skull. Both can occur during the same event.

Diffuse Axonal Injury

Violent rotation or acceleration can stretch and tear nerve fibers throughout the brain. Diffuse axonal injury may cause prolonged unconsciousness, coma, major cognitive deficits, or other severe neurological effects.

Epidural Hematoma

An epidural hematoma is bleeding between the skull and the outer covering of the brain. Pressure can increase rapidly and may require emergency surgery.

Subdural Hematoma

A subdural hematoma is bleeding beneath the outer covering of the brain. An acute subdural hematoma can be life-threatening. A chronic collection may develop more gradually, particularly in an older adult or a person taking blood-thinning medication.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

This bleeding occurs in the space surrounding the brain where cerebrospinal fluid circulates. It can cause severe headache, neurological deterioration, and dangerous pressure changes.

Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Bleeding directly into brain tissue can damage cells and increase pressure. Its effects depend on the volume and location of the hemorrhage.

Skull Fracture

A skull fracture can occur with or without brain injury. A depressed fracture may push bone inward. A basilar fracture near the bottom of the skull may be associated with fluid drainage, bruising, cranial-nerve injury, or other complications.

Primary and Secondary Brain Damage

Primary injury occurs at the moment of impact or penetration. Secondary injury develops afterward through biological processes that may continue for hours, days, or longer.

Secondary damage can involve:

Brain swelling
Increasing pressure within the skull
Reduced blood flow
Reduced oxygen delivery
Inflammation
Seizures
Expansion of bleeding
Changes in brain chemistry
Infection after an open injury

Emergency treatment is intended not only to address the original trauma but also to prevent or limit these secondary complications.

Emergency Warning Signs After a Head Injury

Call 911 or seek immediate emergency medical care after head trauma when a person develops a danger sign such as:

A headache that worsens and does not go away
Repeated vomiting
Convulsions or seizures
Increasing confusion, agitation, or unusual behavior
Slurred speech
Weakness, numbness, or loss of coordination
One pupil larger than the other
Double vision
Loss of consciousness
Increasing drowsiness or inability to wake
Clear fluid or blood draining from the nose or ears
Severe neck pain
Difficulty recognizing familiar people or places
Worsening neurological symptoms

A young child may also show persistent inconsolable crying, refusal to eat or nurse, unusual sleepiness, loss of newly acquired skills, or behavior that is markedly different from normal.

The CDC’s TBI symptom and danger-sign guidance provides additional information. Online information is not a substitute for emergency evaluation.

Symptoms of a Mild TBI or Concussion

Symptoms can appear immediately or develop over the following hours or days. They may change as the injured person attempts to resume work, school, driving, exercise, or other demanding activities.

Physical Symptoms

Headache or pressure in the head
Dizziness or balance problems
Nausea
Fatigue or reduced energy
Blurred or double vision
Sensitivity to light or noise
Ringing in the ears
Sleep disturbance
Neck pain

Cognitive Symptoms

Feeling foggy, slowed down, or confused
Difficulty concentrating
Short- or long-term memory problems
Difficulty finding words
Reduced processing speed
Trouble organizing or completing tasks

Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms

Irritability
Anxiety
Depression or sadness
Rapid mood changes
Reduced frustration tolerance
Uncharacteristic anger
Social withdrawal

Symptoms can overlap with pain, medication effects, sleep loss, post-traumatic stress, depression, and preexisting medical conditions. A careful clinical evaluation is therefore important.

Possible Effects of Moderate or Severe TBI

A moderate or severe injury can affect nearly every area of life. Possible long-term effects include:

Weakness, paralysis, tremor, or impaired coordination
Speech and language difficulties
Problems swallowing
Memory and learning impairment
Reduced attention and processing speed
Impaired planning, judgment, and impulse control
Loss of insight into personal limitations
Personality or behavioral changes
Depression, anxiety, or emotional instability
Seizure disorders
Chronic headaches
Sleep disorders
Vision or hearing problems
Loss of smell or taste
Hormonal or endocrine problems
Disorders of consciousness
Need for assistance with daily activities

Some effects are visible. Others are difficult for strangers, employers, insurers, and even friends to recognize. An injured person may look physically recovered while struggling with memory, planning, fatigue, emotional control, or decision-making.

Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Car Accidents

Car crashes can subject the brain to direct impact, rapid deceleration, rotation, ejection, rollover forces, or contact with an airbag, window, roof, dashboard, seat, or other object.

A person can sustain a TBI even when the head never visibly strikes part of the vehicle. Electronic vehicle data, crash photographs, occupant movement, seat-belt use, airbag deployment, and medical findings may help explain the injury mechanism.

Truck Accidents

Commercial truck collisions frequently involve severe forces and complicated liability. The truck driver, carrier, owner, loading company, maintenance provider, broker, manufacturer, or another business may share responsibility.

Motorcycle, Bicycle, Scooter, and Pedestrian Accidents

Motorcyclists, bicyclists, e-scooter riders, and pedestrians have little protection from the force of a vehicle or impact with the ground. A helmet can reduce risk in some circumstances but cannot prevent every brain injury.

Related claims may involve a motorcycle crash, pedestrian collision, dangerous roadway condition, defective product, or commercial driver.

Falls and Unsafe Property

Falls from stairs, ladders, balconies, loading docks, scaffolds, roofs, beds, and standing height can cause serious head trauma. A slip, trip, or fall claim may involve a property owner, landlord, business, contractor, maintenance company, nursing facility, or another party that failed to address a dangerous condition.

Construction and Workplace Accidents

Workers can sustain TBI after falling from a height, being struck by an object, becoming trapped in machinery, suffering an explosion, or being hit by a vehicle or piece of heavy equipment.

An injured employee may have a workers’ compensation claim. A separate third-party lawsuit may also exist against an equipment manufacturer, property owner, general contractor, subcontractor, driver, or another non-employer party.

Additional information is available on our construction accident page.

Sports and Recreational Injuries

Football, hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling, gymnastics, cycling, skiing, skating, horseback riding, and other activities can involve concussions and repeated head impacts.

A sports injury does not automatically create a legal claim. Potential issues may include defective equipment, negligent supervision, failure to remove an athlete after concussion signs, unsafe facilities, improper return-to-play decisions, or conduct beyond the ordinary risks of the activity.

Boating and Water Accidents

A boating accident can cause direct head trauma through a collision, fall, ejection, propeller incident, or impact with the vessel. Drowning and submersion may cause a separate hypoxic brain injury even when no head impact occurred.

Assaults and Violence

Blows, kicks, shaking, strangulation, gunshots, and other violent acts can cause traumatic or oxygen-related brain injury. Depending on the circumstances, a civil claim may involve the assailant, negligent security, an institution, employer responsibility, abuse, or failure to protect a vulnerable person.

Defective Products

A defective helmet, seat, airbag, restraint, vehicle component, ladder, machine guard, sports product, or safety device may contribute to brain trauma. Product cases often require prompt preservation and engineering inspection of the item.

Medical Malpractice and Hypoxic Brain Injury

Medical negligence frequently causes brain damage through oxygen deprivation, stroke, bleeding, infection, or delayed treatment rather than through an external traumatic force. These are serious brain-injury cases, but they should not automatically be labeled TBI.

A potential medical malpractice claim may involve:

Failure to maintain a patient’s airway
Failure to monitor oxygen saturation, breathing, blood pressure, or circulation
Delayed treatment of cardiac or respiratory arrest
Anesthesia errors
Medication overdose
Failure to diagnose stroke, bleeding, infection, or blood clot
Surgical errors
Failure to prevent or respond to aspiration
Improper ventilator management
Delayed resuscitation
Failure to monitor a patient after surgery or sedation

An adverse outcome does not by itself prove malpractice. Qualified experts generally must evaluate the standard of care, the alleged error, the timing and severity of the oxygen loss or other injury, medical causation, and the damage attributable to the event.

Brain Injury During Labor and Delivery

Brain damage associated with childbirth may result from oxygen deprivation, impaired blood flow, infection, bleeding, trauma, placental complications, umbilical-cord emergencies, uterine rupture, delayed delivery, or another medical event.

A birth injury claim may require review of:

Prenatal records
Fetal-monitoring strips
Labor progression
Maternal vital signs
Medication administration
Umbilical-cord and placental findings
Timing of operative delivery
Newborn resuscitation
Blood-gas results
NICU records
Brain imaging and neurological evaluations

The existence of cerebral palsy, developmental delay, or neonatal brain injury does not automatically mean that negligent care occurred. Medical experts must distinguish preventable injury from congenital, genetic, infectious, metabolic, and other causes.

How Doctors Diagnose a Traumatic Brain Injury

A TBI diagnosis may involve several forms of evidence rather than one definitive test.

History of the Event

Providers may ask how the injury occurred, whether the person was thrown or rotated, whether consciousness was lost, what the person remembers, and when symptoms began.

Neurological Examination

The examination may evaluate:

Alertness and orientation
Speech and language
Pupil response
Strength and sensation
Coordination and balance
Eye movements
Memory and concentration
Reflexes

Glasgow Coma Scale

The Glasgow Coma Scale evaluates eye opening, verbal response, and motor response. It is one tool used to describe the person’s condition, particularly after a moderate or severe injury.

CT Scanning

A head CT can quickly identify many skull fractures, acute hemorrhages, swelling, and other emergencies. A normal CT does not necessarily exclude concussion or microscopic injury.

MRI

MRI may reveal injuries not visible on CT and can provide more detailed information about brain structures. It may be used after the person is medically stable or when symptoms continue.

Neuropsychological Testing

Neuropsychological evaluation can examine attention, memory, processing speed, language, reasoning, executive function, emotional status, and effort. Results should be interpreted in light of education, language, culture, prior abilities, pain, fatigue, medications, and mental health.

Other Evaluations

Depending on the symptoms, a person may need vestibular testing, vision assessment, EEG, speech-language evaluation, occupational therapy assessment, psychiatric care, or other specialty services.

A Normal CT Scan Does Not Automatically Defeat a Claim

Insurance companies sometimes argue that no brain injury exists because emergency imaging was normal. That conclusion may be medically incomplete.

CT is valuable for identifying acute bleeding, fracture, swelling, and other emergencies. It is not designed to show every functional, cellular, or microscopic effect of a concussion.

A legal and medical evaluation may also consider:

The mechanism of injury
Contemporaneous symptoms
Witness observations
Emergency and follow-up examinations
Consistency of complaints over time
Work or academic changes
Neuropsychological findings
Therapy and rehabilitation records
Prior medical history

Treatment for Mild TBI

Treatment should be directed by a healthcare professional. It may include a brief period of relative physical and cognitive rest followed by a gradual return to ordinary activities that do not significantly worsen symptoms.

Care may address:

Headaches
Dizziness and balance problems
Sleep disturbance
Vision problems
Neck injury
Anxiety or depression
Memory and concentration difficulties
Return to school or work
Return to driving and sports

Prolonged complete inactivity is not appropriate for every patient. Recovery plans should be individualized, and a person should avoid another head injury while the brain is still healing.

Emergency Treatment for Moderate or Severe TBI

Initial treatment focuses on preventing death and limiting secondary brain damage. Care may include:

Airway and breathing support
Maintaining blood pressure and oxygen delivery
Monitoring pressure inside the skull
Medication to control seizures, swelling, pain, or agitation
Removal of a blood clot
Repair of a skull fracture
Surgery to relieve dangerous pressure
Treatment of associated chest, abdominal, spinal, or orthopedic injuries
Intensive-care monitoring

The person may remain hospitalized for an extended period and then move to inpatient rehabilitation, a skilled facility, outpatient treatment, or home-based care.

Brain Injury Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation seeks to improve function, independence, safety, communication, and quality of life. The treatment plan may change as the person progresses.

Services may include:

Physical therapy: Strength, balance, walking, endurance, and mobility
Occupational therapy: Dressing, bathing, cooking, household tasks, and community independence
Speech-language therapy: Speech, communication, cognition, and swallowing
Cognitive rehabilitation: Attention, memory, planning, problem-solving, and compensatory strategies
Neuropsychology: Cognitive testing, emotional adjustment, and treatment planning
Psychological or psychiatric care: Depression, anxiety, trauma, behavioral changes, and medication management
Vision and vestibular therapy: Eye movement, dizziness, and balance
Vocational rehabilitation: Work capacity, retraining, accommodations, and return-to-work planning
Recreational therapy: Community participation and meaningful activities

A severe injury may also require nursing care, attendant services, adaptive technology, mobility equipment, home modifications, transportation, and structured supervision.

How a Brain Injury Affects the Family

Family members may become caregivers, appointment coordinators, financial managers, advocates, and witnesses to personality or cognitive changes that are not apparent during a brief medical examination.

Consequences can include:

Loss of income by the injured person or caregiver
Need for supervision
Changes in parenting and household roles
Emotional stress
Marital and relationship strain
Safety concerns
Difficulty managing finances or medication
Need for guardianship or other legal planning

A comprehensive case should account for the practical effects of the injury rather than focusing only on hospital bills.

Who May Be Responsible for a Brain Injury?

The responsible party depends on how the injury occurred. Potential defendants may include:

A negligent driver
A trucking or delivery company
A vehicle owner
A rideshare or transportation business
A property owner or manager
A general contractor or subcontractor
An equipment or product manufacturer
A sports organization or facility
A school, daycare, nursing facility, or institution
A boat owner or operator
A doctor, hospital, nurse, anesthesiologist, or other medical provider
A security company or property controller
A government entity

More than one person, company, or insurance policy may be involved.

Proving Negligence and Causation

An injury claim generally requires evidence that:

The defendant owed a legal duty
The defendant failed to act with the required level of care
The failure caused or contributed to the brain injury
The injured person sustained legally compensable damages

Medical-malpractice cases also require proof of the applicable professional standard of care, a departure from that standard, medical causation, and resulting injury. Illinois generally requires appropriate medical-expert review before a malpractice complaint is filed.

Causation may be disputed when symptoms appeared later, imaging was normal, the person had preexisting conditions, or more than one event could have affected the brain. A detailed chronology and qualified expert analysis can be critical.

Evidence Used in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

Accident Evidence

Police, incident, workplace, or government reports
Photographs and video
Vehicle event-data recorders
Dashcam, surveillance, traffic-camera, or phone video
Electronic logs and GPS data
Witness statements
Property inspection and maintenance records
Defective equipment or safety devices
Helmets, restraints, clothing, and damaged objects
Accident reconstruction

Medical Evidence

Ambulance and emergency records
Glasgow Coma Scale scores
CT and MRI images
Neurology and neurosurgery records
Neuropsychological testing
Therapy and rehabilitation notes
Medication records
Prior medical history
Future treatment recommendations

Evidence of Life Changes

Employment and wage records
School records
Performance reviews
Calendars and symptom journals
Family and coworker observations
Photographs and videos showing activities before and after the injury
Evidence of lost independence
Home-care and transportation needs

Insurance Arguments in Brain Injury Cases

Insurance companies and defense attorneys may argue that:

The person never lost consciousness
The CT scan was normal
The symptoms began too late
The collision or fall was not forceful enough
The person returned to work or drove after the accident
The symptoms come from depression, stress, medication, age, or a prior condition
Memory problems make the person unreliable
The injured person exaggerated symptoms
Treatment was delayed or inconsistent

Each argument should be compared with the medical literature, accident mechanism, contemporaneous records, witness testimony, pre-injury functioning, objective findings, and the complete course of treatment.

Preexisting Conditions Do Not Automatically Eliminate a Claim

A person may have prior migraines, depression, anxiety, learning difficulties, previous concussion, neurological illness, or another medical condition before the accident.

The relevant question may be whether the new event caused a new injury or aggravated an existing condition. Records from before the event can help establish the person’s prior functioning and identify the changes that followed.

Compensation in a Brain Injury Claim

The compensation available depends on liability, applicable law, insurance coverage, injury severity, medical evidence, and future consequences.

A claim may include:

Ambulance and emergency treatment
Hospitalization and surgery
Neurology and specialist care
Medication
Physical, occupational, speech, cognitive, and psychological therapy
Future medical treatment
Attendant care and supervision
Mobility and communication equipment
Home and vehicle modifications
Lost wages
Reduced future earning capacity
Vocational retraining
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Disability and disfigurement
Loss of normal life
Family-related damages when allowed by law

A serious brain injury claim should address future needs rather than only the bills that have already been received.

Life-Care Planning and Future Losses

A life-care planner may evaluate the medical services, equipment, therapy, support, and modifications the injured person is expected to need over time.

Future costs may include:

Medical appointments and medication
Rehabilitation
Home-health or attendant care
Residential treatment
Wheelchairs and adaptive equipment
Communication technology
Home modifications
Transportation
Case management
Vocational services
Replacement of equipment

Economists and vocational experts may evaluate lost earnings, benefits, inflation, work-life expectancy, and reduced employment opportunities.

Fatal Brain Injuries

A TBI or hypoxic brain injury may cause immediate death or lead to death after emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, or prolonged treatment.

Surviving family members may need to evaluate a wrongful death claim and a survival action. Potential damages depend on the facts and governing law and may involve medical costs, funeral expenses, lost financial support, grief, sorrow, loss of society, and losses experienced before death.

Illinois Comparative Fault

Illinois follows a modified comparative-fault system in many negligence cases. An injured person whose share of fault is not more than 50% may potentially recover damages, but the award is reduced according to that percentage. A person found more than 50% at fault is generally barred from recovery under that rule.

Insurers may try to blame an injured person for failing to wear protective equipment, ignoring a warning, walking in an unsafe location, speeding, drinking alcohol, or engaging in another activity. These allegations must be evaluated against all available evidence.

The official rule is contained in 735 ILCS 5/2-1116.

Deadlines for Illinois Brain Injury Claims

Illinois generally provides two years for many personal-injury actions. The applicable period may be different when the claim involves:

A local public entity or employee
Medical malpractice
A minor
A person under a legal disability
Wrongful death
Workers’ compensation
Product liability
Federal law
An out-of-state accident

Many claims against local governmental entities are subject to a one-year period. Illinois medical-malpractice claims generally use a two-year discovery period and a four-year repose period, with separate rules for minors and legal disabilities.

General statutory information is available through the Illinois General Assembly:

These statutes do not calculate the deadline for a particular case. Prompt legal review is important because evidence can also disappear long before the filing period ends.

What to Do After a Suspected Brain Injury

Obtain appropriate emergency and follow-up medical care.
Follow discharge and return-to-activity instructions.
Tell providers about every symptom, including cognitive and emotional changes.
Ask family members to observe and document changes.
Keep medical, pharmacy, therapy, and employment records.
Preserve photographs, video, damaged equipment, helmets, and clothing.
Obtain witness information.
Avoid giving a detailed recorded insurance statement before understanding your rights.
Avoid posting descriptions of the accident, symptoms, or activities on social media.
Contact an attorney promptly so evidence-preservation requests can be sent.

How Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC Investigates Brain Injury Cases

Our work may include:

Reconstructing the accident or medical timeline
Preserving vehicles, electronic data, video, equipment, and property evidence
Obtaining complete medical records and original imaging
Consulting neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, neuropsychologists, rehabilitation specialists, and other experts
Reviewing pre-injury medical, employment, and educational records
Interviewing family members, friends, coworkers, and witnesses
Identifying every potentially responsible party
Locating all available insurance coverage
Documenting current treatment and future care needs
Evaluating lost earnings and reduced earning capacity
Preparing the case for settlement negotiations or litigation

Since 1990, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC has helped injured people and families seek accountability after serious accidents, medical negligence, and catastrophic injuries. Every brain injury case receives an individualized review because no two injuries affect people in exactly the same way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have a TBI without losing consciousness?

Yes. Many people with concussions remain conscious. Loss of consciousness is one possible sign, not a requirement.

Can I have a concussion when my CT scan was normal?

Yes. CT scans are primarily used to identify problems such as bleeding and fractures. A concussion can exist without an abnormal CT result.

Can symptoms begin several days after the accident?

Yes. Some symptoms appear immediately, while others become apparent as the person resumes work, school, driving, screen use, or physical activity.

Is a concussion serious enough for an injury claim?

Potentially. The legal significance depends on fault, medical evidence, duration of symptoms, treatment, lost income, functional limitations, and the impact on the person’s life.

What if the injured person cannot remember the accident?

Memory loss can be a feature of brain injury. Liability may be established through physical evidence, electronic data, video, witness testimony, reports, medical findings, and accident reconstruction.

Can a person recover compensation after returning to work?

Possibly. Returning to work does not mean the person is symptom-free. Some people work reduced hours, require accommodations, make errors, lose advancement opportunities, or struggle to maintain their former performance.

What if the brain injury aggravated a previous condition?

A claim may still exist when negligence aggravates a preexisting condition. Medical evidence is used to distinguish prior symptoms from the new or worsened problems.

How much is a brain injury case worth?

There is no reliable formula. Value depends on liability, diagnosis, medical evidence, future care, lost earnings, insurance coverage, functional impact, comparative fault, and many other facts.

How much does a consultation cost?

The initial consultation is free. When Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC accepts an injury or malpractice case, the contingency-fee terms are explained before representation begins.

Contact Our Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

If you or a family member suffered a concussion, traumatic brain injury, penetrating injury, hypoxic brain damage, or another serious neurological injury because of an accident or possible medical negligence, prompt investigation can help protect important evidence and legal rights.

Contact Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC or call (312) 243-9922 for a free and confidential evaluation. We represent clients in Chicago, Arlington Heights, and throughout Illinois.