Brain Injury Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA
A traumatic brain injury can leave you looking fine while your memory, focus, sleep, and patience fall apart. That gap between how you look and how you feel is where insurance companies attack TBI claims. Not My Fault Law Group, APC represents people hurt in Los Angeles by someone else’s carelessness, and we know the insurer’s playbook because our lead attorney spent years on the other side of it. The consultation with our Los Angeles brain injury lawyer is free.
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How Traumatic Brain Injuries Happen in Los Angeles
A brain injury can start with an ordinary Los Angeles moment. A freeway driver looks at a phone and rear ends stopped traffic. A car turning on a busy surface street hits a pedestrian in the crosswalk or a cyclist in the bike lane. An LA Metro bus brakes hard and a standing passenger goes down. Your head does not have to strike anything for your brain to be hurt. A violent jolt can be enough.
Not every TBI happens on the road. People hit their heads falling on poorly lit stairs, wet store floors, and broken walkways outside apartment buildings. California Civil Code section 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property. Others are hurt in assaults in parking structures and apartment complexes where security was an afterthought. Whether a property owner is responsible depends on the facts, so we look at lighting, locks, and cameras before that evidence disappears.
What to Do When Brain Injury Symptoms Show Up Late
Doctors often call a concussion a mild TBI, but mild describes the initial injury, not what it does to your life. Emergency rooms look for bleeding, fractures, and other immediate dangers, so you can leave with a clear CT scan and notice the real problems days or weeks later.
Watch for recurring headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light or noise, trouble finding words, losing track of conversations, poor sleep, irritability, anxiety, or the feeling of thinking through fog. If you hit your head or took a hard jolt in a Los Angeles crash or fall:
- Get medical care the same day, and go back if new symptoms appear. Tell every provider about any head impact or memory gap.
- Ask whether you need a referral to a neurologist or for neuropsychological testing.
- Keep a daily symptom journal, and ask family members to write down the changes they see.
- If a public bus or train, a public walkway, or another government vehicle was involved, call a lawyer right away. The claim deadline is short.
- Decline recorded statements from the other side’s insurer until you have talked to a lawyer.
Proving a TBI the Insurance Company Says It Cannot See
Before founding the firm, Joshua B. Adelpour spent nearly a decade defending insurance companies, public entities, and property owners in civil litigation, rising to partner at an insurance defense firm. The defense arguments against a brain injury claim are predictable.
The first is that there is nothing to see. The adjuster will point to your clean emergency room scan, which says little about whether you can keep up at work or remember a phone number. We fill that gap with a neurologist’s evaluation, neuropsychological testing of memory, attention, and processing speed, and treatment records that track your symptoms over time.
The second is that your problems came from something else, such as an earlier concussion, migraines, depression, or age. The real question is what changed. We gather records of how you lived and worked before, plus statements from family and coworkers about the person they knew then and the person they see now.
The third is a gap in treatment, framed as proof that you recovered. Gaps come from waiting lists, insurance approvals, lost referrals, and the brain injury itself, which makes scheduling harder. We document those reasons.
What a Los Angeles Brain Injury Claim Can Include
A TBI claim has to account for the future, not only the bills already paid. California Civil Code section 1431.2(b) describes economic damages as including medical expenses, loss of earnings, the cost of substitute domestic services, and loss of employment or business opportunities, and non economic damages as including pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium.
In a brain injury case, those losses often continue long after the claim is filed. Future care can mean cognitive and speech therapy, medication, repeat testing, and help at home. Lost earning capacity is the gap between the career you were on track for and the work you can do now. When more than one party shares fault, Civil Code section 1431.2 makes each defendant responsible for non economic damages only in proportion to its share of fault, so we identify every responsible party early. For permanent injuries, see our page on catastrophic injuries.
Brain Injuries Involving the City, the County, or LA Metro
Some Los Angeles brain injuries involve government property or vehicles, such as a collision with a public bus or a fall at a transit station. When the injury comes from the property itself, like a damaged public walkway, Government Code section 835 allows a claim against a public entity for injury caused by a dangerous condition of its property, if the requirements of that section are met.
The City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are separate public entities, and Los Angeles is only one of many cities inside the county. LA Metro, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, operates bus and rail service across Los Angeles County. Any of them, or someone else, may own the street, stop, or vehicle.
Under Government Code section 911.2, a claim against a public entity for injury must be presented within six months after the claim accrues. If a public entity may be involved, talk to a Los Angeles TBI attorney now rather than waiting to see how your symptoms develop.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a brain injury claim in Los Angeles?
Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. If the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, LA Metro, or another public entity may be responsible, a claim must be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2, so we find out early who owns the street, stop, or vehicle involved.
What if my child suffered the brain injury?
Code of Civil Procedure section 352 tolls the statute of limitations while the injured person is a minor. A parent’s own claim for medical bills may not get that extra time. Claims against a public entity have their own six month deadline under Government Code section 911.2, so act quickly if public property or a public vehicle was involved.
Can I have a TBI claim if my CT scan was normal?
A normal CT scan does not rule out a brain injury. Neurological evaluation, neuropsychological testing, and consistent treatment can document concussion symptoms. Whether you have a claim depends on the facts.
The insurer blames a pre existing condition. What now?
Expect that argument if your history includes an earlier concussion, migraines, or mental health treatment. The answer is evidence of what changed: how you functioned before, testing after, and statements from people who know you well.
What does a TBI lawyer in Los Angeles cost?
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, and there are no attorney’s fees unless we win.
Learn more about brain injury cases across California, how we handle car accident cases, and what to do after a Los Angeles car accident. We work with clients in English and Spanish from our office in Woodland Hills. Call (213) 800-0706 or contact us online for a free consultation.