Your life can be drastically altered by a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs frequently cause long-term medical needs, emotional turmoil, and a total disruption to daily life, regardless of whether they are brought on by an abrupt impact, violent jolt, or penetrating trauma. Our skilled Scranton brain injury lawyers at Munley Law are aware of the psychological, financial, and physical toll a traumatic brain injury can have. We are here to support you and your family in pursuing justice when another person’s carelessness resulted in your injury.
In Scranton, we’ve represented clients who suffered traumatic brain injuries due to severe auto accidents, workplace incidents, and dangerous property conditions. We know that no two brain injury cases are alike. Some clients experience short-term confusion and cognitive changes; others require a lifetime of care. That’s why we take time to learn how your injury happened and impacted your life.
If your injury resulted from someone’s negligence, our personal injury attorneys will pursue full and fair compensation on your behalf. If you or someone you love suffered a traumatic brain injury due to negligence, contact a Scranton brain injury attorney at Munley Law today. Let us fight for the compensation you need to move forward.
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$6.5 Million Traumatic Brain Injury
Why Brain Injury Cases Are Complex
Brain injury cases often involve complex medical evidence, frequently undetectable symptoms, and serious long-term ramifications. They require advanced life care planning, neuropsychological testing, and medical specialists. In contrast to many injuries with obvious recovery paths, brain injuries can have delayed symptoms and uncertain prognoses. Because of the potential lifetime effects, these injuries often result in more complex litigation and higher-value claims.
Standard medical imaging does not show many traumatic brain injuries. While mild to moderate brain injuries frequently involve microscopic damage that conventional imaging misses, severe TBIs may exhibit damage on CT or MRI scans. This makes it extremely difficult to demonstrate the injury’s existence and seriousness to juries and insurance companies.
Our Scranton brain injury attorneys know how to document these “invisible” injuries using the following methods:
- Advanced neuroimaging techniques
- Comprehensive testing that reveals cognitive deficits
- Day-in-the-life video documentation showing functional limitations
- Expert testimony from neurology specialists who can explain subtle but significant damage
Symptoms of brain injury can change over time; weeks or months after the initial trauma, some cognitive and behavioral abnormalities may show up. Medical professionals who can describe the neurological processes underlying delayed symptom onset collaborate with our legal team. A successful brain injury claim is built on this crucial link between the injury event and persistent symptoms.
How would you quantify the effects of your brain injury on your relationships, day-to-day activities, and overall quality of life? These severe losses, which defy easy valuation techniques, frequently have the biggest effects on a TBI victim’s quality of life. At Munley Law, we have developed advanced methods for measuring these losses, such as witness testimony and medical records demonstrating emotional suffering, economic analysis of reduced earning capacity, testimony from neuropsychologists who can measure and explain cognitive changes, and documentation of limitations in life activities.
Because they are aware that brain injury claims can result in significant compensation, insurance companies take extra care to combat them. Their strategies specifically target TBI claims by undervaluing long-term care needs, questioning the existence or severity of the injury, requiring independent medical examinations with their preferred doctors, and attributing symptoms to pre-existing conditions. With careful planning and tenacious advocacy targeted exclusively at brain trauma cases, our Scranton brain injury attorneys foresee and oppose these tactics.
Speak with a Scranton brain injury lawyer near me.
How Our Scranton Brain Injury Attorneys Approach TBI Cases
Brain injury litigation requires a specialized approach that differs from standard personal injury cases. Our methodology has been refined through over 65 years of representing TBI victims throughout Pennsylvania.
Proving a brain injury requires gathering and presenting complex medical evidence. Our process includes:
- Obtaining and analyzing all medical records
- Working with physicians to document their observations
- Securing detailed neuropsychological evaluations
- Arranging specialized imaging studies when appropriate
- Compiling documentation of therapy sessions and rehabilitation progress
Brain injury cases often hinge on expert testimony. Our firm maintains relationships with neurologists, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, and rehabilitation specialists who can explain complex brain function and injury mechanisms, connect objective test results to everyday functional limitations, project future medical needs, and establish causation between the traumatic event and resulting brain damage.
Brain injuries often result in permanent changes, unlike those that heal completely. Our attorneys develop evidence demonstrating these long-term impacts through life care plans detailing future medical treatment, vocational assessments documenting work limitations, neuropsychological testing identifying specific cognitive deficits, and documentation showing how the injury affects daily activities. This forward-looking approach ensures compensation accounts for lifetime needs, not just immediate expenses.
Evidence Needed to Prove Your Brain Injury Claim
Brain injuries often create lifelong challenges that require ongoing care and support. Proper compensation must account for these long-term needs, which our attorneys carefully document and quantify.
A life care plan is essential in serious brain injury cases, providing a detailed roadmap of future care needs and their costs. Our process includes:
- Working with certified life care planners who consult with treating physicians about prognosis and future treatment needs
- Research costs for medical care and support services
- Project expense inflation over the victim’s lifetime
- Calculate necessary home modifications and assistive technology
- Document transportation and vocational support requirements
This comprehensive approach ensures your settlement or verdict includes funding for lifetime needs.
Neuropsychological evaluations provide objective evidence of cognitive impairments that might otherwise be dismissed as subjective complaints. These detailed assessments measure attention, memory, processing speed, and executive function, compare performance to pre-injury functioning when possible, document emotional and behavioral changes, establish patterns consistent with traumatic brain injury, and provide baseline measurements for tracking recovery. Our attorneys work closely with neuropsychologists who can translate these complex test results into compelling evidence for your case.
Brain injury treatment often continues for years or decades after settlement. Your settlement should not only include your current costs but also ongoing therapy, future surgical interventions that may become necessary, medication expenses for managing symptoms, mental health treatment for associated conditions, and regular neurological evaluations and testing. By documenting these future expenses, we help prevent clients from prematurely depleting their compensation.
Why You Need an Experienced Scranton Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
Not all personal injury attorneys have the knowledge and resources to handle complex brain injury cases effectively. Specialized representation makes a critical difference in the outcome of your case.
Brain injury cases differ from standard personal injury claims in several important ways: medical complexity requiring specialized knowledge, greater reliance on expert testimony and specialized testing, longer timeframes for symptom development and case resolution, higher stakes due to potential lifetime impairment, and more aggressive defense tactics from insurance companies. These differences mean general personal injury experience, while valuable, isn’t enough for complex TBI litigation.
Insurers use specific strategies to minimize brain injury compensation through requiring multiple independent medical examinations, disputing the neuropsychological testing methodology, attributing symptoms to psychological factors rather than brain trauma, employing surveillance to catch moments when symptoms appear less severe, and delaying proceedings hoping symptoms will improve with time. Our specialized brain injury practice anticipates these tactics and develops countermeasures specific to TBI cases.
Effective TBI representation requires access to specialized medical professionals including neurologists who understand litigation requirements, neuropsychologists who can provide detailed cognitive assessments, neuroradiologists who can interpret sophisticated brain imaging, physical medicine specialists who can document functional limitations, and life care planners with brain injury expertise. Our established network of these specialists strengthens your case through credible, compelling testimony about your injury.
Brain injury cases present unique timing considerations that require specialized legal knowledge. Symptoms that develop gradually may affect filing deadlines, discovery rule applications specific to TBI cases require expertise, special considerations exist for brain-injured minors, and strategic timing decisions based on recovery trajectory can affect outcomes. Our brain injury attorneys understand these nuances and ensure your case meets all procedural requirements while being filed at the optimal time for maximum compensation.
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Brain Injury Legal FAQ
How do you prove a “mild” traumatic brain injury when imaging tests appear normal?
Many traumatic brain injuries don’t show up on standard CT scans or MRIs, yet still cause significant cognitive and behavioral changes. At Munley Law, we prove these “invisible” injuries through multiple approaches. We work with neuropsychologists who conduct specialized cognitive testing that can objectively document memory, processing speed, and executive function deficits. We gather testimony from family members and coworkers who can describe personality and behavioral changes. We also utilize advanced imaging techniques like diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) or functional MRIs when appropriate. Even when conventional imaging appears normal, these combined approaches can convincingly demonstrate the reality and impact of a brain injury.
Yes. Pennsylvania law recognizes personality changes as compensable damages in brain injury cases. These profound changes often devastate families, as relationships fundamentally change when a loved one’s personality, emotional regulation, or behavior patterns are altered. We document these changes through before-and-after testimony from family members, neuropsychological evaluations that measure emotional and behavioral regulation, and when appropriate, expert testimony about how specific brain injuries correlate with particular personality changes. Courts and juries understand that these losses to both the victim and family members deserve significant compensation, often comprising a substantial portion of non-economic damages.
What if my brain injury symptoms weren’t diagnosed immediately after the accident?
Delayed symptom recognition is common in brain injury cases. Many TBI victims aren’t diagnosed until days or weeks after the initial trauma when cognitive or behavioral symptoms become apparent. This delay doesn’t invalidate your claim, but it does require careful documentation connecting later symptoms to the original injury event. Our attorneys work with neurological experts who can explain the medical reasons for symptom delays and establish causation despite the gap in time.
How long do I have to file a brain injury lawsuit?
Pennsylvania generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, brain injury cases may involve special considerations under the “discovery rule,” which can extend this period if symptoms weren’t reasonably discoverable immediately. Additionally, different rules apply for minors with brain injuries. Given these complexities, it’s vital to consult with a brain injury attorney as soon as possible to ensure all deadlines are met.
Contact Our Scranton Brain Injury Lawyers Today
If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, specialized legal representation can make a crucial difference in your recovery and future security. The Scranton brain injury attorneys at Munley Law offer free, confidential consultations to discuss your case, home or hospital visits if you cannot travel to our office, contingency fee representation with no upfront costs, access to leading neurological and rehabilitation experts, and decades of experience with complex brain injury litigation.
Contact us today to discuss how our specialized approach to brain injury cases can help secure the compensation you deserve. Your initial consultation is free; you pay nothing unless we win your case.
Reviewed by Bernadine Munley, Esq., Personal Injury Attorney at Munley Law, on July 30, 2025.