Pennsylvania Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
A brain injury is the only catastrophic injury the defense routinely argues does not exist. Normal CT scan, no loss of consciousness, discharged the same day — and yet the person who came home is not the person who left. Proving that gap is the whole case.
Written and legally reviewed by Sean P. Quinlan, Esq., PA Attorney ID 86858 — Last updated
A Pennsylvania brain injury lawyer can help connect documented changes in thinking, behavior, and daily function to an injury while investigating legal responsibility. Most negligence-based lawsuits have a two-year deadline under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Quinlan Law Group can review available evidence and timing without requiring you to arrive with a final prognosis.
What sets Pennsylvania traumatic brain injury cases apart
Most traumatic brain injuries in Pennsylvania injury litigation are mild TBIs, and 'mild' is a description of the acute presentation, not the outcome. A significant minority of mTBI patients have persistent cognitive, emotional, and vestibular symptoms a year out — and those are the cases carriers fight hardest.
Conventional CT and MRI are frequently normal after mTBI because the injury is diffuse axonal and microstructural, not hemorrhagic. A defense expert will hold up a clean scan as proof of no injury; the answer is neuropsychological testing, treating-provider testimony, and lay witnesses who knew the client before.
Advanced imaging — DTI, susceptibility-weighted imaging, functional MRI, and quantitative EEG — invites a Frye challenge in Pennsylvania courts under Pa.R.E. 702 and Grady v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 839 A.2d 1038 (Pa. 2003). Whether and how to use it is a decision with real consequences.
Documentation is often thin because the trauma team was managing the fractures and bleeding that were visible. Undiagnosed and under-documented brain injury is the single most common problem I inherit in these cases.
The damages are vocational and relational. Lost earning capacity for someone whose work depends on executive function, and the strain on a marriage when personality changes, are usually worth more than the medical bills.
How we build your traumatic brain injury case
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Immediate referral for a full neurological and neuropsychological workup — baseline testing early, with repeat testing to document trajectory rather than a single snapshot.
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Collection of pre-injury records: school transcripts, performance reviews, military records, prior imaging, and pre-injury medical history to establish a genuine baseline the defense cannot manufacture.
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Before-and-after witness development — supervisors, coworkers, teachers, coaches, clergy, and family who can testify concretely about the change.
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Retention of the right experts: neuropsychologist, neurologist or physiatrist, vocational rehabilitation expert, and forensic economist. Advanced imaging and a neuroradiologist where the case supports it.
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Deposition strategy built to survive the defense neuropsychologist's malingering and symptom-validity narrative, and trial preparation that puts function — not diagnosis codes — in front of the jury.
What you may be entitled to recover
Pennsylvania law allows victims of traumatic brain injurys to recover both economic and non-economic damages. The categories below apply to most Pennsylvania cases — the specific value of your claim depends on the facts.
- Past and future medical care: neurology, neuropsychology, cognitive rehabilitation, vestibular and vision therapy, and psychiatric treatment
- Lost wages and — usually the largest element — lost earning capacity where cognitive impairment forecloses the career you trained for
- Cost of cognitive and vocational rehabilitation, assistive technology, and long-term supervision or case management
- Pain and suffering, including headache, sleep disruption, and the loss of the pleasures of life
- Emotional and personality consequences: depression, anxiety, irritability, and loss of self
- Loss of consortium for a spouse whose marriage has been fundamentally altered
- Wrongful death and survival damages where a severe brain injury proves fatal
Pennsylvania brain injury law at a glance
| Rule | What it means | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| General filing deadline | Most negligence-based injury lawsuits have a two-year deadline; verify the starting date and any exceptions. | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 |
| Government notice | A claim involving a government defendant may require notice within six months, apart from filing suit. | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522 |
| Shared fault | For negligence claims governed by this rule, your fault reduces damages; more than 50% bars recovery. | 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102 |
| Commonwealth defendants | Immunity exceptions and damages restrictions apply; the general cap is $250,000 per plaintiff and $1 million per occurrence. | 42 Pa.C.S. § 8528 |
| Local agency defendants | Immunity exceptions and damages restrictions apply; the general cap is $500,000 in the aggregate. | 42 Pa.C.S. § 8553 |
Can I pursue a brain injury claim without visible abnormalities on a scan?
A scan is one part of the evidence, not the entire claim. Medical assessment and proof connecting the incident to your limitations remain essential.
Do not interpret an imaging report on your own or assume that a reassuring emergency evaluation answers every later question. Imaging, symptom history, examination findings, and functional assessments serve different purposes. Bring the actual reports and tell your treating clinician about symptoms that persist or develop after discharge.
The legal inquiry is separate from diagnosis: what happened, whether someone breached a duty, and whether that conduct caused the losses claimed. A normal study does not prove there is no claim, but symptoms alone do not establish another party’s responsibility either.
I review the chronology rather than treating a single test as decisive. Records from before and after the event, treatment recommendations, and specific observations can help clarify the picture. Medical professionals should guide evaluation; legal advice should not replace clinical judgment or dictate testing.
What evidence shows how a brain injury changed daily life?
Specific examples of changed function can complement medical evidence. Honest before-and-after observations are more useful than broad statements that someone is different.
Consider tasks the person previously managed independently: paying bills, following a recipe, remembering appointments, or completing a familiar work assignment. Record what happened, approximately when, and what assistance became necessary. Avoid testing the injured person at home or turning every family interaction into a search for evidence.
Coworkers, teachers, and relatives may observe different limitations. A person might manage a short conversation but struggle after hours of concentration. Describe the duration, setting, and support involved rather than portraying every day as identical. Include improvements as well as setbacks.
Preserve relevant records without sharing private medical details publicly. Social posts and isolated photographs can omit the effort or recovery time behind an activity. Accurate context helps; deleting material after a dispute arises can create additional problems. Ask counsel about preservation before changing existing accounts or records.
How do preexisting symptoms affect a brain injury case?
Prior headaches, psychiatric treatment, or an earlier injury do not automatically defeat a claim. The evidence must distinguish baseline conditions from changes caused by the incident.
Tell your lawyer and clinicians about relevant prior treatment, including symptoms that improved before the event. Concealing records makes an already complicated causation question harder to address. An accurate history allows the medical evidence to consider whether the incident caused a new problem, aggravated an existing one, or did neither.
Build a practical timeline using appointments, medication history, attendance records, and accounts from people familiar with your usual functioning. Avoid insisting that every later difficulty must share one cause. Sleep disruption, pain, medication effects, and other conditions may need clinical consideration.
Expert review may be necessary, but an expert should have the underlying records rather than only a selected summary. I look for both supportive and conflicting evidence. Understanding weaknesses early is more useful than discovering them after a demand or lawsuit has committed to an unsupported explanation.
What is the filing deadline for a Pennsylvania brain injury claim?
Most negligence-based brain injury lawsuits have a two-year deadline under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Do not assume delayed recognition of symptoms automatically extends that period.
Brain injury can make paperwork, memory, and scheduling harder precisely when legal deadlines require attention. Ask a trusted person to help collect correspondence if needed, but obtain advice about the actual filing date promptly. Opening an insurance claim or attending an insurer’s examination ordinarily does not substitute for filing a lawsuit.
Give counsel the incident date, first symptoms, treatment history, and when you learned of a possible connection. Discovery and capacity issues require individual analysis; they are not automatic extensions whenever an injury was difficult to diagnose. Claims involving children also need specific review.
A public vehicle or government property may introduce a six-month notice issue under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5522. Medical recovery can continue while legal rights are protected. Do not wait for testing to finish before asking which steps are time sensitive.
How are work and education losses evaluated after brain injury?
Evaluation should consider sustainable performance, not just whether you returned once. Records can show changed hours, accommodations, interrupted training, and diminished earning capacity.
A return to the same job title may hide a different reality. Perhaps someone else now checks assignments, deadlines take longer, or the workday ends with symptoms that prevent other activities. Preserve schedules, accommodation correspondence, performance records, and pay information without taking confidential employer material you are not entitled to possess.
For students, attendance and grades may tell only part of the story. Tutoring, reduced course loads, extra examination time, and postponed qualifications can help explain the practical impact. A young person’s future work losses still require a reasoned evidentiary basis rather than assumptions about an ideal career.
Treating recommendations and vocational evidence can help assess realistic options. Do not abandon a medically appropriate return merely to strengthen a claim. The legal analysis should reflect actual effort, actual limitations, and the opportunities reasonably supported by the evidence.
What if the insurer says I caused the accident or disputes my symptoms?
Fault and medical causation are different disputes. Pennsylvania comparative negligence can reduce or bar recovery, while symptom disputes require careful evaluation of the medical and functional record.
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, negligence attributed to you generally reduces damages, and more than 50% fault bars recovery in claims governed by that rule. Investigate the incident even if medical issues seem likely to dominate. Witness accounts and physical evidence can disappear while everyone focuses on rehabilitation.
For symptom disputes, compare the insurer’s position with the complete record rather than a selected quotation. Ask which history, examination, or activity supposedly conflicts with the claimed limitations. Neither an accusation of exaggeration nor a family’s certainty resolves the medical questions.
Government defendants may also raise immunity and damages restrictions under sections 8528 and 8553. Establishing a genuine injury does not remove those restrictions. A supported case addresses responsibility, causation, losses, and legal limits separately, rather than expecting strong evidence on one issue to answer all the others.
How can a lawyer make the claim process manageable after brain injury?
Communication can be adapted to fatigue, memory difficulty, or sensory needs. The injured person’s preferences and legal decision-making authority should remain central.
Tell counsel whether shorter meetings, written summaries, breaks, or a quieter setting would help. Ask for the next action and deadline in a form you can review later. A supporter may assist with organization when authorized, but relatives should not automatically replace the injured person in discussions or decisions.
An insurer may request a statement, broad record authorization, or examination. Have the request reviewed so you understand its purpose, scope, and any obligation to respond. Do not guess when you cannot remember; distinguish your own recollection from information someone supplied afterward.
Where decision-making capacity is genuinely in question, existing authorizations and any required representation process need review. Difficulty communicating does not by itself establish incapacity. The broader catastrophic injury framework explains why authority and future care planning deserve attention alongside medical proof.
Mistakes that hurt Pennsylvania brain injury claims
- Hiding prior treatment
Give a complete history so changes can be evaluated against an accurate baseline.
- Treating a good day as full recovery
Describe activity duration, assistance, and recovery time without overstating limitations.
- Waiting for perfect certainty
Ask about filing deadlines while medical assessment is still underway.
What happens after you call us
- Clarify communication
We discuss practical accommodations and who is authorized to help organize the claim.
- Build the timeline
We identify incident evidence, medical history, and records of changed function.
- Review next steps
We explain missing information and immediate requests requiring a response.
Call (717) 724-7503 now or submit your traumatic brain injury case — the two-year clock is already running.
Why hire Sean Quinlan
I am Sean P. Quinlan, Esq. A brain injury claim needs room for details that a brief conversation can miss. At Quinlan Law Group, I focus on the records, the person’s actual functioning, and the questions that remain unresolved. I will explain legal choices without promising a medical or financial outcome. Request a case review to discuss your concerns.
Pennsylvania traumatic brain injury guides
Why brain injury cases are different from every other case I handle
In an orthopedic case, the injury is on the film. I hand the jury a fracture and nobody argues about whether it happened. In a brain injury case, particularly a mild traumatic brain injury, the film is usually clean, the emergency department note says "head CT negative," and the defense builds its entire case on those two facts.
What I have learned handling these is that the medicine is not really in dispute among clinicians — the dispute is manufactured for litigation. The acute presentation of a concussion tells you very little about the outcome. A person can have no loss of consciousness, a Glasgow Coma Scale of 15, a normal CT, and still have persistent post-concussive symptoms two years later that end a career. My job is to make a jury understand why those two things are not contradictory.
The other thing that makes these cases distinct is that the client is frequently the worst historian of their own injury. Anosognosia — reduced awareness of one's own deficits — is a real feature of brain injury. Clients tell me they are fine while their spouse is sitting next to them describing missed bills, a lost job, and a personality nobody recognizes. Which is why in a TBI case, I take the family's history as seriously as the client's.
Brain injury is one branch of my catastrophic injury practice. Where the same event caused spinal trauma, read the spinal cord injury page as well — the combination is common in high-energy crashes and changes the life-care analysis substantially.
How the brain injuries I litigate happen
- Motor vehicle collisions. The most common source by a wide margin. A brain injury does not require the head to strike anything — rapid acceleration-deceleration alone produces the shearing forces responsible for diffuse axonal injury. Rear-end and side-impact car accidents at moderate speeds produce mTBIs that are routinely missed in the emergency department.
- Truck and tractor-trailer crashes. The energy differential in a commercial truck collision produces severe and moderate TBI at rates passenger-vehicle crashes do not, often alongside skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhage. These cases also carry the coverage necessary to fund a lifetime care plan.
- Motorcycle crashes. Helmets reduce brain injury; they do not prevent it, and Pennsylvania does not require them for most adult riders. I handle motorcycle cases where the rider sustained a significant TBI wearing a DOT-compliant helmet, and I address the helmet question directly rather than letting the defense use it as a comparative-fault lever.
- Falls from height and struck-by events on job sites. Falls are the leading cause of TBI overall and a major source of the construction accident cases I handle. Struck-by-falling-object injuries produce focal injury patterns that are easier to prove but no less disabling.
- Pedestrian and bicycle collisions. An unprotected person struck by a vehicle frequently sustains a secondary head strike on the hood, windshield, or roadway, which is often more damaging than the initial impact.
- Anoxic and hypoxic brain injury. Near-drowning, delayed resuscitation, surgical anesthesia events, and carbon monoxide exposure produce brain injury through oxygen deprivation rather than trauma. Where the cause is negligent medical care, the claim proceeds under the MCARE Act.
Concussion and mild TBI: what actually gets fought over
The "mild" label
Mild traumatic brain injury is defined by acute criteria — Glasgow Coma Scale of 13 to 15, loss of consciousness under thirty minutes, post-traumatic amnesia under twenty-four hours. Nothing in that definition predicts outcome, and the defense knows it. When a defense expert testifies that my client had "only a mild concussion," the cross-examination begins with what "mild" actually classifies. Most jurors assume it means minor. It does not.
Normal imaging
Head CT is a screening tool for surgical emergencies — bleeding, mass effect, skull fracture. It is not designed to detect diffuse axonal injury, and a normal CT is the expected result after mTBI. Conventional MRI adds sensitivity but still misses microstructural injury. I want the jury to understand this before the defense radiologist ever takes the stand, which means the treating neurologist explains it first, in ordinary language.
Advanced imaging and the Frye question
Diffusion tensor imaging, susceptibility-weighted imaging, functional MRI, and quantitative EEG can show abnormalities conventional imaging misses. Pennsylvania remains a Frye jurisdiction: novel scientific evidence must be generally accepted in the relevant scientific community, per Pa.R.E. 702(c) and Grady v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 839 A.2d 1038 (Pa. 2003). Group-level DTI research is well accepted; individual-plaintiff DTI interpretation draws serious challenges and outcomes vary by court. My default is to build the case so it wins without advanced imaging, and to add imaging only where a qualified neuroradiologist can defend it through a Frye hearing.
Neuropsychological testing and symptom validity
Neuropsychological testing is the backbone of an mTBI case. It is also where the defense concentrates its fire, through embedded and standalone symptom-validity tests offered as evidence of exaggeration. Preparation matters: a client should be rested, off unnecessary medication where medically appropriate, and told nothing about the tests other than to do their honest best. Coaching destroys cases. Repeat testing showing a consistent pattern over time is far more persuasive than a single administration.
The pre-existing condition argument
Expect the defense to attribute every symptom to something else — prior concussion, ADHD, depression, sleep apnea, migraine history, age, or stress. Pennsylvania law is on my client's side here: a defendant takes the plaintiff as he finds him, and aggravation of a pre-existing condition is compensable. The way to win that argument is with a documented, honest baseline rather than by pretending there was no history.
Documenting a brain injury so it survives cross-examination
The most valuable evidence in a TBI case is usually not medical. It is the specific, dated, ordinary detail that shows a functioning person stopped functioning.
- Symptom journal. Kept by the client where possible and by a family member where it is not — headaches, light and noise sensitivity, word-finding failures, missed appointments, sleep, irritability, and what task had to be abandoned that day.
- Employment record. Performance reviews before and after, disciplinary notes, accommodation requests, reduced hours, demotion, termination. A supervisor who liked the client and watched them decline is one of the strongest witnesses available.
- Pre-injury baseline. Transcripts, standardized test scores, military ASVAB results, licensing exams, prior neuropsych testing. Establishing a real baseline prevents the defense from asserting the client was always this way.
- Before-and-after lay witnesses. Not "he's different." Rather: he used to do the household books and now cannot balance an account; she coached her daughter's team for six years and quit because the noise is intolerable.
- Consistent treatment. Neurology, neuropsychology, cognitive rehabilitation, vestibular therapy, and vision therapy where indicated. Gaps are read as recovery.
- Screening for what was missed. Convergence insufficiency, vestibular dysfunction, and post-traumatic headache disorders are commonly overlooked and are highly treatable — which helps the client and, incidentally, documents the injury objectively.
Cognitive and vocational consequences, and how they are valued
The long-term damage from a brain injury is rarely in raw intelligence. It is in executive function: sustained attention, working memory, processing speed, multitasking, planning, and emotional regulation. Those are precisely the capacities modern work depends on. A client can score in the average range on a broad IQ measure and still be unable to hold the job they held for twenty years.
That is why the vocational analysis carries so much weight. A vocational rehabilitation expert takes the neuropsychologist's findings, applies them to the client's actual occupational profile and the labor market, and identifies what work remains realistically available. A forensic economist then quantifies the difference between the pre-injury earnings path and the post-injury path across the remaining work life, reduced to present value under the total-offset approach of Kaczkowski v. Bolubasz, 421 A.2d 1027 (Pa. 1980), with lost pension and benefit contributions included.
Life care for a moderate-to-severe TBI adds ongoing neurological follow-up, medication management, psychiatric care, cognitive rehabilitation, case management, assistive technology, and — where judgment and safety awareness are impaired — supervision costs that can dominate the plan. Behavioral and psychiatric sequelae are compensable in their own right, and in severe injury they are frequently what the family finds hardest.
Pennsylvania's comparative negligence statute, 42 Pa. C.S. § 7102, applies to reduce any award by the plaintiff's share of fault, and the two-year limitations period of 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524(2) governs the deadline. Where a brain injury proves fatal, the claim converts to one under the Wrongful Death and Survival Acts. For a deeper look at the recoverable categories, see the compensation FAQ; for the fault rules, the comparative negligence FAQ.
The eight things that damage brain injury claims
- Telling the emergency department you are fine. Understandable and very costly. If symptoms appear in the days after — and they usually do — go back and get them documented, and be specific.
- Assuming a clean CT means no injury. A negative head CT is the expected finding in mild TBI. It rules out a bleed. It does not rule out a brain injury.
- Minimizing symptoms to your own doctors. Clients downplay cognitive problems out of embarrassment or lack of awareness. Bring a family member to appointments and let them describe what they see.
- Returning to full-duty work too early without documentation. Push through without telling anyone and the record shows a full recovery. Report the difficulty and request accommodation in writing.
- Being coached before neuropsychological testing. Symptom-validity measures are designed to detect it, and a failed validity index can end an otherwise legitimate case.
- Hiding a prior concussion or psychiatric history. It will be found in the records. Disclosed, it is a baseline; concealed, it is a credibility problem that swallows the case.
- Social media. A photo from a wedding you left after twenty minutes will be shown to the jury as a photo from a wedding.
- Hiring a general practitioner for a TBI case. These cases turn on expert selection and Frye strategy. A lawyer who has not litigated the imaging and neuropsychology questions will be outmatched by carriers that defend them constantly.
How I move a brain injury case forward
Weeks 1–4. Free consultation, evidence preservation, and immediate referral for neurological and neuropsychological evaluation if that has not already happened. I begin collecting pre-injury records at the same time.
Months 1–6. Treatment stabilization. Cognitive rehabilitation, vestibular and vision therapy where indicated, and psychiatric support. I develop the before-and-after witness list and the employment record while memories are fresh.
Months 6–12. Repeat neuropsychological testing to establish trajectory. Vocational assessment. Life-care plan where the injury is moderate or severe. Economist retained.
Demand or suit. With a documented, longitudinal record, I present a demand or file. In litigation, expect a defense neuropsychological examination, extensive medical-record discovery, and surveillance.
Expert discovery and Frye. If advanced imaging is part of the case, this is where it is tested. I prepare for that hearing as seriously as I prepare for trial.
Mediation or trial. Brain injury cases settle when the defense concludes a jury will believe my client. That belief is built with witnesses and function, not with a diagnosis code. If the offer does not reflect it, we try the case.
Deciding between an offer and litigation is a real decision with tradeoffs — the settle vs. file guide and the statute of limitations FAQ cover the mechanics.
Working with Sean Quinlan on a TBI case
Brain injury cases are the cases I most often see mishandled before they reach me — usually because they were treated as soft-tissue claims with a headache attached. By the time the file arrives there are treatment gaps, no baseline records, and a client who told three different providers he was "fine."
I approach these differently from the first week. The neuropsychological referral goes out immediately, not after the orthopedic care finishes. I collect school and employment records before the defense asks for them. I meet the spouse, because the spouse is my most important witness. And I make an honest assessment early about whether the case supports advanced imaging or whether it is stronger without it.
I keep the caseload small enough to do that work personally. You will deal with me, not a rotating case manager. I take the depositions and I try the cases. Carriers price that difference into their offers, and clients feel it in the process.
There is no attorney fee unless I recover for you, and I advance the cost of the experts these cases require. You may be responsible for certain case costs and expenses in addition to the fee, as explained in your written fee agreement. More about the firm.
Where we handle these cases. I take catastrophic cases across the Commonwealth, and most of them come from the population centers where the trauma centers are: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Harrisburg, and Scranton. I also handle claims countywide in Philadelphia County, Allegheny County, and Montgomery County, where venue and jury pool differences can meaningfully change what a case is worth.
Corridors, courts, and trauma centers
Trauma center guides for families
What to document and expect while a loved one is in trauma care.
Where these cases are litigated
How injury cases move through Pennsylvania's busiest civil courts.
Talk to Sean Quinlan about your traumatic brain injury case.
No Fee Unless We Win. You may be responsible for certain case costs and expenses in addition to the fee, as explained in your written fee agreement. Call now or request a free case review and Sean Quinlan will personally evaluate your case.
Pennsylvania Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer FAQs
Can I have a brain injury if my CT scan was normal?
Yes, and it is the usual situation in mild traumatic brain injury. Head CT is designed to find bleeding, swelling, and skull fracture — surgical emergencies. It is not sensitive to diffuse axonal injury, which is the microstructural damage responsible for most persistent post-concussive symptoms. A normal scan rules out a bleed; it does not rule out a brain injury.
Do I need to have lost consciousness to have a TBI?
No. Loss of consciousness is not required for a diagnosis of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury. Feeling dazed, confused, or unable to recall the moments around the impact is enough. Many of the clients I represent never lost consciousness and still have documented, persistent cognitive impairment.
How do you prove a mild traumatic brain injury to a jury?
With three things working together: neuropsychological testing administered by a qualified neuropsychologist and ideally repeated to show trajectory; treating-provider testimony explaining why the imaging is normal and the injury is real; and before-and-after lay witnesses — supervisors, coworkers, family — who describe specific, concrete changes in function. Diagnosis codes do not persuade juries. Function does.
Will the insurance company say my symptoms are from something else?
Almost certainly. Expect them to point to prior concussions, ADHD, depression, migraine history, sleep apnea, age, or life stress. Pennsylvania law holds that a defendant takes the plaintiff as he finds him, and the aggravation of a pre-existing condition is compensable. The way to defeat the argument is with an honest, documented pre-injury baseline — not by concealing history that will surface in the records anyway.
Is DTI or functional MRI admissible in Pennsylvania?
It depends on the court and the expert. Pennsylvania applies the Frye general-acceptance standard under Pa.R.E. 702(c) and Grady v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 839 A.2d 1038 (Pa. 2003), and individual-plaintiff interpretations of advanced imaging draw serious challenges. I build TBI cases to succeed on neuropsychological and functional evidence, and add advanced imaging only where a qualified neuroradiologist can defend it through a Frye hearing.
What is a brain injury case worth in Pennsylvania?
I will not put a number on a case before the medicine is developed, and I would be skeptical of any lawyer who does. What drives value is the degree of permanent cognitive impairment, the effect on earning capacity, the strength of the liability evidence, the available insurance, and the venue. In serious TBI cases, lost earning capacity and future care typically exceed the medical bills by a wide margin.
How long do I have to file a brain injury lawsuit?
Generally two years from the date of injury under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5524(2). Claims involving a government entity require written notice within six months under 42 Pa. C.S. § 5522(a). Because brain injury symptoms are often not fully appreciated for months, people wait — and waiting costs evidence even when the deadline has not run.
What if I was partially at fault for the crash?
Under Pennsylvania's modified comparative negligence rule, 42 Pa. C.S. § 7102, you can still recover so long as your share of fault does not exceed 50%, with the award reduced by your percentage. In helmet and seatbelt scenarios the analysis is more nuanced than the defense suggests, and it is worth a conversation before you assume you have no claim.