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Personal Injury · West Jordan Legal Service

How Can a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Prove Long-Term Impact?

Nate Nelson, Founding Partner at Nelson Jones LegalWritten by , Founding Partner · J.D., Utah State BarLegally reviewed by Bret RawsonPublished · Last reviewed

traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Utah

If a head injury has disrupted your life and was caused by someone else’s negligence, you have the right to compensation. But a unique feature of these injuries is that they often have long-term impacts which can sometimes be tricky to prove. A West Jordan, UT traumatic brain injury attorney will be able to use and build a case that shows the lasting changes you’re likely to experience, so you can get proper compensation.

How Your West Jordan, UT Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney Builds Your Case

1. Medical Proof

It all starts with finding and compiling all the necessary medical proof to tie the initial trauma to your ongoing problems. Right after the accident, you likely had imaging like CT scans or MRIs, but many long-term effects involve subtle changes in brain function that standard tests might miss or that weren’t evident immediately. Follow-up scans, blood work, and repeated neurological exams can all be used to create a timeline that shows how the injury has evolved.

Insurance companies love to object that your symptoms must be coming from something else other than the accident they’re obligated to recompense you for. Without clear records that show a consistent trajectory from the time of the accident, it can be hard to prove that your challenges are permanent rather than temporary.

2. Proper Testing

Neuropsychological testing is an important way to gather objective data on any cognitive deficits you might be experiencing. You sit through a series of standardized assessments, and these measure your memory, attention span, processing speed, problem-solving ability, and overall executive function. These tests compare your current performance against what would be expected for someone of your age, education, and background.

Results from these evaluations often reveal when you’re having issues like difficulty concentrating or emotional regulation that you might struggle to describe in words alone.

3. Consulting Specialists

Specialists can be very helpful in these cases, and your lawyer will have a network of expert witnesses to bring in. Neurologists, for example, can review your history and test results and then explain the mechanisms behind your symptoms to a judge, jury, or insurer. Neuropsychologists can translate your test scores into a practical explanation of what your real-world limitations actually are, such as why you now forget appointments or become overwhelmed in noisy environments.

In some cases, you might need vocational experts. These experts look at how your new cognitive deficits limit your job options or earning capacity and then use this information to calculate what you’ve lost in terms of future income based on your pre-injury career trajectory. And in cases where the damage is particularly severe, you might need life care planners. These experts can explain your ongoing medical needs, like therapy, medications, assistive devices, or home modifications, and then turn all this into real dollar projections.

If you’re facing challenges after a head injury, you don’t have to go through this alone. Talk to us right away at Nelson Jones in West Jordan, UT. We serve clients throughout the state from our offices in West Jordan, Salt Lake City, and St. George.

Sources and Utah legal authority

  1. 1.Utah Code § 78B-2-307 — Statute of limitations, personal injury (4 years)Utah State Legislature
  2. 2.Utah Code § 78B-5-818 — Comparative faultUtah State Legislature
  3. 3.Utah Code § 31A-22-302 — No-fault (PIP) motor vehicle coverageUtah State Legislature
  4. 4.Utah Crash Summary & highway safety dataUtah Department of Public Safety, Highway Safety Office
  5. 5.Utah State Bar — Licensed attorney directoryUtah State Bar
  6. 6.Utah State Courts — Find a courtUtah State Courts

This page is general information about Utah law, not legal advice. Statutes and court rules change; confirm current text at the linked source or speak with a licensed Utah attorney about your situation.

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