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When another person’s carelessness causes a brain injury, Florida law lets you seek compensation from whoever is responsible, even if your first CT scan came back normal. Mickey Keenan, P.A., helps people in that position prove what happened to them, and our Tampa traumatic brain injury lawyers build claims around injuries that scans often miss.
Call (813) 871-1300 for a free consultation about your brain injury claim.
Why Families Bring Brain Injury Cases to Our Tampa Office
Mickey Keenan is a former insurance defense lawyer who now represents injured people, so he knows how an insurer is likely to judge a head injury claim before an adjuster ever calls. That insight helps us prepare for the arguments that usually come later.
Our firm brings more than 20 years of experience to injury claims and belongs to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Our clients talk directly with their attorney, and we are prepared to take a case to trial when an insurer will not offer a fair settlement.
Our case results include a $4.9 million settlement in a wrongful death auto accident case. Results may vary. Prior case outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
Our firm has 314 five-star Google reviews, and our attorneys and case managers follow up without being chased.
You can meet with us at our Tampa office at 2011 W Cleveland St, or by phone if a brain injury makes travel hard. Bring your discharge papers and any scan results to that first meeting, and we will start there.
What Counts as a Traumatic Brain Injury Claim in Florida?
A traumatic brain injury claim is a personal injury case that seeks compensation when another party’s negligence caused a head injury in a crash, a fall, or an attack. Florida handles these claims like other negligence cases, so we must show that someone owed you reasonable care, failed to provide it, and caused your losses. What sets these cases apart is proof, because the injury is often invisible to the people deciding what your claim is worth.
Medical records, imaging reports, neuropsychological evaluations, which are structured tests of memory and thinking, and statements from people who knew you before the injury all become part of that proof. Write down when you first noticed each change after the crash or fall, and share that timeline with us.
What Causes Tampa Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Most brain injuries we see come from sudden force someone else could have prevented. Here in Tampa Bay, the accidents behind these claims commonly involve:
- Car Crashes: Rear-end, T-bone, and highway collisions can all lead to head injury claims, even at moderate speeds.
- Truck Collisions: A crash with a commercial truck often adds a carrier, a cargo loader, or a maintenance company to the claim, which changes who pays.
- Motorcycle Wrecks: Riders have no frame around them, so collisions with cars and trucks often lead to serious head injury claims.
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents: People on foot or on a bike have nothing between them and a vehicle, and head injuries are a common result.
- Slip and Falls: A wet floor, broken stair, or poorly lit walkway at a store or apartment complex can cause a fall with a serious head injury.
- Assaults Tied to Poor Security: A property owner may share responsibility for an attack when reasonable security measures were missing despite known crime risks.
We investigate head injury crashes across Tampa Bay, from the I-4 and I-275 interchange downtown, known locally as Malfunction Junction, to the truck routes along Adamo Drive near Port Tampa Bay. Crash reports, traffic camera footage, and truck data from these corridors can help show how a collision happened.
Helmet use comes up in most motorcycle cases. Florida lets riders 21 and older ride without a helmet if they carry at least $10,000 in medical benefits coverage, under Florida Statutes Section 316.211.
Riding without one does not end your claim, though an insurer may argue a helmet would have lessened the injury, so tell us early whether you were wearing one. Florida reduces a recovery by the injured person’s share of fault and bars recovery for anyone found more than 50 percent at fault, under Florida Statutes Section 768.81.
Who Is Liable for My Tampa Traumatic Brain Injury?
The person or business whose carelessness caused the injury is usually responsible, and more than one party may share the blame. Depending on the facts, that can include:
- Negligent Drivers: Speeding, texting, and driving impaired all cause crashes that lead to head injuries.
- Trucking Companies: Carriers are responsible for their drivers, and they must follow rules on rest breaks, truck upkeep, and safe loading.
- Employers: A business is usually responsible when an employee causes a wreck while on the job.
- Property Owners: Stores, landlords, and other owners must fix hazards and provide reasonable security.
- Product Makers: A faulty helmet, airbag, or seat belt can turn a survivable crash into a brain injury.
- Government Agencies: A city or county may share fault for a dangerous road design or a traffic signal left broken, though special notice rules apply.
Bars that served a drunk driver are a common question. Florida generally shields a bar from liability for what a drunk customer does, except when it served someone under 21 or knowingly served a person habitually addicted to alcohol, under Florida Statutes Section 768.125.
Tell us where the other driver was drinking before the crash, and our Tampa traumatic brain injury lawyers will check whether that exception fits.
How Do Florida’s No-Fault Rules Affect a Brain Injury Claim?
Florida’s no-fault rules mean your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, the part of your auto policy that pays regardless of fault, covers you first after a car wreck. You must get medical care within 14 days, and PIP pays up to $10,000 only if a qualified medical provider finds you had an emergency medical condition; otherwise, benefits stop at $2,500, under Florida Statutes Section 627.736.
A head injury that seems minor at first may still qualify for PIP benefits, so get medical care promptly after a crash. Treatment for a serious brain injury can use up those benefits quickly.
We may pursue a claim against the at-fault driver for the remaining losses. To recover pain and suffering damages after a car crash, Florida generally requires proof of a permanent injury, under Florida Statutes Section 627.737.
Medical records and test results documenting a lasting injury can help us meet that requirement. Send us your PIP paperwork, and we will check what has been paid so far.
How Long-Term Effects Shape the Value of a Brain Injury Claim
A brain injury claim must account for effects that can last for years, not only the costs of the first few weeks. Because these changes are hard for outsiders to see, we build the record from sources like these:
- Treating doctors’ notes and neuropsychological evaluation reports
- Employer records showing missed work, reduced hours, or changed duties
- School records for children and young adults
- Statements from family, friends, and coworkers who knew you before the injury
- A daily journal kept by you or a family member
- Therapy, pharmacy, and home care bills
These changes can affect your job, your marriage, and your independence, so they belong in the claim from the start. Ask our Tampa traumatic brain injury lawyers how to document the changes your family has noticed since the injury.
How Insurers Evaluate Brain Injuries and How We Respond
An early settlement offer on a brain injury claim may arrive before anyone knows how the injury will affect your life. That first number reflects what is known at the time, not what the injury may cost you in the years ahead. Once you sign a release, you generally cannot reopen the claim if problems continue.
A normal CT scan or MRI does not end a brain injury claim. Neuropsychological test results can document changes that a scan does not show. Those results give us objective evidence to present to an adjuster, a mediator, who is a neutral person that helps both sides negotiate a settlement, or a Hillsborough County jury.
For serious injuries, we work with Florida life care planners, economists, and vocational rehabilitation professionals (job counselors). Step one is the life care planner’s review of your records and your doctors’ opinions to list every future need, from therapy to home aides. The economist then turns that list into today’s dollars, and the vocational professional explains how the injury changes your ability to earn a living.
We also find out how much coverage is on the table. A liability insurer must disclose its policy limits within 30 days of a written request, under Florida Statutes Section 627.4137. If an adjuster has already made you an offer, get a second look from us before you sign anything.
Damages Available When You’ve Suffered a Brain Injury in Tampa, FL
A brain injury claim can cover both the money you have lost and the ways your life has changed. Damages may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and cognitive therapy
- Neuropsychological testing
- Home care and supervision
- Lost wages
- Lost earning ability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
When a brain injury takes a life, the family may bring a wrongful death claim through the estate’s personal representative, the person who handles the loved one’s affairs. Surviving family members may recover lost support and companionship, and the estate may recover medical and funeral costs.
Punitive damages punish especially reckless conduct, such as driving drunk or disregarding known safety rules. Florida usually caps these awards at three times the other damages or $500,000, whichever is greater, though higher limits apply in certain cases, under Florida Statutes Section 768.73.
Find out which of these damages may apply to your injury during a free case review.
FAQs: Tampa Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers
Families often bring these questions to our attorneys at the first meeting about a brain injury case.
How Long Do You Have to File a Brain Injury Lawsuit in Florida?
Most brain injury lawsuits in Florida must be filed within two years of the injury, under Florida Statutes Section 95.11. Families filing wrongful death claims face the same two-year limit, which generally runs from the date of death. Claims involving a government agency carry extra notice steps, so an early call protects your options.
Who Manages Your Claim if Your Brain Injury Limits Decisions?
A spouse or adult child with a valid power of attorney, a legal document that lets someone act on your behalf, can often help handle the claim. If no power of attorney exists and the injury is severe, a Florida court may appoint a guardian to make legal decisions for the injured person.
Do Brain Injury Cases Take Longer to Resolve?
Brain injury cases often take longer to resolve than other injury claims. Because the full effect of a brain injury can take a year or more to become clear, we usually wait until doctors can describe your long-term outlook before we put a number on the claim.
What if You Suffer Another Head Injury Later?
A second injury does not erase the first claim, but it can make the facts harder to sort out. Tell your doctors and our team about any new injury, so medical records can show which problems came from which event.
What if Your Child Suffered a Brain Injury?
A child’s brain injury claim often needs more time, because the injury’s effect on school and development may not be clear for years. We often wait for doctors and school records to show the full effect before valuing a child’s claim, and a court usually must approve the final settlement.
What Does It Cost to Hire Our Tampa Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers?
No upfront fees, you pay nothing unless you win. We work on a contingency fee, which means our fee comes out of any money we recover for you.
Talk to Our Tampa Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers About the Injury No One Can See
Brain injuries are hard to explain to people who cannot see them, including insurance adjusters. Mickey Keenan, P.A. puts the testing, records, and medical opinions together so the full injury is measured and documented. Call our Tampa traumatic brain injury attorney team at (813) 871-1300 for a free consultation.