Though brain injuries can occur through no one’s fault or negligence, they often occur as a result of medical malpractice, the exposure to or use of dangerous or defective products, or someone’s negligence. In such cases, the individuals or entities responsible may be held liable for the damages suffered by the brain-injured victim through the institution of a medical malpractice, product liability, or negligence action.
If you have sustained a brain injury of any kind and you suspect that your injury was caused by someone’s negligence, medical malpractice, or a defective product, you may be entitled to compensation from the responsible parties. The Killino Firm’s Miami, Florida, brain injury attorneys have extensive experience with brain injury cases, including those arising out of brain injuries caused by medical malpractice, other negligence, or a defective product. Contact The Killino Firm at 305-559-6340 for a cost-free evaluation of your case and additional information about your legal rights and options.
Legal Liability for Brain Injuries
Many types of accidents caused by someone’s negligence or a defective product may result in a brain injury to an accident victim. Mistakes made during medical treatment or surgery may also result in brain injury to a patient.
Liability for Negligently Caused Brain Injuries
Accidents caused by the negligence of individuals and/or entities may result in brain injuries to an accident victim. In many cases, the negligence leading to such injuries involves the carelessness or inattentiveness of owners of premises on which dangerous conditions are present. Non-fatal drowning accidents, for example, often lead to an accident victim’s brain injury and can be caused by the negligence of landowners who fail to take adequate precautions to protect certain persons from such accidents in pools or other bodies of water located on the owners’ land. A landowner’s liability for brain injuries caused by such non-fatal drowning accidents may depend on the characterization of the person, under premises liability law, who sustains such injuries while on the owner’s land. Business invitees and licensees, for example, are owed a higher duty of care for their safety than trespassers, unless the trespassers are children.
Dangerous conditions in buildings that lead to fires, explosions, the release of toxic fumes or substances, electric shock, or falls may cause brain injuries to people on the premises and result in the liability of the building’s owner as well as anyone who was employed by the owner to repair or maintain the building. The owner’s liability for injuries caused in buildings may also depend on the characterization of the injured person under premises liability law.
Traffic accidents also may result in brain injuries to an accident victim. If a traffic accident victim’s brain injury is determined to have been caused by the negligence of one or more drivers, those drivers may be held liable, in a negligence action, for the damages suffered by the victim as a result of his or her brain injury. If the negligent driver was employed by an entity or other individual, the employer may also be held indirectly liable for the brain injuries caused by the driver employee’s negligence.
Liability for Brain Injuries Caused by Defective Products
Dangerous and defective products may also result in brain injuries to persons who use or are exposed to such products. Traffic accidents may be caused not only by driver negligence but also by defects in one or more of the vehicles involved. When a traffic accident is determined to have been caused by a defect in the vehicle occupied by a brain-injured victim and/or a defect in another of the vehicles involved in a crash, the manufacturers and others in the chain of distribution of the defective vehicles may be found liable for a victim’s brain injury that is determined to have resulted from the vehicle defect. In some cases, an accident that was not caused by a vehicle’s defect or driver negligence may nevertheless result in an accident victim’s brain injury due to defects in safety equipment in the vehicle occupied by the victim. A defective seatbelt, for example, that failed to properly restrain an accident victim may cause the victim to sustain head trauma and brain injury that might have been prevented had the seatbelt not been defective. In such cases, the seatbelt manufacturer as well as the vehicle manufacturer and others in the chain of the vehicle’s distribution may be held liable for the accident victim’s resulting brain injury.
Liability for Brain Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice may also result in a patient’s brain injury. Errors during surgery on a patient, for example, may result in a patient’s asphyxiation brain injury and the liability of responsible medical personnel for the damages suffered by the patient as a result. In such cases, the hospitals and other entities that employ such medical personnel may also be found indirectly liable for the brain injuries caused to patients by the negligence of their employees. In addition, the negligent maintenance of hospital equipment may result in a hospital’s direct liability for brain injuries determined to have been caused by the use of defective or poorly maintained equipment on a patient.
Contact Us
If you have sustained a brain injury as a result of someone’s negligence or a defective product, The Killino Firm’s Miami, Florida, brain injury lawyers can help you obtain the compensation to which you are entitled. Contact The Killino Firm at 305-559-6340 for expert and experienced assistance with your brain injury case.
