Families often describe it the same way: the person came home from the hospital, but not quite the same person. They forget conversations from an hour earlier. They lose their temper over small things. Bright lights and noisy rooms become unbearable, and a job they handled for years suddenly feels impossible. A traumatic brain injury can change a life without leaving a single visible mark, and that’s exactly what makes these claims so hard to value and so easy for insurers to dispute.
This guide walks through how TBI claims work in Virginia, from diagnosis and evidence to damages, deadlines, and the defenses you should expect.
What Counts as a Traumatic Brain Injury
A TBI happens when a blow, jolt, or penetrating injury disrupts normal brain function. You don’t have to hit your head. The rapid back-and-forth motion of a rear-end collision can cause the brain to strike the inside of the skull.
Doctors usually classify TBIs by severity:
- Mild TBI, including concussion: Brief or no loss of consciousness, confusion, headaches. “Mild” describes the initial presentation, not the long-term effect, and some people deal with symptoms for months or years.
- Moderate TBI: Loss of consciousness lasting minutes to hours, with lasting cognitive or physical problems more likely.
- Severe TBI: Extended unconsciousness or coma, and often permanent impairment requiring long-term care.
In Hampton Roads, these injuries most often come from car and truck crashes, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, pedestrian collisions, falls on unsafe property, and boating accidents on the area’s waterways.
Symptoms That Often Get Missed
Brain injury symptoms can appear hours or days after the accident, and many people don’t connect them to the crash at first. Watch for:
- Headaches that persist or get worse
- Trouble concentrating, finding words, or remembering recent events
- Dizziness, balance problems, or blurred vision
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Sleep changes, either insomnia or sleeping far more than usual
- Irritability, anxiety, depression, or personality changes
Often, it’s a spouse, coworker, or parent who notices first. Their observations matter, both medically and legally.
Why “Normal” Scans Don’t End a Claim
One of the most frustrating parts of a mild or moderate TBI case is the CT scan that comes back clean. Standard CT and MRI imaging are good at spotting bleeding, swelling, and fractures, but they often miss the microscopic damage behind many brain injuries.
That’s why strong TBI claims usually rest on more than one type of evidence. Neuropsychological testing can measure memory, attention, and processing speed against expected norms. Advanced imaging, such as diffusion tensor imaging, may show damage to the brain’s white matter in some cases.
Treating neurologists, rehabilitation physicians, and therapists document how symptoms progress over time. And “before and after” testimony from people who know you well can show a jury what no scan can. An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer pulls these pieces together into one consistent account of what changed.
What a TBI Claim Can Recover
Virginia allows injured people to recover the full range of compensatory damages, and in TBI cases, most of the value usually lies in the future.
- Medical expenses, past and future. Emergency care, imaging, neurology visits, medication, and cognitive, speech, occupational, and physical therapy.
- Long-term care. Some survivors need in-home assistance, supervised living, or modifications to their home and vehicle.
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity. If the injury forces a career change, reduces hours, or ends someone’s ability to work entirely, that lifetime loss is part of the claim.
- Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. The headaches, the frustration, the hobbies and relationships that slipped away.
In serious cases, these numbers are built with help from experts: a life care planner to map out decades of future needs, and an economist to calculate the cost. Virginia doesn’t cap compensatory damages in most injury cases, so the claim can reflect the true scope of the harm. Medical malpractice is the main exception, with its own statutory cap.
Virginia Deadlines, and When They Can Pause
Most Virginia personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury. TBI cases raise two important wrinkles.
First, if the injured person is a child, the two-year clock generally doesn’t start running until they turn 18. Second, Virginia law can pause, or “toll,” the deadline for someone who is incapacitated, whether a court has formally declared it or a judge or jury later finds it. If a guardian or conservator is appointed, they can file within the original period or within one year of qualifying, whichever is later.
These rules are technical and fact-specific. Families should never assume extra time exists without getting legal advice. When a brain injury proves fatal, a wrongful death claim follows its own two-year deadline.
Defenses Insurers Raise in TBI Cases
Brain injury claims draw some of the most aggressive defense tactics in personal injury law, partly because the losses are so large. Expect to hear arguments like:
- “The scans were normal, so there’s no real injury.”
- “The symptoms are from depression, stress, or a prior condition.”
- “The injured person was partly at fault.” In Virginia, that argument can bar recovery entirely under the contributory negligence rule.
- “Surveillance shows them grocery shopping, so they can’t be that impaired.”
Defense teams often hire their own neuropsychologists to conduct an independent medical exam. Countering all of this takes careful documentation from day one, plus experts who can explain brain injury in plain terms.
Steps That Protect a TBI Claim
- Get evaluated promptly, even if you feel “mostly fine,” and tell doctors about every symptom, including memory and mood changes.
- Follow through with referrals to neurology, therapy, and neuropsychological testing.
- Keep a symptom journal, or have a family member keep one.
- Hold off on settling until doctors understand the long-term outlook. Brain injuries can take a long time to reveal their full effect.
- Avoid giving recorded statements to the other side’s insurer, and talk to a catastrophic injury lawyer before signing anything.
When the Injured Person Can’t Manage the Case Alone
A serious TBI may leave someone unable to make legal or financial decisions. In those situations, a family member may need to be appointed as guardian or conservator, and any settlement on behalf of a person under a disability typically requires court approval. Planning for these steps early keeps the case moving and protects the injured person’s long-term interests, including eligibility for any needs-based benefits.
Talk With Our Team About a Brain Injury Claim
As a catastrophic injury lawyer team serving Newport News and the rest of Hampton Roads, we at Coletrane & Messersmith know that a brain injury affects the whole family, not just the person who was hurt. We work with treating doctors, neuropsychologists, and life care planners to build a full picture of what the injury has taken and what the future will require.
We also make sure deadlines, guardianship questions, and insurance tactics are handled while you focus on recovery. If someone you love has suffered a TBI, reach out to us for a free consultation, and we’ll walk you through your family’s options.
