Understanding Your Options After a Brain Injury. Clear Guidance Can Help You Take the Next Step.

If you or a family member has a traumatic brain injury after a crash or fall, questions about how the injury happened may matter to what comes next. Legal and practical factors may influence how these claims move forward. This page explains some first steps to consider.

Readers looking for a traumatic brain injury law firm in Fulton County may want straight answers before they decide anything. Ugwonali Law Group is a personal injury firm at 3400 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, led by attorney Adanna Ugwonali.

Who This Page Is For and What a Traumatic Brain Injury Claim Covers

This page is for adults in Fulton County and metro Atlanta who have a serious head injury. It also helps families of someone who died after a brain injury.

A traumatic brain injury happens when a blow, jolt, or penetrating force damages the brain. Brain injuries can differ in severity from one person to another.

Claims may arise from a crash involving a car or truck. They can also start with a fall on property that was not kept safe.

Ugwonali Law Group handles serious injuries with real medical treatment. That includes traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death. The firm represents people in Fulton County, across metro Atlanta, and statewide in Georgia.

Identifying the party responsible for the harm is one of the factors that may influence a claim. A commercial or corporate insurance policy behind that party may be a factor in how the claim moves forward.

Why Documentation Matters in Traumatic Brain Injury Claims

Documentation over time is one factor that may influence a claim.

Imaging such as a CT or MRI scan is one part of the medical evidence a claim may involve. A normal scan is not the end of the question. Doctors also weigh symptoms, exam findings, and how the person functions day to day.

Mild injuries may be harder to document. A peer-reviewed concussion study of college students linked concussion to limits in occupational performance. That study does not set Georgia law, but it shows why daily functioning matters.

Before-and-after evidence can help. Compare life before the injury with life after it. Look at work hours, job duties, routines, family roles, and memory and thinking. Useful records often include treating physician notes, neuropsychological testing, and a consistent account of symptoms. No single item is decisive.

Insurers often dispute whether the crash caused the injury. They may point to gaps in treatment and argue the injury was less serious. Missed appointments, delayed care, and inconsistent accounts can make a claim harder to prove.

Fault, Insurance Limits, and What May Influence Recovery

Georgia reduces damages by the injured person’s share of fault. Recovery is barred when that share is 50 percent or more (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33).

Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, the judge reduces the award in proportion to the plaintiff’s percentage of fault. A plaintiff who is 50 percent or more responsible is not entitled to receive any damages. Damages are divided among the people found liable, based on each person’s share. That liability is not joint.

Insurance coverage may influence what is practical to pursue. Policy limits may affect a result, but they do not decide it. Other factors that may influence a claim’s value include medical treatment, documentation, who is covered, and how strong the evidence is.

When liability is disputed, the outcome is uncertain. Cases where the injured person appears to be at fault are outside what this firm handles.

Damages a Georgia Traumatic Brain Injury Claim May Include

Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1, medical expenses are one category of damages, and recovery for them is limited to the reasonable value of medically necessary care.

The trier of fact decides that amount. Either side may challenge whether expenses were reasonable or medically necessary, whether already incurred or projected.

Other losses, such as lost income, rehabilitation, and daily-life limits, may also be part of a claim. How they are proven depends on the records in each case.

If a brain injury causes death, Georgia’s wrongful death statute applies. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-2, a surviving spouse may recover the full value of the decedent’s life, as shown by the evidence. If there is no surviving spouse, a child or children may recover. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-4-5, when death results from a crime or from criminal or other negligence, the personal representative may recover funeral, medical, and other necessary expenses.

The value of any claim turns on its own facts. This page cannot predict an amount.

Filing Deadlines and Time-Sensitive Steps

Georgia’s general deadline for injury claims is two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). For traumatic injuries, that period generally runs from the date of injury.

Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33, actions for injuries to the person must be brought within two years after the right of action accrues. Do not wait for symptoms to be diagnosed before acting. Other deadlines may apply to particular claims, so check the time limit for your facts early.

Protect your claim now by taking these steps:

• Keep photos of the scene, vehicles, and any hazard.
• Save crash or incident reports.
• Keep hospital discharge papers and every treatment record.
• Write a dated list of symptoms, missed work, and daily limits.

Contact the firm early so a free case review can address your deadline.

How the Process Works, Step by Step

The process starts with a free case review. It then moves through records, evaluation, and either negotiation or a lawsuit.

1. Free case review. Share the basic facts by phone, web form, or chat with our intake team. Intake is available in English and Spanish. The first consultation is free, confidential, and without obligation to continue.
2. Records and investigation. Gather medical records, imaging, bills, work information, and incident reports. Identify who may be responsible and what insurance may apply.
3. Evaluation and demand. Review liability, damages, and coverage. Then present a demand to the insurer where that fits the case.
4. Negotiation or lawsuit. Some cases resolve through negotiation. Others may require a lawsuit in the appropriate Georgia court. Timelines depend on the medical course of recovery and the complexity of the case.

Review any fee and cost terms in writing before you agree to anything. The client may still be responsible for court costs and case expenses.

Why Ugwonali Law Group for Fulton County Brain Injury Cases

Ugwonali Law Group is a personal injury firm at 3400 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, led by attorney Adanna Ugwonali. The firm represents people seriously hurt in truck and car crashes, people hurt on unsafe property, and families in wrongful death cases.

The firm serves Fulton County, metro Atlanta, and Georgia statewide. It works with working- and middle-class people who have real injuries and want the legal and medical process explained clearly.

Our team includes assistants and office staff who help with intake, records requests, and scheduling. Intake is offered in English and Spanish.

For a traumatic brain injury matter in Fulton County, the intake team is the first point of contact.

Frequently Asked Questions About Brain Injury Claims in Fulton County