Maryland Brain Injury Attorneys advocate for Assault Victims

Holding criminals responsible for the devastating injuries they cause

Of  the leading causes of traumatic brain injury, assault may be the most difficult to accept. These injuries can be sustained in physical attacks ranging from robbery to rape, domestic violence to child abuse. Not only is assault the leading cause of traumatic brain injury in Americans between ages of 15 and 24, but it is also the leading cause of brain injury death for infants, toddlers and preschoolers—children below the age of four. At the law offices of Karp, Norwind, Gold & Karp, P.A., our skilled Maryland brain injury attorneys are passionate about aggressively pursuing violent offenders, as well as those who permit them to prey upon the innocent. It is our goal to make justice a reality for injured assault victims. We have more than 150 years of experience helping injured crime victims earn the compensation they need to recover from a life-altering criminal assault, both physically and emotionally.

How are brain injuries resulting from a physical assault different from other types of brain injuries?

Symptoms of a traumatic brain injury resulting from certain closed head injuries often do not physically manifest for a day or two, so prompt diagnosis and treatment is a critical factor in recovery. Delayed diagnosis can become especially likely in an emergency room where doctors and other workers are unaware of the exact circumstances under which the patient was admitted. Sometimes a victim is unable to communicate or remember the details of an assault, and some victims, particularly victims of domestic violence, are reluctant to admit being struck at all. This is especially true when the victim is a child, who is too young to adequately communicate symptoms of an injury. Often, the child has been brought in for a medical exam by a parent who is unaware their child was injured by an abusive caretaker, or the abusive parent brings in the child but is unwilling to admit the exact nature of the child’s injury.

Victims of assault and their families often suffer far greater emotional trauma than people suffering brain injuries from other types of accidents. Outrage, depression, and post-traumatic stress often results from the intentional infliction of abuse. A debilitating brain injury can create psychological damage as profound as any physical damage. Not only do these issues require additional treatment, but they can adversely spawn significant financial and emotional damage to family members as well.

What can I recover from the party responsible for assaulting me?

While an assault conviction in criminal court goes a long way towards proving liability in a civil case, collecting damages resulting from injuries sustained in that assault, is a separate matter litigated in civil court. In addition, while it may not be possible to recover anything at all from an indigent, imprisoned defendant, compensation may still be available to you. For example, through the doctrine of vicarious liability, employers can be held responsible for injuries caused by an employee. Business owners and property managers can also be held liable for assaults occurring on their property when it can be shown that adequate security measures were not in effect, or that the hiring process of employees did not include a criminal background check.

Assault victims who prove that the assault that caused their brain injury was due to the negligence of another party, are entitled to seek compensation for damages caused by the injury, which can include:

• The cost of medical care
• Lost income and wages, both past and future
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Mental trauma
• Ongoing medical costs, such as medications, checkups, and therapy

However, brain injury victims have only limited time in which they are able to begin an action following an assault. Proper analysis of medical and physical evidence, as well as preparation for this litigation, can be both complicated and time consuming. Therefore, it is not only imperative that assault victims seek an examination for a possible traumatic brain injury immediately following an assault, but that they also consult with one of our skilled Maryland brain injury attorneys as quickly as possible.

Contact our Maryland brain injury attorneys if you have been the victim of assault

At the law offices of Karp, Norwind, Gold & Karp, P.A., our experienced Maryland brain injury attorneys have helped countless clients who have suffered serious or permanent damage caused by an assault. Contact us for a free initial consultation at (800) 229-7026 or contact us online. To better communicate with clients whose first language is not English, we have attorneys and staff members who speak Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Korean.