Brain Injury Attorney helping Williston, Burlington, Vermont and surrounding areas

Our years of experience and personalized approach will give you the confidence, understanding and comfort when we pursue your case.

Traumatic brain injuries are some of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer - but they often are invisible to the naked eye. When a brain injury results from someone else's negligent behavior, the injured victim may be entitled to recover compensation for their losses.

If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury in an accident that wasn't your fault, let Lynch Legal Services, PLLC help you pursue a fair recovery. We know that most people don't want to cause unnecessary conflict with a legal claim. But we also believe that you and your family shouldn't have to bear the financial consequences of a brain injury caused by someone else's negligence or recklessness.

That's why, for 30 years, Vermont brain injury lawyer David Lynch has worked tirelessly to help injured accident victims understand their legal rights and pursue a fair outcome. Our firm's down-to-earth, personalized approach can provide you with the comfort and confidence to pursue your case.

Contact our firm today to set up a free case evaluation with our Williston, Vermont brain injury lawyer to review your rights and options for moving forward. When you choose our firm to help you with your claim, you owe no fees until we win compensation for you.

When Can You File a Personal Injury Claim After a Brain Injury?

You may be entitled to file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for a brain injury when it was caused by someone else's willful, reckless, or negligent actions.

For example, you can file a personal injury claim after a brain injury caused by an assault, or in an accident caused by someone consciously disregarding a substantial risk that their actions would lead to bodily injury.

However, most personal injury claims are based on a theory of negligence. A party may be held negligent if they owed you a duty of care and breeched it, resulting in your injury. In this case, you have the right to demand compensation.

Common Causes of Brain Injuries

Any serious accident can result in injury to a victim's brain. Some of the most common causes of brain injuries include:

  • Car accidents
  • Pedestrian accidents
  • Truck accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Slip, trip, and fall accidents
  • Premises liability accidents
  • Medical malpractice


If you have suffered a brain injury from these causes, or in another kind of accident, our Vermont brain injury lawyer want to help.

Pursuing Full Compensation in Your Brain Injury Claim

When your brain injury was caused by someone else's negligence, you can pursue full compensation for your current and future losses arising from your injury, including:

  • Costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation, including hospital stays, surgeries or other medical procedures, purchases of medical or mobility equipment, prescription medication, rehabilitation and therapy, and other out-of-pocket expenses (such as travel to providers and appointments)
  • Personal care expenses, such as home health care services, assisted living services, or renovations to your home to help accommodate disabilities you've suffered because of the brain injury
  • Lost wages or income for the time you missed from work while recovering from the injury
  • Lost earning capacity, if your brain injury prevents you from returning to your job
  • Pain and suffering, or the physical and emotional distress you experience because of your injuries
  • Lost quality of life, such as the inability to participate in activities you previously enjoyed, or to perform day-to-day tasks for yourself

Vermont's Time Limit for Filing a Claim for Brain Damage

If you've suffered a brain injury because of someone else's actions, you have limited time to file a lawsuit against that party to seek compensation for your losses. Under Vermont's statute of limitations, your lawsuit typically must be filed within three years of the date of injury.

If your brain injury resulted from medical malpractice, but you don't initially realize that it resulted from a medical provider's negligence, you have two years to file from the date you discover your injury or the date you reasonably should have discovered it. However, you must file suit within seven years of the negligent medical treatment.

If you fail to file suit before the statute of limitations expires on your claim, the court will almost certainly permanently dismiss your case and you will likely lose your right to seek compensation.

Symptoms of A Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries have a wide range of symptoms, often depending on the severity of the injury. Signs and symptoms of a mild brain injury include:

  • Brief loss of consciousness
  • Feeling dazed, confused, or disoriented
  • Dizziness or loss of balance
  • Headache
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Fatigue and drowsiness
  • Speech issues
  • Memory or concentration issues
  • Mood changes and mood swings
  • Feelings of anxiety and depression
  • Problems falling or staying asleep, or sleeping more than usual
  • Sensitivity to light and sound
  • Blurred vision
  • Ringing in the ears
  • A bad or foul taste in the mouth
  • Altered ability to smell


Moderate to severe brain injuries have symptoms including:

  • Loss of consciousness lasting several minutes to several hours, or coma or other consciousness disorders
  • Persistent or worsening headache
  • Persistent nausea or vomiting
  • Convulsions or seizures
  • Dilated pupils
  • Clear fluids running from the nose and ears
  • Inability to be awoken from sleep
  • Weakness or numbness in hands, fingers, feet, and toes
  • Loss of coordination
  • Profound confusion
  • Slurred speech
  • Agitation, combativeness, and other sudden behavioral changes

Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury

Treatment for a traumatic brain injury also depends on the severity of the injury. Some brain injuries require only rest and over-the-counter pain relievers for headaches. However, people who have suffered even a mild brain injury should still be monitored for persistent or worsening symptoms, which can indicate their condition is getting worse.

Moderate to severe brain injuries often require immediate emergency care to stabilize an injury victim and ensure their brain is receiving sufficient blood flow and oxygen supply. Immediately after a severe injury, treatment may focus on:

  • Medications, including diuretics to reduce swelling, anti-seizure drugs, or coma-inducing drugs to reduce the brain's need for oxygen while it heals
  • Surgery, such as to remove blood clots, repair skull fractures or open a window in the skull to relieve swelling on the brain or stop bleeding


Following a serious brain injury, treatment shifts to rehabilitation to help an injury victim relearn basic skills and get back to a regular life as much as possible. Rehab can include:

  • Physical therapy
  • Occupational therapy, which teaches skills for everyday activities
  • Speech and language therapy
  • Neuropsychological therapy, which helps with relearning cognitive and behavioral skills
  • Vocational rehab, aimed at getting an injured person back to work
  • Psychotherapy, to help deal with mental health issues like depression or anxiety


How a Brain Injury Can Alter Your Life

A moderate to severe brain injury can have long-lasting or even permanent effects on your physical and mental health. Long-term complications of brain injuries can include:

  • Altered states of consciousness, such as a minimally conscious state, coma, vegetative state, or even brain death
  • Long-term seizures (a condition called post-traumatic epilepsy)
  • Buildup of fluid in the skull, which can cause swelling of the brain
  • Infections
  • Damage to blood vessels, which can lead to blood clots, stroke, and other conditions
  • Permanent facial paralysis
  • Permanent changes to vision, hearing, smell, or taste
  • Intellectual difficulties, including memory problems, concentration issues, and problems with reasoning, judgment, organization, decision-making, or problem-solving
  • Difficulty with speaking and writing
  • Difficulty following conversations or understanding social cues
  • Permanent behavioral changes, including depression and anxiety, difficulty with self-control and repeated outbursts, and risk-seeking behavior


Repeated mild traumatic brain injuries or even one sufficiently severe injury can increase a person's risk of developing degenerative brain disorders such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, dementia pugilistica, Alzheimer's disease, or Parkinson's disease.

Types of Brain Injuries

Specific types of head and brain injuries include:

  • Brain bleeding
  • Concussion
  • Swelling of tissue, or edema
  • Skull fractures
  • Diffuse axonal injury, or shearing of nerve tissue in the brain
  • Brain aneurysm, or swelling or blistering of blood vessels in the brain
  • Encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain
  • Hydrocephalus, or a buildup of fluid inside the skull
  • Hypoxic/anoxic injury, caused by a disruption of oxygen supply to the brain
  • Stroke

Talk to A Vermont Brain Injury Attorney Now

When you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury because of someone else's negligent or reckless actions, schedule a free consultation with a Vermont brain injury lawyer from Lynch Legal Services, PLLC.

We'll help you understand more about your rights and discuss how our firm can help you pursue the recovery you deserve following your injury.