Can I Recover Compensation for an Anoxic Brain Injury?

May 20, 2022 | Personal Injury

Anoxic brain injuries are characterized by the brain not receiving enough oxygen. These incidents can occur in a wide variety of ways, often due to internal medical issues with an individual. However, there are times when anoxic brain injuries are caused by the careless or negligent actions of others. Here, we want to discuss whether or not individuals can recover compensation after sustaining an anoxic brain injury.

What is an Anoxic Brain Injury?

Anoxic brain injuries derive their name from the word “anoxia,” which means without oxygen. When a person sustains an anoxic brain injury, this means that their brain has gone without oxygen, and this can lead to significant long-term disabilities or even death. There are several types of anoxic brain injuries that can occur, including the following:

• Hypoxic-ischemic injury. This type of injury occurs if the oxygen-carrying blood in our arteries is unable to reach the brain. This can occur as a result of a stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, or cardiac arrest.
• Anemic anoxia. This type of anoxic brain injury occurs if there is an insufficient blood supply in the body to supply oxygen to the brain. This often happens after a traumatic incident leads to blood loss.
• Toxic anoxia. Toxic anoxia refers to chemicals or other hazardous poisons entering the blood and preventing oxygen from reaching the brain.
• Anoxic anoxia. This type of brain injury refers to what happens if a person is suffocated.

Recovering Compensation for an Anoxic Brain Injury

Individuals may be able to recover compensation if they sustain an anoxic brain injury, but only if the careless were negligent actions of another party are responsible for causing the injury. Many causes of anoxic brain injuries have nothing to do with another person. Often, anoxic brain injuries are caused by internal medical issues. These incidents can also occur as a result of an accident caused by the brain injury victim.

However, if an individual sustains physical trauma or succumbs to an illness caused by the negligent actions of another individual, it may be possible to recover compensation through a civil personal injury lawsuit. In order for these claims to be successful, it will need to be shown that the at-fault party owed hey duty of care to the injury victim and that the at-fault party breached their duty of care in some way. If a personal injury attorney can establish that the breach of duty directly caused the anoxic brain injury, then the victim may be able to recover compensation.

There may be various types of compensation available in these situations. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Coverage of all medical bills related to the incident
• The cost of any long term or in-home care needs
• Medical devices
• Prescription medications
• Lost wages and loss of future earnings

If you are somebody you love has sustained an anoxic brain injury, you need to work with a skilled Martinsburg brain injury attorney who can enlist assistance from economic and medical experts to adequately calculate your total losses. These cases can be complex, and an attorney should be the one to handle filing the claim and standing up to other parties involved.