Traumatic Brain Injury Claims After a Virginia Car Accident

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by a blow, jolt, or penetrating force to the head. A concussion is a mild form of TBI. The Brain Injury Association of America reports that vehicle crashes can cause moderate to severe TBI, along with other bodily injuries.

What a Traumatic Brain Injury Is and Why Symptoms Can Be Delayed

Symptoms often don’t appear right away. Headaches, dizziness, confusion, and memory problems can start hours or days after a crash. Sleep changes, irritability, and sensitivity to light or noise are also common. Many people feel shaken and assume they’ll bounce back. Some don’t, and early symptoms are easy to dismiss.

A medical evaluation after any head impact matters for two reasons. It looks after your health, and it creates a dated record of what you reported and what providers found. Tell every provider about every symptom, even the small ones. The same basic ideas apply whether your crash happened in the Shenandoah Valley, Richmond, or Henrico County.

The Basic Elements a Brain Injury Claim Generally Requires Showing

Causation links the crash to the injury.

Damages are the losses a claim seeks to document. They can include medical bills, lost income, and changes in daily life, such as trouble driving, working, or caring for family. How these elements apply depends on the facts of each crash and injury.

How Medical Records and Documentation Shape the Proof

Medical records are often central to proving a brain injury. A CT or MRI scan may look normal even when a person has real symptoms. Mild injuries often need other proof, such as clinical exams, cognitive testing, and the treating providers’ notes.

Consistency matters. A record that tracks symptoms from the first evaluation onward helps connect later complaints to the crash. A symptom that first appears months later, and was never mentioned earlier, is harder to link to the impact.

Gaps in treatment work the same way. Missed appointments or symptoms left out of notes can make the injury harder to connect to the crash. Keep appointments when you can, and report every symptom accurately, even ones that seem unrelated. Describe symptoms in your own words, such as “I can’t follow a conversation,” so the notes reflect what you actually experience.

Treating physicians’ records explain the injury in medical terms. Where needed, outside medical opinions can also help explain it to an insurer or a court.

Fault, Insurance Coverage, and Who May Be Responsible

More than one person can share responsibility for a crash, so the right parties can differ from one case to another.

Virginia follows contributory negligence: if you are found even partly at fault, you may be barred from recovering, with limited exceptions (Contributory negligence bars recovery in Virginia). Talk to a lawyer about your facts.

A crash can involve more than one driver, a vehicle owner, or a commercial carrier. Which insurance policies apply depends on who is responsible and how the vehicle was being used.

In a truck or commercial vehicle crash, the carrier, the driver, and other parties may each have a role in what happened.

After a crash, the other driver’s insurer may ask for a recorded statement or push for a quick agreement. Keep copies of every letter, email, and text, and write down the date and time of each call.

Deadlines and the Crash Reporting Duty

Virginia sets a deadline for filing an injury lawsuit, and some claims carry shorter notice rules.

Virginia requires a driver involved in a crash with injury or death to stop and report it to police immediately (Va. Code §§ 46.2-371, 46.2-894). You can read the duty in Va. Code § 46.2-894. The duty to report a crash is separate from the deadline to file a lawsuit.

Virginia generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)); the clock runs from the date of injury, not the date of discovery, with narrow exceptions. Va. Code § 8.01-243(A) provides that, unless otherwise provided in that section or by other statute, every action for personal injuries must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues (Va. Code § 8.01-243).

The rules change when a brain injury later leads to a death. A Virginia wrongful death action is filed by the decedent’s personal representative within two years of the death (Va. Code §§ 8.01-50(C), 8.01-244(B)), on behalf of the family members the statute protects. The timing rule appears in Va. Code § 8.01-244.

Practical Steps to Document a Possible Brain Injury Claim

Start documenting early. Each step below shows how the injury affects your life over time.

• Keep a daily symptom journal. Note headaches, sleep, concentration, mood, and activities that have become harder, such as reading or driving.
• Save the crash report number, photos of the vehicles and scene, and contact information for any witnesses.
• Track missed work, reduced hours, and medical bills you paid yourself. Keep pay stubs and employer letters.
• Follow your providers’ instructions. Keep copies of discharge papers, test results, and referrals.

Organizing these records early makes it easier to show how the injury has affected work, family life, and daily routines. For more background, see the firm’s traumatic brain injury claims page.

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