Concussion & Mild TBI Claims

Concussion & Mild TBI Claims

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury, and the word "mild" is exactly where an insurer starts cutting the value of a real injury.

If a negligent driver, property owner, or other party caused your concussion, you can pursue compensation for the medical care, the lost income, and the symptoms that linger.

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or jolt that disrupts how the brain works, even when imaging looks normal.

Most concussions improve within weeks. Some do not, and the headaches, memory trouble, and fog that follow are what turn a "minor" injury into a serious claim.

The hard part of a concussion case is proof, because a normal CT scan is the insurer's favorite reason to pay you less.

Our brain injury lawyers build that proof with the medical record, neuropsychological testing, and the documented arc of your symptoms.

Call (888) 713-6653 for a free, confidential case review, available 24/7. You don't pay unless we win.

Is a Concussion a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Yes. A concussion is the most common form of traumatic brain injury, the mild end of a spectrum that runs all the way to coma. Doctors grade it as mild when the Glasgow Coma Scale score is 13 to 15, but that grade measures the level of consciousness at intake, not the long-term effect on your work, your memory, or your moods.

A concussion happens when a blow or a jolt makes the brain move inside the skull. It does not take a direct hit. The violent back-and-forth of a crash can do it on its own, which is why whiplash can cause a brain injury, and the rebound of the brain against the skull is the same mechanism behind a coup-contrecoup injury. The result is a brain that is bruised or stretched at the cellular level, even when a scan reads clean.

Can You Sue for a Concussion?

You can, when someone else's negligence caused it. The claim turns on the same elements as any injury case: another party owed you a duty of care, they breached it, and that breach caused your concussion and the losses that followed. The "mild" label does not bar a claim. A documented brain injury caused by someone else is compensable, full stop.

Concussions show up across the firm's caseload: a rear-end crash, a fall on an unguarded hazard, a falling object on a worksite, a sports or recreation injury tied to unsafe conditions or missing equipment. What decides the case is not how the injury is labeled but whether the fault is provable and the injury is documented. If both are there, the size of the word "concussion" is irrelevant to whether you have a case.

"Most concussion clients tell us they almost didn't call, because they thought it wasn't serious enough. The ones who waited usually wish they hadn't. They think they will be fine in a few days only to find themselves struggling with headaches, dizziness, memory problems, and cognitive fatigue weeks or months later."

What Is a Concussion Settlement Worth?

There is no flat figure, because the value of a concussion claim tracks the injury, not the diagnosis code. A concussion that resolves in a few weeks with full recovery sits at the low end. A concussion that becomes post-concussion syndrome, with months or years of headaches, cognitive trouble, and lost earning power, can be worth a great deal more.

The factors that move the number are the duration and severity of the symptoms, the medical treatment required, the income lost while you could not work, the strength of the liability evidence, and the insurance available to pay. For how the pieces fit together, see our breakdown of the average traumatic brain injury settlement and the difference between the economic and non-economic parts of a claim.

Any figure is a range or a past result, never a promise. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a future outcome.

Why a "Mild" TBI Is Often Not Mild

"We don't love the word 'mild' on a brain injury. It's a grade for the emergency room. Mild to diagnose is not mild to live with. The two get confused on purpose by the insurer to argue the rest of your life is fine."

The medical label and the lived reality can be far apart. Around one in five concussion patients develops post-concussion syndrome, the cluster of symptoms that does not fade on the textbook timeline: persistent headaches, trouble concentrating, memory lapses, irritability, sensitivity to light and noise, and a fatigue that does not lift with rest.

For the people living it, a "mild" brain injury can mean missing work, losing the thread of a conversation, or no longer trusting their own memory. That gap between the label and the life is the heart of these cases, and it is the part the defense works hardest to shrink. Naming it accurately, and proving it, is what a concussion claim is really about.

How We Prove a Concussion When the Scan Is Normal

A concussion usually does not show on a standard CT scan, and that is by design of the injury, not a sign that nothing happened. The proof is built a different way.

"After enough of these, you know the scan doesn't make the case. We often hear clients say they know something is not right, no matter what the scan shows. Concussion symptoms can be disruptive to nearly every part of daily life all while CT scans or MRIs appear normal despite the ongoing cognitive difficulties."

The diagnosis is clinical, drawn from the documented loss of consciousness or dazing, the post-traumatic amnesia, and the symptom trajectory in the days and weeks after the impact.^[1] Neuropsychological testing then measures the cognitive deficits with objective scores for memory, attention, processing speed, and executive function, turning a complaint the insurer can wave off into a number on a chart. The treating physicians, the dated symptom record, and where it exists the follow-up MRI tie the injury to the event that caused it.

The defense in nearly every concussion case is some version of the same three arguments: the symptoms predate the injury, they come from stress or something unrelated, or a mild injury is no injury at all. A medical record built deliberately from the first day is what answers all three.

Concussion Symptoms, Including the Delayed Ones

Concussion symptoms are not always obvious at the scene, and some of the most telling ones surface days later. Watch for them and report each to a doctor as it appears, because the documented timeline is part of the proof.

• Physical: headache, dizziness, nausea, balance trouble, blurred vision, and sensitivity to light or sound.
• Cognitive: confusion, memory gaps, slowed thinking, and difficulty concentrating or finding words.
• Emotional: irritability, anxiety, depression, and mood changes the people around you notice first.
• Sleep: sleeping much more or much less than usual, and trouble staying asleep.

Symptoms that linger past a few weeks point toward post-concussion syndrome, and they belong in the medical record, not just in your memory.

How Long Do You Have to File a Concussion Claim?

The deadline is set by state law and varies widely. Some states allow as little as one year, and a claim against a government defendant can carry a notice deadline measured in months. Because a concussion is sometimes diagnosed late, the safe assumption is that the clock is already running.

Waiting also costs proof. Crash data, surveillance footage, and the early medical baseline all degrade with time, and they are the records that connect the injury to the event. If you are unsure where you stand, talk to a lawyer before assuming you are out of time, and see what happens if you miss the statute of limitations.