Alexandria Brain Injury Lawyers

TBI Classification and the Glasgow Coma Scale

Doctors classify TBI as mild, moderate, or severe using the GCS. Scores of 13 to 15 indicate mild TBI. Scores of 9 to 12 indicate moderate TBI. Scores of 3 to 8 indicate severe TBI.

This classification happens at the accident scene and in the emergency department. EMS personnel document the GCS score in the ambulance run report. That number becomes the baseline evidence of injury severity.

Mild TBI, including concussion, often shows no abnormality on a standard CT or MRI. Insurance adjusters point to a clean scan and argue the injury is minor. That argument is wrong, but it takes expert evidence to counter. Moderate TBI typically involves loss of consciousness lasting 30 minutes to 24 hours and produces findings on advanced imaging. Severe TBI involves a GCS score of 3 to 8, often extended unconsciousness, and carries a high probability of permanent impairment.

Ask any attorney you consult about TBI cases how they handle the "normal CT" defense. An attorney without a clear answer to that question has not litigated enough TBI cases to know the imaging limitations. Morris & Dewett works with neuroradiologists who review raw DICOM imaging files, not just the written radiology report. That review often finds missed findings.

How Do Traumatic Brain Injuries Happen in Rapides Parish?

Motor vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of non-fatal traumatic brain injuries in Louisiana. State data documents 2,490 emergency department visits and 742 hospitalizations from traffic-related TBIs in a single year. 26% of vehicle crash hospitalizations in Louisiana involve a traumatic brain injury.

In Rapides Parish, I-49 and US-71 carry significant traffic volume. High-speed rear-end collisions on these corridors produce the rapid deceleration forces that cause brain injuries. Rollover crashes generate the rotational forces behind diffuse axonal injury. Falls, workplace incidents at industrial facilities, and pedestrian accidents cause brain injuries as well.

The mechanism of injury matters legally. Your attorney must connect the forces documented in the crash investigation to the biological mechanism of your brain injury. That connection is the causation link the jury must understand. Alexandria car accident lawyers and Alexandria truck accident lawyers at Morris & Dewett handle the most common TBI-producing crash types in this market.

Coup-Contrecoup Injuries and Diffuse Axonal Injury

Standard CT scans miss two of the most common and serious TBI injury patterns: coup-contrecoup and diffuse axonal injury.

Coup-contrecoup injuries occur when a vehicle stops suddenly and the brain continues moving inside the skull. The brain injures on contact with the skull at the point of impact. It then rebounds and injures on the opposite side. One crash can produce two distinct injury zones.

DAI is the other commonly missed pattern. Rotational forces in rollover crashes or T-bone impacts stretch and tear the axons connecting different brain regions. A standard CT scan typically looks normal. The person experiences profound cognitive deficits. The insurance adjuster points to the CT and says nothing is wrong.

Documenting DAI requires diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) or susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI). Some neuroradiologists also detect microhemorrhages on susceptibility sequences that standard reads miss. Ask the attorney you consult whether they have experience retaining neuroradiologists for DAI imaging review. If they use only treating physicians, they may miss the evidence that makes the case.

Long-Term Consequences of Moderate and Severe TBI

Cognitive impairment, personality changes, seizure disorder, and chronic headache are the most common long-term outcomes after moderate or severe TBI. These are not temporary symptoms. They define what the rest of a survivor's life looks like.

Cognitive impairment is one of the most common long-term outcomes. Memory loss, slowed processing speed, and deficits in executive function affect the ability to work, manage finances, and sustain relationships. These deficits are measurable through neuropsychological testing.

Personality and behavioral changes are often more disabling than physical symptoms. Impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, depression, and anxiety emerge after TBI at rates that are significantly higher than the general population. Families adjust to someone who is not the same person they knew before the accident.

Post-traumatic seizure disorder develops in 5 to 10% of closed-head TBI patients. It requires ongoing neurological management, medication, and driving restrictions that further limit independence. Post-traumatic headache is the most common persistent symptom after mild TBI. When it lasts beyond three months, it is classified as chronic post-traumatic headache and may require long-term specialist care.

Many TBI survivors cannot return to their prior employment level. A vocational expert documents the earning capacity reduction by analyzing the documented cognitive deficits against occupational requirements. For severe TBI, life expectancy may be shortened, which affects how the life care plan is structured. Ask any attorney you consider how they approach life care planning for long-term TBI cases. Morris & Dewett retains life care planners certified in catastrophic injury assessment to project needs over the adjusted life expectancy of each specific client.

The Medical Experts Who Build Your TBI Case

A TBI case is built on expert testimony. The medical evidence does not organize or present itself. Here is who builds it.

The neurologist is the medical foundation of the claim. They document the injury, interpret imaging studies, and provide the causation opinion that connects the accident to the brain injury. Without a clear neurological causation opinion, the defense challenges every connection in the claim.

The neuropsychologist administers standardized cognitive testing, including tests like the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), to quantify deficits in objective, admissible terms. Subjective complaints become measurable scores.

The life care planner projects every anticipated future need over the remaining life expectancy. For a severe TBI, this document can support a claim in the millions. The Louisiana Department of Health provides rehabilitation resources in Rapides Parish, but private rehabilitation needs often exceed what public programs cover.

The vocational expert calculates loss of earning capacity by comparing pre-injury work capacity against post-injury limitations documented by the neuropsychologist.

The defense will retain an IME (independent medical examination) physician to challenge your injuries. That examiner is paid by the insurance company. Your attorney should review the IME findings before any deposition and prepare your treating physicians to respond to specific IME criticisms.

Rapides Regional Medical Center and the Trauma System

Rapides Regional Medical Center is a Level II trauma center in Alexandria. Level II designation means the facility is capable of providing definitive care for most traumatic brain injury patients. Neurosurgical coverage is available 24 hours a day.

Complex cases requiring specialized neuro critical care may transfer to LSU Health Shreveport. That transfer creates additional medical records that document the severity of the injury and the level of care required.

Your medical records from Rapides Regional are central to your case. Emergency department records contain the initial GCS score. Neurosurgical operative notes document any interventions. ICU flow sheets track neurological status over time. Obtain these records as soon as possible. The treatment timeline builds the severity narrative that your experts reinforce.

Ask any attorney you consult how quickly they move to preserve medical records after a TBI case. At Morris & Dewett, record preservation is part of the initial intake process. Delays in record collection create gaps that the defense exploits.

What Louisiana Law Allows You to Recover After a TBI

Louisiana law divides recoverable damages into two categories.

Economic damages include past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity. The 2024 tort reform under La. R.S. 9:2800.27 changed how medical damages are calculated. Recoverable medical expenses equal the amounts actually paid to providers, not the amounts billed. For uninsured clients or those with Medicaid, this distinction affects how medical damages are presented and valued at trial.

Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, mental anguish, cognitive impairment, personality changes, and loss of enjoyment of life. Louisiana courts impose no cap on personal injury non-economic damages. This is distinct from medical malpractice, which has a $500,000 cap. Lifetime TBI care costs in Louisiana can reach $3 million. Your non-economic damages may add significantly to that economic foundation.

A spouse may bring a separate loss of consortium claim under La. C.C. Art. 2315.

Comparative Fault under La. C.C. Art. 2323 took effect January 1, 2026. If you are 51% or more at fault for your accident, you recover nothing. At 50% or less, your damages reduce proportionally. Ask any attorney how they approach comparative fault analysis in TBI cases. Insurance adjusters use comparative fault as a primary defense strategy. Morris & Dewett addresses fault allocation early by preserving crash scene evidence and retaining accident reconstruction experts before evidence is lost.

See Alexandria catastrophic injury lawyers for related practice area coverage.

Filing Deadlines and the 9th Judicial District Court

The Prescriptive Period for personal injury in Louisiana is two years from the date of injury under La. C.C. Art. 3493.11, which took effect July 1, 2024. Incidents before that date were subject to a one-year prescriptive period under the prior statute.

Louisiana applies the discovery rule narrowly. The clock may begin from the date of TBI diagnosis in limited circumstances where the injury was not reasonably apparent at the time of the accident. Courts scrutinize these arguments closely. Do not count on the discovery rule to extend your deadline.

Minor children are protected. The prescriptive period suspends until the child's 18th birthday, at which point the two-year clock begins.

TBI cases in Rapides Parish are filed in the 9th Judicial District Court. Missing the filing deadline means the court dismisses the case. No exception exists for being unaware of the law. If you have questions about whether your deadline has run, consult an attorney immediately. The only way to confirm the deadline is to know the exact date of injury and the applicable law at that time.

Your attorney should know immediately whether your claim is approaching the deadline and what protective actions are available. An attorney who is vague about filing deadlines is not the attorney for a catastrophic injury case.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a mild TBI and a concussion?

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury. The terms are used interchangeably. "Mild" refers to the GCS classification (score of 13-15), not to the severity of long-term consequences. A mild TBI can produce persistent cognitive deficits, chronic post-traumatic headache, and lasting personality changes even when all initial imaging is normal.

My CT scan was normal. Can I still have a serious brain injury?

Yes. Standard CT scans do not detect diffuse axonal injury (DAI), the most common injury pattern from rotational acceleration in vehicle crashes. DAI requires diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) or susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) to document. Insurance adjusters routinely cite a normal CT to minimize claims. That argument fails when advanced imaging and neuropsychological testing show the actual deficits.

How long do I have to file a brain injury lawsuit in Louisiana?

Two years from the date of injury under [La. C.C. Art. 3493.11](https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=1278047), which took effect July 1, 2024. Incidents before July 1, 2024 were subject to a one-year deadline. If a minor child was injured, the two-year period does not begin until their 18th birthday. Missing this deadline results in dismissal. If you are unsure whether your deadline has passed, consult an attorney before assuming it has.

What doctors do I need to see to build a strong TBI case?

The core medical team for a TBI claim includes a neurologist, a neuropsychologist, and a life care planner. The neurologist establishes the diagnosis and causation opinion. The neuropsychologist administers standardized cognitive testing to quantify your deficits in objective, admissible terms. The life care planner projects your future medical and support needs. For cases involving lost earning capacity, a vocational expert joins the team. An accident reconstructionist ties the crash forces to the injury mechanism.

What does La. R.S. 9:2800.27 mean for my medical expense claim?

[La. R.S. 9:2800.27](https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=1250735), effective under the 2024 tort reform, limits recoverable medical expenses to amounts actually paid to providers, not the amounts originally billed. This affects TBI cases significantly because the gap between billed charges and paid amounts is often large. Your attorney needs to structure the medical damages presentation around paid amounts and anticipated future care costs under the new rule.

Can I recover for future losses like ongoing care and lost earning capacity?

Yes. Louisiana law allows recovery for future medical expenses, future lost earning capacity, and non-economic damages projected into the future. A life care planner documents anticipated care needs over your life expectancy and assigns costs. A vocational expert calculates the permanent reduction in your earning potential. An economist converts those future values to present value for the damages calculation. There is no cap on personal injury non-economic damages in Louisiana.

What happens if I was partially at fault for my accident?

Under [La. C.C. Art. 2323](https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109387) (effective January 1, 2026), Louisiana uses a 51% comparative fault bar. If you are 51% or more at fault, you recover nothing. If you are 50% or less at fault, your damages reduce proportionally by your percentage of fault. Insurance adjusters build defense strategies around pushing your fault percentage above 50%. Your attorney needs to address fault allocation from the first day of the case by preserving crash scene evidence and retaining reconstruction experts before that evidence disappears.

How do I pay for TBI treatment while my case is pending?

TBI treatment does not wait for a case to settle. Options include your own health insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and medical provider liens where the provider agrees to be paid from the settlement. Some treating physicians work on a lien basis for injury patients. Morris & Dewett discusses payment structure options at the initial consultation. The contingency fee arrangement means you pay no attorney fees unless there is a recovery.

These answers reflect Louisiana law as of January 2026. For case specific advice, consult with a Louisiana personal injury attorney who can evaluate your particular circumstances.