Practice area · Northridge, California
Brain Injuries
Concussions and traumatic brain injuries, including the symptoms that show up days or weeks later. A brain injury lawyer in Northridge for the San Fernando Valley.
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5.0 across more than 190 reviews·Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 5 years in a row
Accident Lawyer of California, P.C.
Has handled thousands of cases and settled millions of dollars for clients.
Every case depends on its own facts, and a past result does not predict the outcome of any other case. Full statement.
In plain words
What is a traumatic brain injury claim?
A traumatic brain injury claim is a personal injury claim for an injury to the brain caused by an outside force: a crash, a fall, a blow to the head. It covers the treatment, the lost income, and the long-term effects on memory, mood, sleep and work.
Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq. handles brain injury claims from Northridge. These cases turn on medical evidence that takes time to build, which is why they are never settled early.
Answered by Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq., personal injury attorney, Northridge, California.
How it works
What happens in a brain injury case
- CallFree consultation. Tell him what happened.
- EvidenceReport, photos, witnesses, footage.
- TreatmentYour medical record is built as you heal.
- DemandMade when the injury is understood.
- ResolutionSettled with the insurer, or filed and tried.
How a brain injury case works
The claim is made against whoever caused the injury, usually a driver’s insurer or a property owner’s. What makes it different is the evidence: a brain injury is often invisible on the first scan and shows itself over weeks, in headaches, memory, sleep and mood. The case is built from the treating doctors’ records, neurological testing where it is needed, and the accounts of the people around you.
What drives its value
The lasting effect. A concussion that clears in weeks and a brain injury that changes how someone works and lives are valued very differently, and the difference is established by the medical record over time. Lost earning capacity, the cost of care and rehabilitation, and the effect on family life all count. Nothing is valued until the doctors can say what will last.
What the insurer does
It points at the clear scan and the fact that you walked away. It asks for a recorded statement while your memory of the crash is unreliable, and it offers early, before the symptoms have been documented. You do not have to give a statement. A family member can handle the insurer while you recover, and Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq. takes it over from there.
How long it takes
Longer than most injury claims, deliberately. A brain injury claim is not demanded until the doctors can say what has healed and what has not, which can take a year or more. Settling before then means settling for the wrong number. A claim that has to be filed takes longer again.
What to do in the first week
See a doctor even if you feel fine, and go back if anything changes. Write down every symptom as it appears, with the date: headaches, sleep, memory, mood. Let a family member handle the insurer for now. Do not give a statement or sign anything.
The days after
- At the scene
Stop. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Exchange licence, registration and insurance details, and photograph the vehicles, the scene and anything that shows what happened.
- Within 24 hours
If anyone was hurt or killed, report the collision to the police or the CHP. If you were hurt, get seen and keep the paperwork you are given.
- The same week
Tell your own insurer promptly; policies require it. Give them the facts and keep the claim number.
- Within 10 days
File the DMV’s SR-1 report if anyone was injured or the damage passed $1,000. It is required even when the police took a report; without it the DMV can suspend a licence.
- When the other insurer calls
You can decline a recorded statement and refer them to your own insurer or your lawyer. Sign nothing about fault.
- The weeks after
Keep the vehicle, the bike, the helmet and any damaged property as they are until they have been photographed and inspected. Keep a simple record: symptoms, appointments, missed work, receipts.
- Before you sign
Ask for the collision report; the LAPD releases it about six weeks after the crash. Do not sign a release or take a quick payment before the injury is understood, because a release ends the claim.
Step 1 of 7
Your attorney
Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq.
Personal injury attorney in Northridge, California. Admitted to the State Bar of California in October 2012, No. 284358; 14 years in practice. Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 5 years in a row.
About Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq.
Reviews are published as clients wrote them on Google. Every case depends on its own facts, and a past result does not predict the outcome of any other case. Full statement.
Questions
Questions about brain injury cases
I hit my head but the scan was clear. Is there still a case?
A clear scan does not rule out a brain injury. Symptoms are evidence too, headaches, memory, sleep and mood among them, which is why writing them down matters.
Who pays for long-term care after a brain injury?
The claim is measured against the full cost of the injury, including care that has not happened yet. That is why these cases are not settled early.
How long do I have to file a brain injury claim?
The general limit in California is two years, and with serious injuries the exceptions matter more than usual. Do not assume it is too late.
My headaches and confusion started days after the accident. Is it too late to claim for a concussion?
No. Concussion symptoms commonly appear hours or days after the impact, and California’s time limit runs from the accident, not from the first symptom, so a claim started weeks later is still well within it. What matters is the record: go back to the doctor when symptoms appear, describe them exactly, and write them down with dates. A late-appearing symptom that is documented is evidence; one that is only remembered is not.
How do you prove a brain injury the scans do not show?
Through the people who examine you and the people who know you. A neurologist and a neuropsychologist can measure memory, attention and processing in ways a CT or MRI cannot, and treating doctors record symptoms over time. Family, friends and employers describe the change from before to after. Insurers treat a clear scan as the end of the question; in a California claim it is the beginning.
Can I claim for a concussion, or does it have to be a serious brain injury?
A concussion is a brain injury and it can be claimed. What the claim covers depends on what the concussion did: time off work, treatment, the weeks or months of symptoms, and, if they persist, the longer effect on your life. Post-concussion symptoms that last are the part insurers argue about most, which is why the record from the first weeks matters so much.
The person who was hurt cannot handle their own affairs. Can a family member bring the brain injury claim?
Yes. If the injured person cannot manage the claim, a court can appoint a guardian ad litem to act for them in the case, or a conservator for their affairs generally; a parent acts for a child. The claim is still the injured person’s, and any settlement for someone who lacks capacity or is a minor needs court approval in California. Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq. handles that step as part of the case.
What should I be writing down after a head injury?
Symptoms, with dates: headaches, sleep, memory, concentration, mood, light and noise sensitivity, and anything that got worse. Appointments and what each doctor said. Days missed from work and things you could not do that you did before. Ask someone close to you to keep their own notes; their account of the change is evidence too.
Free consultation
Not sure if you need a lawyer?
Call and ask. Free consultation, nothing to sign. If you would rather not talk yet, send a message below. Same day reply.
Where is the office?
Accident Lawyer of California, P.C. is at 8535 Reseda Blvd. #100, Northridge, CA 91324, in the San Fernando Valley.
Call or text. Same day reply.
- Office
- 8535 Reseda Blvd. #100, Northridge, CA 91324
- Hours
- Open 24 hours
- Serving
- Northridge · Porter Ranch · Van Nuys · Sherman Oaks · Woodland Hills · Reseda · Canoga Park · Encino · Granada Hills
- Phone
- 818-718-2522
- Text
- 818-718-2522
- info@alca4u.com