Diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury in Lubbock, TX? Contact the top Lubbock traumatic brain injury lawyer to seek justice and compensation.
A traumatic brain injury can turn your life upside down in an instant, leaving you with memory loss, chronic headaches, and cognitive struggles that make everyday tasks difficult.
TBI symptoms often develop slowly, and by the time the full impact is clear, insurance companies are already working to downplay your injury and minimize what they pay.
I’m James Perrin, founding attorney of Perrin Law PLLC Injury & Accident Lawyer. As an experienced Lubbock traumatic brain injury attorney, for more than two decades, I’ve represented TBI victims across West Texas, working directly with neurologists and neuropsychologists to document the full extent of my clients’ injuries and build cases insurers cannot easily dismiss.
Contact me today for a free consultation.
Do I Have a Brain Injury Case?
A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is physical damage to the brain caused by a sudden blow, jolt, or penetrating impact to the skull.
If someone else’s negligence caused that injury, a distracted truck driver, a reckless employer, or a company that sold defective equipment, Texas law gives you the right to hold them accountable.
To succeed on a TBI claim, four elements must be established:
- Duty: The at-fault party had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care, whether as a driver, an employer, or a property owner.
- Breach: They violated that obligation by running a red light, ignoring safety regulations, or producing dangerous equipment.
- Causation: Their breach directly caused your head injury.
- Damages: The injury produced real, documented losses, hospital bills, lost income, and lasting harm to your quality of life.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a TBI?
Texas allows TBI victims to pursue economic damages for financial losses, non-economic damages for personal suffering, and in cases involving gross negligence, punitive damages to punish the wrongdoer.
As an experienced Lubbock traumatic brain injury lawyer, what I regularly see is that the at-fault party’s insurer will push a fast settlement, but that offer arrives before you’ve seen your full diagnosis, and it’s built to protect their balance sheet, not your future.
TBI symptoms such as cognitive difficulties, personality changes, and chronic pain often surface or worsen weeks after the accident.
Settling before you reach maximum medical improvement, the point at which your condition stabilizes and your long-term prognosis is clear, can permanently close the door on compensation for losses you haven’t yet experienced.
You may be entitled to recover:
- Medical expenses: Emergency care, imaging, neurology visits, rehabilitation therapy, and projected future care costs.
- Lost income: The wages you’ve already missed and, when the TBI limits your career going forward, the full value of your reduced earning capacity over time.
- Pain and suffering: Compensation for chronic headaches, cognitive struggles, light sensitivity, and emotional trauma, including symptoms invisible to the outside world.
- Loss of consortium: A spouse or dependent child who has lost your companionship, guidance, and daily presence may pursue their own separate claim for those losses.
- Punitive damages: When gross indifference drove the accident, a company that knowingly ignored a safety hazard or a driver who chose to get behind the wheel impaired, Texas courts may award additional punishment damages.
What to Do After a Head Injury in Lubbock
The decisions you make in the days immediately after an accident can affect whether you recover full compensation or leave significant value on the table.
Step 1: See a Doctor That Same Day
Get medical attention immediately, even if your symptoms seem mild right now. A clear CT scan at the emergency room does not rule out a brain injury, many TBIs go undetected on standard imaging.
Report every symptom, including headaches, confusion, or vision changes, at every appointment so your medical records tell the complete story.
Step 2: Don’t Talk to the Insurance Adjuster Alone
The at-fault party’s insurer will call soon, often within hours of the accident. Do not give a recorded statement, and do not accept any offer without speaking to an attorney first. Adjusters are trained to find language in your own answers that reduces or eliminates your payout.
Step 3: Keep a Daily Symptom Journal
Write down your headaches, memory lapses, mood shifts, and sleep disruptions every day. Ask someone close to you to record behavioral changes they observe, firsthand accounts from family members carry genuine weight with juries.
Step 4: Call a Brain Injury Lawyer Before Evidence Disappears
In truck and oilfield cases, critical data, black box records, driver logs, and surveillance footage, can be overwritten within days. The earlier I issue legal preservation notices, the stronger your evidentiary foundation becomes.
Why TBI Claims Are Harder Than Other Injury Cases
Insurers contest brain injury claims more aggressively than almost any other case type because the injury is frequently invisible. You can appear completely functional while dealing with serious cognitive, emotional, and physical disruption, and adjusters use that appearance against you.
Their standard tactics include:
- Claiming your symptoms are caused by stress, anxiety, or a pre-existing condition rather than the accident itself
- Pointing to a clean MRI or CT scan as proof the injury is minor or fabricated
- Deliberately delaying the process to apply financial pressure and steer you toward a low offer
As a skilled personal injury attorney in Lubbock, Texas, I fight back with neuropsychological testing, expert physician testimony, and statements from the people who knew you before and after the impact, family members, coworkers, and friends who can describe exactly how your memory, personality, and daily function have changed.
A tactic I see repeatedly from insurers on brain injury claims near I-27 and Loop 289 is offering a fast settlement before the client’s follow-up neurology appointments even happen, betting that early cognitive symptoms will fade from the record. I don’t let a client sign anything until the full scope of the injury is documented, because that first offer almost never accounts for what shows up weeks later.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a TBI in Texas?
The driver who hit you may not be the only party legally responsible for your losses. I investigate every case to identify all liable defendants, because more responsible parties often means access to more insurance coverage and a more complete financial recovery.
Parties I regularly hold accountable include:
- Negligent drivers and the employers who hired or dispatched them
- Trucking companies that violated federal hours-of-service rules, failed to maintain their fleets, or pressured drivers past legal rest limits
- Oilfield operators who allowed unsafe conditions on their work sites
- Manufacturers of defective helmets, vehicle safety systems, or protective equipment
- Property owners who knew about a hazardous condition and chose not to fix it
One pattern I consistently see in TBI claims out of Lubbock County is an adjuster leaning on a clean CT scan from University Medical Center or Covenant Medical Center as proof the injury isn’t serious, when a normal scan says nothing about the neurological damage a TBI actually causes. Bringing in a neuropsychologist early is usually what closes that gap before the adjuster can use it against my client.
How Long Do You Have to File a TBI Lawsuit in Texas?
Texas law gives you two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. This is the statute of limitations, a legal deadline that courts enforce without exception. Miss it, and your right to sue is permanently gone, no matter how clear the other party’s fault may be.
One critical exception: if your claim involves a government entity, a city bus, a county vehicle, or a public employee, you must file a formal written notice of claim within six months of the accident. That six-month clock starts the day the incident occurs.
How I Build Your TBI Case
I prepare every case for trial from the first day I take it. That isn’t a negotiating posture, it’s a genuine commitment that reshapes how insurers calculate the value of your claim. When defense attorneys know I’ll take a case to a jury and have the results to back that up, the math on a lowball offer changes entirely.
Evidence I Gather for Your Claim
I pull your complete medical file, ER reports, imaging, neurological and neuropsychological evaluations, and physician notes from every follow-up appointment.
I also work with vocational and economic experts who can put a precise dollar figure on how the injury has altered your career trajectory and long-term earning potential.
Preservation in Truck and Oilfield Cases
In commercial vehicle and heavy equipment accidents, I send legal hold notices the same day to secure black box data, electronic logging device (ELD) records, driver hour logs, and fleet maintenance histories before anyone has the chance to erase them.
My Results in Catastrophic Injury Cases
These outcomes reflect what happens when genuine trial readiness meets serious injuries:
Result | Case Type |
$19.5 million | 18-wheeler wreck |
$7.5 million | Truck wreck |
$4.25 million | Truck wreck |
$3.5 million | 18-wheeler wreck |
$3.09 million | Drilling rig failure |
In 2022, one of my verdicts was named a Top 50 Personal Injury verdict in Texas. These numbers are the product of treating every case, even those that ultimately settle, as though a jury will decide it. Insurance companies and defense counsel know the difference between a lawyer who is ready and one who is bluffing.
What It Costs to Hire a Lubbock TBI Lawyer
Nothing upfront, and nothing unless I win. My firm operates entirely on a contingency-fee basis, meaning my legal fee is paid from the recovery I obtain for you, if I don’t win, you owe me nothing.
Financial hardship after a serious accident is never a reason to go without serious representation. Consultations are always free, available around the clock, call the night of your accident if that’s when you need answers.
Why James Perrin Handles Your Case Personally
At high-volume firms, your case gets passed to junior associates or paralegal teams after the intake meeting. You become a file number, and the lawyer you originally hired becomes someone who surfaces only when it’s time to push a settlement. I built my firm to work differently: I personally manage every case from the first call through the final resolution.
I have spent more than 20 years representing injury victims in courtrooms across Texas and eight other states, and my practice focuses exclusively on personal injury and wrongful death. That specialization isn’t incidental, it’s why clients trust me with the cases that matter most.
Call (806) 507-9097 directly. Talk to me, not a call center.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Brain Injury Attorney in Lubbock
Every day you wait, the other side is building their case against yours. Witness recollections fade, footage gets deleted, and legal deadlines never pause. The sooner I get involved, the more effectively I can preserve your evidence and position your claim for the outcome it deserves.
Call (806) 507-9097 or visit 3901 84th Street in Lubbock, available around the clock, with no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions About TBI Claims in Texas
What Is the Difference Between a Concussion and a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a sudden jolt that temporarily disrupts normal brain function. All concussions qualify as TBIs, but more serious injuries can involve bleeding, swelling, or irreversible cognitive damage that a concussion alone would not produce.
Can I File a TBI Claim If My CT Scan Came Back Normal?
Yes. CT scans detect structural damage to the brain, not the neurological dysfunction that drives many TBI symptoms, which is exactly why standard imaging misses mild and moderate injuries.
I document your injury through neuropsychological testing, expert medical opinions, and a detailed record of your functional limitations.
Who Covers My Medical Bills While My Case Is Pending?
Depending on your coverage, your own health insurance, personal injury protection (PIP) from your auto policy, or a letter of protection with your treating providers can cover care costs until the case resolves. A letter of protection is a written agreement in which your doctor defers billing until you receive a settlement or verdict.
Does a Pre-Existing Condition Prevent Me from Recovering Compensation?
Texas follows the eggshell plaintiff doctrine, which holds the at-fault party responsible for all harm their negligence caused, even when a prior health condition made you more vulnerable than the average person. The defense will likely raise it, and I address it directly with medical evidence showing precisely what changed after the accident.
What Happens to My Award If I Was Partly at Fault?
Texas uses a modified comparative fault rule: you can still recover damages as long as you were not more than 50% responsible for the accident. Your total award is then reduced proportionally, so if you’re found 20% at fault on a $1 million verdict, you recover $800,000.
Can I File A Claim If I Don’t Remember What Happened?
Yes. In fact, memory loss is one of the most common signs of a brain injury, especially if there was a concussion, loss of consciousness, or post-traumatic amnesia. You can still file a claim even if you don’t remember what happened. I use all the evidence I can find to build cases. This includes witness statements, police reports, medical records, surveillance footage, and sometimes even experts who can show how the injury happened. We can still make a clear, convincing picture of what happened and who is to blame, even if you don’t remember it directly.
What If The Insurance Company Says My Brain Injury Isn’t That Bad?
I see this trick all the time. People often call brain injuries “invisible injuries” because you can’t always see them on the outside. Insurance companies use this to downplay claims. They might say that your symptoms are worse than they really are, that they’re caused by stress, or that they have nothing to do with the accident. That’s why I hire medical experts like neurologists, neuropsychologists, and imaging specialists who can do advanced tests like MRIs, CT scans, and cognitive assessments to show how bad your condition really is. These experts can not only explain the medical evidence, but also how your injury affects your memory, focus, mood, and ability to work or enjoy life in general.
When Will My Case About My Brain Injury Be Over?
The length of time it takes depends on a few things, such as how bad your injury is, how long it takes doctors to figure out your long-term prognosis, and whether the insurance company fights liability. If you had a concussion and fully recovered in a few months, your case might be resolved more quickly. But if you still have symptoms like memory loss, chronic headaches, or mood swings, we may have to wait until doctors can tell if those effects are permanent. In cases of complicated brain injury, insurance companies often take their time, hoping that the victims will accept less. It’s my job to move your case forward, but we won’t settle until we know everything we need to know about your future needs.
Do I Need To See A Certain Doctor For My Brain Injury?
You can see any doctor who is qualified, but the type of doctor you choose is very important when it comes to brain injuries. Family doctors and ER doctors are often the first to diagnose a concussion, but they may not do the thorough tests needed to back up a legal claim. That’s why I often suggest seeing specialists like neurologists, neuropsychologists, or rehabilitation doctors who know a lot about brain injuries and how important it is to keep detailed records. These doctors not only treat you, but they also give you clear medical records and expert testimony that can help your case a lot when you talk to insurance adjusters or a jury.