Fargo Brain Injury Attorneys
Automobile collisions, semi collisions, motorcycle collisions, ATV/UTV rollovers, and bicycle accidents can all result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or closed head injury (CHI). Brain injuries often begin with an event that seems manageable and are mislabelled as “minor concussions,” and then the real picture takes shape over the following days and weeks. Memory problems, persistent headaches, difficulty concentrating at work, and difficulty with your vision are common symptoms following a TBI or CHI. A personality shift that the injured person may not even recognize in themselves may also occur. By the time the full scope becomes clear, the adverse party and their insurance will have already taken steps to limit what they pay.
The North Dakota Brain Injury Network estimates that approximately 5,500 North Dakotans sustain brain injuries each year, and more than 13,000 are currently living with long-term disability from a brain injury. These are not rare events. They happen on roads and in everyday accidents throughout our region, and when they result from someone else’s negligence, you are legally permitted to claim a full and fair financial restitution for your losses.
At Vogel Law Firm, our brain injury lawyers represent brain injury victims and their families throughout North Dakota and Minnesota. Brain injury cases require a specific approach, patience with the medical timeline, and preparation to push back hard against tactics designed to minimize these claims.
Free consultations are available at our Fargo and Moorhead offices, and we work on a contingency fee, meaning no fees are owed for our time and work unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
Why Vogel Law Firm for Your Fargo Brain Injury Case?
We Build Cases Around the Full Long-Term Picture
An insurance carrier would prefer to resolve a brain injury claim early, before the medical picture stabilizes. Agreeing to do so will often result in unfair compensation for a claim that has been undervalued. We work to establish causation for our client’s brain injury while the client pursues the medical care necessary to regain as much of their pre-collision health as possible.
Many brain injury cases require compensation for future care needs, lost earning capacity, and the sustained impact on our client’s quality of life. Allowing the time necessary for these damages to reveal themselves is a unique part of brain injury cases and something necessary to receive full and fair compensation for the losses suffered. Our attorneys do not push for early settlement when the clinical picture is still developing, and we are prepared to file suit when necessary to protect your right to be made whole in the eyes of the law.
We Know How Insurance Companies Fight These Claims
Brain injuries are among the most disputed claims that arise in the arena of personal injury law. Insurers challenge them because the symptoms are often subtle and take time to fully develop before a final medical diagnosis. A normal CT scan does not rule out significant neurological damage. Cognitive changes, mood disruption, and fatigue that result from a brain injury are harder to diagnose than a broken arm that is evident on an initial X-ray. Our attorneys understand these dynamics and prepare cases that anticipate the specific arguments insurers use against brain injury claimants, including their use of adverse medical examiners hired to minimize findings.
We Handle the Legal Process So You Can Focus on Recovery
Brain injuries demand all of a person’s physical and emotional resources. Managing insurance correspondence, gathering evidence, and meeting legal deadlines is a juggling act most injured people and their families find confusing, stressful, and time-consuming. We take on that work and keep clients informed at every stage without adding to the burden of their recovery.
Comparative Negligence in North Dakota and Minnesota
North Dakota’s comparative negligence rule bars recovery entirely when the injured person’s fault is found to be 50 percent or more. If an injured party is 49% at fault or less, then the damages owed are reduced proportionally. For example, in a million-dollar case, if the defendant is found to be 50% at fault and so are you, we recover nothing. But if you are found to be 20% at fault, we would collect $800,000.
Minnesota’s comparative negligence rule will bar a recovery if you are found to be 51% at fault. Using the same million dollar example, if you and the at-fault party are both 50% at fault, you recover $500,000 as your damages. Insurance carriers and defense attorneys frequently try to assign partial fault to brain injury victims, particularly in motor vehicle collisions. The strength of the accident investigation directly affects how fault is ultimately allocated, which is why the Vogel Law Firm should be involved in the investigation as soon as possible.
The Six-Year Statute of Limitations
Both North Dakota and Minnesota generally allow six years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence. However, some personal injury cases and wrongful death cases have much shorter times for you to file a claim. We offer free consultations in all personal injury and wrongful death cases, so you should not hesitate to contact us immediately to learn how much time you are allowed to file a lawsuit. Failure to learn this deadline may result in your potential case being barred by law.
In all cases, the longer you delay hiring one of our attorneys, the more difficult it becomes to gather evidence to prosecute the case on your behalf. Physical evidence from the accident deteriorates. witnesses’ memories fade, electronic data from vehicles, traffic cameras, and cell phones may become unavailable. Acting early helps preserve legal options that may no longer be available if you delay.
Compensation in a Fargo Brain Injury Case
Brain injury claims may include compensation for both economic and noneconomic losses. Juries will make separate findings for past and future economic damages such as medical and wage losses, and for past and future non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
The value of a brain injury claim is not something that should be calculated until a final medical diagnosis is received. Developing the full damages picture requires time, medical coordination, and expert support.
FAQ for Vogel’s Brain Injury Lawyer
What if my CT scan came back normal but I still have symptoms?
A normal CT scan does not mean the brain was undamaged. Many significant brain injuries produce little or no visible findings on standard imaging. Neuropsychological testing and evaluation by a brain injury specialist often reveal cognitive and functional impairment that medical imaging may entirely miss.
Insurance companies frequently cite normal imaging to dispute claims. Countering that argument requires the right evaluation and expert explanation connecting the mechanism of the accident to the neurological effects the person is actually experiencing.
Can I file a claim if I did not lose consciousness?
Loss of consciousness is not required for a brain injury to occur, nor is it something that is required to support a legal claim. Many people who sustain significant brain injuries do not lose consciousness. The absence of loss of consciousness does not weaken a claim when the medical evidence supports a diagnosis and the injury’s functional effects are documented through clinical evaluation.
What if my symptoms developed weeks after the accident?
Delayed symptom onset is a recognized feature of brain injuries, particularly milder traumatic brain or closed head injuries. Cognitive changes, mood shifts, headaches, vision difficulties, and sleep disturbance often surface gradually rather than immediately and are clinical evidence a brain injury has occurred.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys will predictably argue that delayed symptoms are unrelated to the accident, but this is a tactic rather than a legitimate medical conclusion. Medical documentation linking the symptoms to the injury mechanism, a supportive clinical history, and expert opinions connecting the delayed presentation to the original event is evidence that will result in a jury verdict in favor of the injured party.
What if the at-fault driver did not carry enough insurance to cover my losses?
When liability coverage falls short of actual losses, in cases involving a motor vehicle, the underinsured motorist coverage carried on your own auto policy may provide additional recovery. Both North Dakota and Minnesota require this coverage.
In some cases, additional parties such as an employer, property owner, or vehicle owner may also carry separate coverage that can be accessed as part of your recovery. Identifying every available source of recovery is one of the first priorities in our case evaluation, and it often produces options that are not apparent from the immediate facts of the accident nor is it something that would be shared with you by an insurance carrier or defense attorney.
Can a family member file a claim on behalf of someone incapacitated by a brain injury?
When a brain injury leaves a person unable to manage their own legal affairs, a family member or designated legal representative may act on their behalf. North Dakota and Minnesota both have frameworks to handle this situation, and we can help navigate the law in either state for our client. The appropriate path depends on the specific circumstances of the case and the person’s existing medical and cognitive condition. A Vogel brain injury attorney can explain the options and help the family move forward without delay.
When the Road Ahead Needs a Steady Legal Foundation
A brain injury does not resolve on a predictable schedule, and much like the intricacies of the injury itself, how these cases are handled requires patience and skill. As our clients and their families manage medical appointments and the change in family dynamics, the Vogel Law Firm brain injury attorneys will manage the legal process on their behalf. The legal process will run parallel to our client’s medical recovery. The Vogel Law Firm brain injury attorneys handle cases throughout North Dakota, Minnesota, and surrounding regions. Free consultations are available with no upfront fees and no costs unless we recover compensation on your behalf, so don’t hesitate to call immediately.
