Steven A. Bagen | September 29, 2025 | Personal Injury

The most common causes of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are falls, followed by motor vehicle crashes, being struck by an object, and acts of violence. Each year, these events contribute to millions of TBI-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States. 

After such an injury, you are likely facing a new and uncertain reality. Medical bills start arriving while you may be unable to work, and you might find yourself watching your savings dwindle.

You are focused on healing, but the financial pressure adds a layer of stress that can slow your recovery. The key to securing your financial stability lies in understanding how the injury happened. If someone else’s carelessness caused the incident, Florida law provides a way for you to hold them accountable and pursue the resources you need. This process involves filing a personal injury claim to cover medical care, lost income, and other damages.

If you have a question about an injury you or a loved one sustained, we can help you understand your options. Contact Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. for a no-cost consultation at (800) 800-2575.

Why Does the Cause of Your TBI Matter for Your Future?

In the eyes of the law, an injury doesn’t just happen—it is caused. When that cause is another person or company’s carelessness, a legal principle called negligence comes into play.

So, what does negligence mean for you? Simply put, people and businesses have a duty to act with reasonable care to avoid harming others. For example:

  • A driver on I-75 must pay attention to the road. 
  • A manager at a Publix must ensure the floors are kept dry and safe for shoppers. 
  • A construction site foreman must provide proper safety gear. 

When they fail in this duty, and you get hurt as a direct result, they can be held legally and financially liable for the harm that follows.

Our role is to connect the dots between that party’s action (or inaction) and your injury. We conduct a thorough investigation to gather evidence—accident reports, witness statements, security footage, maintenance records—to build a strong case showing that their failure to act carefully is the reason you (or a loved one) are now dealing with a TBI. 

The compensation, or damages, we pursue is intended to cover everything from hospital stays and future therapy to lost wages and the personal impact on your quality of life. By establishing a clear link between the cause and the injury, we can work to ensure you are not left to bear these costs alone.

Were You Injured in a Fall? A Look at Premises Liability

Falls are the leading cause of TBIs, accounting for nearly half of all TBI-related emergency visits. While some falls are unavoidable accidents, a great many happen because a property owner failed to maintain a safe environment for visitors. 

These incidents can happen anywhere: a grocery store, a neighbor’s home, an apartment complex, or a public sidewalk. When they do, the property owner may be held responsible.

This area of law is called “premises liability.” It is a legal concept that means property owners have a duty to keep their grounds reasonably safe for people they invite onto their property. This doesn’t mean their property has to be perfectly hazard-proof, but it does mean they must address known dangers or dangers they should have known about in a timely manner.

Common Scenarios Leading to a TBI from a Fall

  • Wet or Slippery Floors: A restaurant fails to clean up a spilled drink, or a grocery store mops a floor without putting out a “wet floor” sign.
  • Uneven Surfaces or Poorly Lit Walkways: An apartment complex has cracked pavement on its sidewalks or burned-out lightbulbs in a dark stairwell, creating a tripping hazard.
  • Unsafe Stairs: A building has a broken handrail, steps that are not built to code, or worn-out treads that cause a person to lose their footing.
  • Workplace Falls: Scaffolding collapses due to improper assembly, or a worker is not provided with the required safety equipment, such as a harness.

To build a premises liability claim, we investigate the specific conditions that led to your fall. Did the property owner know about the hazard? For instance, had other people complained about the broken step? Should the owner have known about it through regular maintenance and inspection? And, most importantly, did they have enough time to fix the issue or at least warn people about it? We look for maintenance logs, security camera footage, and prior complaints to demonstrate that the property owner’s carelessness led directly to your injury.

Was a Car, Truck, or Motorcycle Crash the Cause?

Motor vehicle accidents are another leading cause of TBIs, and they are especially common among teens and young adults. The violent forces in a collision—the sudden stop, the impact of the airbag, the body being thrown against the seatbelt—can cause the brain to strike the inside of the skull. This can lead to a serious injury, even if there are no visible signs of trauma to the head.

After a crash, you are suddenly forced to deal with insurance companies. Their investigation will be thorough, and they will look for any evidence to argue you were partly at fault for the accident. In Florida, this is particularly important, as any percentage of fault assigned to you could reduce the amount of compensation you can receive.

Our Role in a TBI Car Accident Claim

Here is how we approach these cases:

  • We Handle All Communication: We take over all communication with the insurance adjusters. Our team ensures they have the necessary information to process your claim while protecting you from questions designed to undermine your case or get you to admit partial fault.
  • We Prove the Other Driver’s Fault: We immediately work to secure evidence. This includes obtaining the official police report, tracking down witnesses who saw what happened, and, if needed, hiring accident reconstructionists to analyze the physical evidence and show exactly how the other driver’s actions—like texting, speeding, or running a red light—caused the crash.
  • We Document the Full Extent of Your TBI: A TBI is not like a broken bone; its effects can be subtle and may appear over time. Symptoms like memory loss, mood swings, or chronic headaches can rewrite every aspect of your life. We work closely with your doctors and medical specialists to create a complete and compelling picture of your medical needs, both now and for the future, to ensure any settlement offer accounts for the true, long-term cost of the injury.

Were You Struck by an Object or Hurt at Work?

TBIs are also frequently caused by being struck by a falling or flying object. These incidents are common on construction sites, in warehouses, and in other industrial or workplace environments.

If you were injured at work, there are generally two potential paths for securing the resources you need. 

Two Potential Paths for Compensation

  1. Workers’ Compensation: In Florida, most employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This is a no-fault system, which means you do not have to prove your employer was negligent to receive benefits. It is designed to provide prompt payment for medical treatment and a portion of your lost wages while you recover.
  2. A Third-Party Liability Claim: The workers’ compensation system generally prevents you from suing your employer directly. However, sometimes a person or company other than your employer is responsible for your injury. This is known as a “third party.” In these situations, you may be able to file a separate personal injury lawsuit against that third party.
  • A subcontractor on a job site may have created an unsafe condition that led to your injury.
  • The manufacturer of a piece of equipment you were using may have produced a defective product that malfunctioned.
  • A driver who was not a coworker may have hit you while you were making a delivery or driving for work.

A third-party claim allows you to pursue compensation for damages that workers’ compensation does not cover, such as the full amount of your lost wages and your pain and suffering. Our team can carefully analyze the facts of your workplace accident to determine if both types of claims are available in your case.

Was Your TBI Caused by an Act of Violence?

Assaults, fights, and other violent acts are another unfortunate cause of traumatic brain injuries. When a TBI is caused by an intentional act, the person who hurt you may face criminal charges brought by the state prosecutor. The goal of a criminal case is to punish the offender with penalties like jail time or fines. However, a criminal conviction does little to compensate you for your medical bills, lost income, and the trauma you have endured.

For that, you have the right to file a separate civil lawsuit to hold the responsible person financially accountable. These two cases—criminal and civil—are completely independent of one another.

The goal of a civil claim is not to send someone to jail, but to secure the financial resources you need to recover from the harm they caused. The standard of proof is also different. In a criminal case, the prosecutor must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In a civil case, we only need to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it is more likely than not that their actions caused your injury (>~50%). This means you can sometimes win a civil case and receive compensation even if the person was not convicted in criminal court.

What Happens When the Cause Isn’t Immediately Clear?

Sometimes, how a head injury happened is not obvious. You may have been the only one there during a fall, making it your word against the property owner’s. The details of a multi-car pile-up may be confusing, with each driver pointing the finger at someone else. It is easy to feel helpless in these situations and assume that without a clear answer, you have no options.

This is where a thorough legal investigation becomes necessary. Our firm, Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., has the resources to dig deeper and find the answers you need. We:

  • Preserve Evidence: We immediately send legal notices, known as spoliation letters, to property owners and businesses. These letters demand that they preserve critical evidence, like security videos or maintenance records, and prevent them from destroying or erasing information that could be important to your case.
  • Interview Witnesses: Memories fade and people move. We act quickly to locate and speak with anyone who may have seen what happened, recording their statements while the details are still fresh in their minds.
  • Consult with Professionals: When needed, we bring in engineers, safety professionals, or accident reconstructionists to analyze the scene. They can often identify hidden defects or hazards—like a poorly designed staircase or a malfunctioning traffic light—that may have been the true cause of the incident.

Do not assume you don’t have a case just because you don’t have all the answers right now. The first step is to talk with a team that knows how to find them.

Florida’s Two-Year Clock: Why You Cannot Afford to Wait

In Florida, the law sets a strict deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations. For most cases involving a TBI caused by negligence, you have two years from the date of the injury to file a claim. This is governed by Florida Statute § 95.11.

While two years might sound like a long time, building a strong TBI case requires a significant amount of work. Evidence needs to be collected before it disappears, witnesses need to be interviewed, and the full extent of a brain injury may not be known for months or even a year after the incident. 

If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly refuse to hear your case, and you will lose your right to pursue compensation forever.

Contacting a law firm soon after the incident is the best way to protect your rights. It ensures that these important deadlines are met and that the investigation can begin while the evidence is still fresh and available.

Frequently Asked Questions About TBI Claims in Florida

What if I feel fine now but was diagnosed with a concussion?

Symptoms of a TBI, even a seemingly mild one like a concussion, can be delayed or worsen over time. What feels like a minor headache today could develop into chronic migraines, memory problems, or difficulty concentrating weeks or months from now. 

It’s important to have a full medical evaluation and understand your legal options now, even if you feel okay. Waiting could jeopardize your ability to file a claim later if serious symptoms flare up after the two-year deadline has passed.

Can I still file a claim if I was partially at fault for the accident?

Yes. As of 2023, Florida uses a “modified comparative negligence” rule, outlined in Florida Statute § 768.81. This means you can still recover damages as long as you are not found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover any compensation. If you are 50% or less at fault, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.

How much does it cost to hire your firm for a TBI case?

At Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., we handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no upfront fees or out-of-pocket costs. We only receive a fee if we successfully recover compensation for you, either through a settlement or a court verdict. Our fee is a percentage of the total recovery. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.

Secure the Resources for Your Recovery

At Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., our practice is focused on holding negligent parties accountable and pursuing the maximum compensation available under the law for our clients.

Let us handle the legal process so you can focus on what is most important: your healing. Call us today for a free, no-obligation consultation at (800) 800-2575.