Grapevine Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Get a Free Case Review

SERIOUS ATTORNEYS FOR SERIOUS INJURIES

Practice Areas

FREE CONSULTATION
five-stars-BBGgold

Chandler Ross is the best hands down! You can not go wrong with these attorneys!

— Tracy P.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most serious outcomes of an accident in Grapevine or anywhere in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. These injuries can permanently change how a person thinks, speaks, moves, and lives. If someone else’s negligence caused your TBI, Texas law gives you the right to pursue compensation. At Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys, we represent TBI victims and their families across the Grapevine area and throughout North Texas, including clients who travel to our Denton office near the Denton County Courthouse on West Hickory Street. Call us at (940) 800-2500 for a free consultation.

Table of Contents

What Qualifies as a Traumatic Brain Injury Under Texas Law

A traumatic brain injury is an injury to the brain caused by an external physical force. Texas defines it as an acquired injury resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment. The key word is “external,” meaning something outside the body caused the damage, whether that is a collision on State Highway 114 near the Grapevine Mills area, a fall in a parking garage off Main Street in Grapevine, or a blow to the head during a workplace incident.

TBIs range widely in severity. A mild TBI, commonly called a concussion, may cause temporary confusion, headaches, and memory issues. A moderate or severe TBI can result in prolonged unconsciousness, permanent cognitive damage, personality changes, and loss of motor function. Texas law recognizes both open head injuries, where the skull is fractured or penetrated, and closed head injuries, where the skull remains intact but the brain sustains damage from the force of impact.

One of the most dangerous aspects of a TBI is that symptoms do not always appear right away. The brain can compensate for damage, and signs like memory loss, mood swings, or difficulty concentrating may emerge days or weeks after the accident. This delayed presentation makes early medical evaluation critical. If you were in a car accident on State Highway 121 or a slip and fall near Grapevine Lake and felt “fine” at first, do not assume your brain was unaffected. Get evaluated by a medical professional immediately.

Texas sees an estimated 144,000 individuals sustaining a TBI every year, roughly one every four minutes. Approximately 479,000 Texans live with disabilities caused by traumatic brain injuries, about 2% of the state’s population. These numbers make clear that TBI is not a rare event. It is a widespread crisis that touches families across Grapevine, Denton, and all of North Texas.

Common Causes of TBI in Grapevine Accident Cases

Motor vehicle accidents are among the most frequent causes of traumatic brain injury in the Grapevine area. The dense traffic along State Highway 114, State Highway 121, and the Dallas North Tollway creates daily risk for drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and cyclists. A head-on collision or rear-end crash at highway speed generates enough force to cause the brain to slam against the inside of the skull, producing what is known as a coup-contrecoup injury, where damage occurs both at the point of impact and on the opposite side of the brain.

Drunk driving accidents are a particularly serious cause of TBI. Under Texas Penal Code Section 49.07, causing serious bodily injury while intoxicated is a felony offense called Intoxication Assault. The law specifically identifies a TBI that results in a persistent vegetative state as a second-degree felony under that statute. This criminal classification reflects how severe the law considers these injuries to be. A drunk driving crash on Farm-to-Market Road 2499 near Grapevine can leave a victim with a life-altering brain injury and a family facing years of medical care.

Falls are another leading cause. Falls account for almost 50 percent of all TBI-related hospitalizations in Texas. Slip and fall accidents in retail stores, restaurants, or on poorly maintained sidewalks near the Historic Downtown Grapevine district can produce serious head trauma, especially for older adults. Premises liability cases involving inadequate lighting, wet floors, or uneven surfaces fall under the same legal framework as other negligence claims.

Workplace accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian accidents also cause TBIs regularly in the Grapevine area. Regardless of how the injury occurred, if another party’s negligence was the cause, you have the right to seek compensation under Texas personal injury law.

Texas Law and Your Right to Compensation After a TBI

Texas personal injury law allows TBI victims to recover compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, lost wages, and future lost earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium for a spouse or family member. In cases involving extreme recklessness or intentional misconduct, exemplary damages may also be available.

Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33, you can recover damages as long as you are less than 51% responsible for the accident. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury finds you were 20% at fault in a crash on State Highway 26 near Grapevine, your total recovery is reduced by 20%. This rule makes it important to work with an attorney who can build a strong case establishing the other party’s fault.

The damages in a TBI case can be substantial. The economic burden of TBI reaches billions of dollars annually in medical costs, lost productivity, and long-term care needs. A severe TBI may require a lifetime of specialized care, in-home assistance, and adaptive equipment. Those costs belong in your claim, not on your family’s shoulders. The personal injury lawyers at Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys are prepared to calculate the full value of your claim and fight for every dollar you are owed.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 139 also addresses structured settlements for personal injury to certain persons, including those who are incapacitated, which is directly relevant to many serious TBI cases where the injured person cannot manage their own affairs. An attorney can help ensure that any settlement or judgment is structured properly to protect the victim’s long-term financial security.

The Filing Deadline for TBI Claims in Texas: What You Must Know

Missing the filing deadline in a TBI case means losing your right to compensation entirely, regardless of how strong your case is. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003, most personal injury actions, including those involving traumatic brain injury, must be initiated within two years from the date the cause of action accrues, typically the date of the injury. This two-year window applies to most TBI claims arising from car accidents, slip and falls, workplace incidents, and similar events in Grapevine.

There are important exceptions. In Texas, the statute of limitations for a minor does not begin until their 18th birthday, meaning a child injured in an accident has until their 20th birthday to file a personal injury claim. When a victim is deemed mentally incapacitated at the time of the accident or at any point during the limitations period, Texas law allows for the tolling of the deadline until they regain legal capacity, which can include severe brain injuries, cognitive disabilities, or coma resulting from the accident.

If your TBI claim involves a government entity, such as an accident caused by a city vehicle or a hazard on a public road near the Grapevine City Hall area, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires you to provide formal written notice of your claim within six months of the incident. That notice requirement is separate from the lawsuit deadline and applies on top of the two-year rule.

The discovery rule can also apply in TBI cases. Because symptoms sometimes do not appear immediately, Texas courts may allow the limitations clock to start from the date the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. Do not assume you have missed your deadline without speaking to an attorney first. Call Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 to have your timeline reviewed.

How Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys Handles Grapevine TBI Cases

Traumatic brain injury cases require more than general legal knowledge. They demand a thorough understanding of medical evidence, neurological documentation, and how to present long-term damages to a jury or insurance adjuster. At Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys, our team works with medical experts to document the full extent of your brain injury, from initial imaging results to long-term cognitive assessments. We build cases that reflect the real impact your injury has had on your life and your family’s life.

We handle TBI claims arising from all types of accidents in the Grapevine area, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, drunk driving incidents, pedestrian accidents, and premises liability events. Whether your injury happened near Grapevine Lake, on the service roads along State Highway 114, or in a commercial area near the Grapevine Convention Center, we are ready to investigate and pursue your claim.

Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. There is no upfront cost to start your case. We understand that a TBI can eliminate your ability to work and drain your savings quickly. Our goal is to remove every financial barrier between you and the legal help you need.

We also know that insurance companies move fast after serious accidents. Adjusters may contact you within days of the crash, asking for recorded statements or offering quick settlements that do not come close to covering your actual losses. Do not accept any offer or give any statement before speaking with us. One call to (940) 800-2500 can protect your rights from the very beginning of the process.

FAQs About Grapevine Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

How do I know if I have a valid TBI claim in Texas?

You likely have a valid claim if another person or entity’s negligence caused your injury and you suffered documented harm as a result. This requires showing that the at-fault party owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty, and that the breach directly caused your TBI and your damages. A car accident caused by a distracted driver on State Highway 114, a fall on a wet floor in a Grapevine store, or a workplace accident caused by a safety violation can all form the basis of a valid claim. Contact Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 for a free case evaluation to discuss the specific facts of your situation.

What damages can I recover in a Grapevine TBI case?

Texas law allows you to recover both economic and non-economic damages in a TBI case. Economic damages include past and future medical bills, rehabilitation and therapy costs, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. In cases involving a drunk driver or gross negligence, exemplary damages may also be available. The total value of your claim depends on the severity of your injury, your long-term prognosis, and the strength of the evidence. Past results in other cases do not guarantee any particular outcome in yours, as every case depends on its own facts and applicable law.

What if my TBI symptoms appeared days after the accident?

Delayed symptoms are common with traumatic brain injuries. The brain can compensate for damage initially, and symptoms like headaches, memory problems, irritability, or sleep disturbances may not become obvious until days or weeks after the accident. Under Texas law, the discovery rule may allow your filing deadline to begin from the date you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury, rather than the accident date itself. However, you should seek medical attention as soon as you notice any symptoms and contact an attorney promptly. Waiting too long can complicate both your medical care and your legal claim.

Can I still file a claim if the at-fault driver was charged with a crime?

Yes. A criminal case and a civil personal injury claim are separate legal proceedings. If a drunk driver on a Grapevine road caused your TBI and was charged with Intoxication Assault under Texas Penal Code Section 49.07, that criminal case does not prevent you from also filing a civil lawsuit for damages. In fact, a criminal conviction can support your civil claim by establishing that the defendant acted wrongfully. You do not need to wait for the criminal case to conclude before pursuing your civil claim, and doing so promptly protects your ability to gather evidence and meet your filing deadline.

How long does a TBI case take to resolve in Texas?

The timeline for a TBI case varies based on the complexity of the injury, the clarity of fault, and whether the case settles or goes to trial. Many cases resolve through settlement negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company within several months to a year or two. Cases involving disputed liability, multiple defendants, or severe injuries requiring extensive medical documentation may take longer. Courts in Tarrant County and surrounding jurisdictions handle these cases differently based on docket schedules. What matters most is that you act quickly to preserve evidence, meet all legal deadlines, and work with an attorney who is prepared to take your case to trial if a fair settlement is not offered. Call Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys at (940) 800-2500 to discuss your case today.

Content prepared by Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys, principal office located in Denton, Texas. This page is attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and results depend on the specific facts and applicable law. Chandler Ross Injury Attorneys represents clients in Texas matters. Attorneys are licensed in Texas.

More Resources for Grapevine, TX