A broken leg shows up on an X-ray. A brain injury often does not, and that gap is exactly what insurance companies exploit. When a scan looks "normal" but you cannot focus, sleep, or feel like yourself, adjusters call it minor. It is not.
A Spokane brain injury lawyer at Parker & McConkie represents people with traumatic brain injuries across Spokane and Washington, and we know how to prove the harm that an insurer wants to pretend is not there. The first consultation is free, and we work on a no-win, no-fee basis.
If you or a family member suffered a head injury in an accident, call our Spokane office at (509) 374-3111.
Why Do Insurers Dispute Brain Injury Claims?
Because a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, does not always appear on a standard scan, insurers treat that absence as proof there is no injury. A TBI is damage to normal brain function caused by a blow or jolt to the head, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal health agency, explains that its effects can be serious even when imaging looks unremarkable. You can read the agency's overview on the CDC's traumatic brain injury page.
That medical reality collides with the insurer's playbook. Adjusters argue that a clean CT scan means you are fine, or that your symptoms are stress rather than injury. They are counting on the fact that a brain injury is hard to see and easy to doubt.
We answer that with the right evidence, meaning specialists, testing, and the testimony of people who knew you before and after.
What Are the Signs of a Brain Injury After an Accident?
The signs often show up quietly and build over days, which is part of why they get missed. A brain injury does not always announce itself at the scene. Many people walk away from a crash and only later notice that something is wrong.
Symptoms to take seriously include:
- Headaches that will not ease, dizziness, or nausea
- Trouble concentrating, remembering, or finding words
- Mood changes, irritability, anxiety, or depression that are new
- Sensitivity to light or noise, and changes in sleep
- Fatigue that rest does not fix
If any of these followed a blow to the head, see a doctor promptly and mention the accident. Early medical documentation protects your health first, and your claim second, by linking the symptoms to the crash.
How Is a Brain Injury Claim Proven?
A strong brain injury claim is built with medical and human evidence together, because the two reinforce each other. No single test captures a TBI, so we assemble a picture that an insurer cannot wave away.
That picture usually includes advanced imaging and neurological evaluation, along with neuropsychological testing, meaning specialized assessments that measure memory, attention, and processing. Just as important is what lawyers call "before and after" evidence: testimony from family, friends, coworkers, and teachers about how you have changed. A spouse describing the person you were, and the person you are now, can be more powerful than any scan.
We also work with treating physicians and life-care planners to project what your future needs will cost. This is where cases are won, and it is where an unrepresented person is most likely to be shortchanged.
We also anticipate how the insurer will attack the claim, and we prepare for it. Adjusters lean on a clean scan, a return to work, or an old medical record to argue you are fine. We answer with the treating doctors who know your case, objective testing, and the consistent, documented account of how you have changed. A brain injury claim is won by making the invisible visible, and that takes both the right experts and a lawyer who knows how to present them.
Why Brain Injuries Are So Costly Over a Lifetime
A serious brain injury is expensive precisely because it does not end when the hospital stay does. Its effects can reshape a person's ability to work, to live independently, and to be who they were, sometimes permanently.
The costs stack up across decades. They can include ongoing rehabilitation and therapy, medication, in-home care or supervision, adaptive equipment, and lost earning ability when a person cannot return to the same job or any job. Families often absorb hidden costs too, as a spouse or parent becomes a caregiver. A settlement that covers only today's bills leaves that future unpaid.
The numbers are not exaggerations. Round-the-clock care, home modifications, and decades of lost earning power can add up to millions for a severe injury, and even a moderate one often costs far more than an insurer's first offer suggests. This is why we work with life-care planners and economists, who translate a lifetime of needs into a figure a court can understand. Without that projection, an injured person is almost always left to cover the future out of their own pocket.
We build brain injury claims around the full lifetime cost, because that is the only number that reflects the truth of the injury.
We help everyday people stand up for What's Right.
What Are the Levels of Traumatic Brain Injury?
Doctors describe traumatic brain injuries as mild, moderate, or severe, but those labels can mislead, because even a "mild" injury can change a life. The category reflects how the injury looks on initial tests, not how much it affects you day to day.
Mild TBI and concussions
A concussion is classified as a mild TBI, yet its effects can last months and disrupt work, relationships, and mood. Because scans often look normal, this is the level insurers dispute most aggressively, which is exactly why careful documentation matters so much.
Moderate TBI
A moderate injury involves a longer loss of consciousness or clearer changes in thinking and function. These injuries often require ongoing therapy and can leave lasting cognitive and physical effects that reshape a person's ability to work.
Severe TBI
A severe injury can mean extended unconsciousness and permanent disability, requiring lifelong care and support. These are among the most costly injury cases, because the future needs are so extensive and so long lasting.
Whatever the level, we make sure the claim reflects the real impact on your life, not just the label written on a chart.
How Long Do You Have to File a Brain Injury Claim in Washington?
You generally have three years from the injury to file a lawsuit in Washington, under RCW 4.16.080. Brain injuries add a wrinkle, because the harm is not always apparent right away, and Washington's discovery rule can affect when that clock starts in some cases.
Do not rely on that exception without advice, though, because it is narrow. The safer course is to talk with a lawyer early, both to protect the deadline and to start documenting the injury while the evidence is fresh.
What Is a Spokane Brain Injury Claim Worth?
Brain injury claims are often among the highest-value injury cases, because the harm can last a lifetime and touch every part of a person's life. Your claim is worth the full cost of that harm, from measurable expenses to the losses that cannot be reduced to a number.
Compensation generally includes past and future medical care, rehabilitation, lost wages and lost earning capacity, and the cost of any long-term care or supervision you will need. It also includes payment for the human toll, meaning the cognitive changes, the emotional strain, and the loss of the life you were living. We account for all of it, not just the receipts in front of us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer for a brain injury claim in Spokane?
For any significant head injury, yes. Brain injury claims turn on medical proof that insurers fight hard, and the lifetime costs are easy to undervalue without help. A Spokane brain injury lawyer brings in the right specialists, documents the full harm, and pursues the future care costs an unrepresented person almost always misses.
How much does a Spokane brain injury lawyer cost?
Nothing upfront. We handle brain injury cases on contingency, so our fee is a percentage of the recovery and applies only if we win, with no fee if we do not. The consultation is free and we advance the costs, including the experts these cases require, so you can pursue a full claim without money out of pocket.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Yes. Washington's pure comparative negligence rule reduces your compensation by your share of fault but does not eliminate it, even if you were partly responsible. Because brain injury cases are high value, insurers work especially hard to shift blame. We counter the inflated fault with the evidence to protect your recovery.
What if my symptoms did not start until days after the accident?
That is common with brain injuries and does not doom your claim. Symptoms like headaches, memory trouble, and mood changes often emerge gradually. See a doctor now and describe the accident, so the record connects the two. Delayed onset is well recognized medically, and we know how to explain it to an insurer.
Can a brain injury show up long after the accident?
Yes, and that is more common than people expect. Some effects of a brain injury, especially cognitive and emotional changes, become clear only weeks or months later, as a person tries to return to work, school, or normal routines. Family members are often the first to notice that something is off. A delay in symptoms does not mean the injury is not real or not connected to the accident. It is a recognized feature of how brain injuries develop. What matters is documenting the changes as they appear and linking them to the original trauma. We know how to build that timeline and how to counter an insurer who claims a later symptom must be unrelated.
My CT scan came back normal. Does that mean I do not have a brain injury?
No. A normal CT scan is common even with a real traumatic brain injury, because standard imaging does not capture every kind of damage. Concussions and milder TBIs frequently show nothing on a routine scan while still causing lasting symptoms. Specialized testing and evaluation can document an injury a CT misses, so a clean scan is not the end of your claim.
How is a concussion related to a traumatic brain injury?
A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury, often described as mild, but "mild" refers to how it looks on tests, not to how it feels or how long it lasts. Symptoms can persist for months and disrupt work and relationships. We take concussions seriously, because insurers routinely understate them.
My family member's personality changed after a head injury. Is that part of the claim?
Yes, and it is one of the most important parts. Personality and mood changes, irritability, and cognitive struggles are recognized effects of brain injury, and they carry real value in a claim. Your observations as a family member are key evidence. We help document these changes carefully and respectfully.
Talk to a Spokane Brain Injury Attorney
A brain injury can change your work, your relationships, and your sense of self, and an insurance company should not get to dismiss that because it does not show on a scan. Our Spokane attorneys prove the injury, project its true cost, and pursue everything you will need going forward.
You can reach our Spokane office at (509) 374-3111, or call toll-free at (833) 782-6387. We represent people with brain injuries across Washington, and your first conversation is free.