Brain Injury Lawyer Montgomery, AL

Last Updated: July 21, 2026

Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, can be devastating. They typically change your life and your family’s lives forever. Brain injury cases are the most demanding work our Montgomery personal injury lawyers handle, and they are built accordingly.

A traumatic brain injury can occur in numerous ways, including auto accidents, slip and falls, medical errors, or any other situation caused by someone else’s negligence.

If you sustained a brain injury, you might not be able to work, which means medical bills start to accumulate.

Pursuing a brain injury claim can be complicated, especially while you’re struggling with symptoms of your injury. Retaining a TBI lawyer in Montgomery is highly recommended.  

At Fob James Law Firm, our brain injury attorneys in Montgomery have years of experience assisting injured victims like you. We have the skills and knowledge to help you pursue the compensation you deserve.

Common Types of Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries typically result from something penetrating the head, a blow to the head, or a severe jolt that disrupts brain function. Some brain injuries can be mild, but many others are severe.

Here’s a look at some of the most common types of brain injuries we see:

• Skull fractures—something that fractures the skull can damage brain tissue and cause infection;
• Intracranial hematomas—blood accumulates and clots when blood vessels rupture;
• Contusions—formation of bruising and lesions at a point of impact; and
• Diffuse axonal injury (DAI)—a twisting or rotating motion causes the connections of the brain to sustain damage.

Even a seemingly minor brain injury can have long-term effects. Victims of such injuries have problems with their cognitive or physical abilities or both.

For some people, the effects are permanent. That is why it’s crucial to speak with a brain injury attorney in Montgomery, AL.

Potential Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Effects of a traumatic brain injury can be physical, emotional, cognitive, or a combination. Physical problems associated with a traumatic brain injury can include:

• Loss of balance or coordination,
• Headaches 
• Nausea and vomiting,
• Chronic pain,
• Dizziness, and
• Vision problems.

Cognitive effects of a brain injury can include:

• Confusion,
• Sensitivity to sound and light,
• Memory loss,
• Sensitivity to light and sound,
• Impulsivity, and
• Concentration problems.

Potential emotional problems related to a traumatic brain injury include:

• Anxiety,
• Uncooperativeness,
• Denial,
• Depression,
• Anxiety, and
• Lack of self-sufficiency.

No two brain injuries are exactly alike, which is why symptoms and effects vary. Victims can experience a wide range of behavioral changes.

Some people may develop problems with their speech, while others may struggle to socialize or maintain close relationships. Unfortunately, most brain injuries don’t get better over time.

Most Common Types of Accidents That Lead to a Traumatic Brain Injury

The National Aphasia Association (NAA) reports that traumatic brain injuries contribute to or cause nearly one-third of injury-related deaths in the United States every year.

Some of the most common causes of these fatal brain injuries include:

• Slip and fall accidents,
• Car accidents,
• Motorcycle accidents,
• Truck accidents,
• Violence or assault, and
• Falling objects.

Not all brain injuries are immediately apparent at the time of the accident. Sometimes symptoms may not be noticeable until a few days or even a few weeks later.

If you hit your head in any type of accident, you should seek medical treatment. A skilled medical professional can assess your potential injuries and decide whether it’s necessary to order additional tests or not.

The sooner you see a doctor, the better. Early treatment with developing brain injuries is critical. You can have a better outcome in some cases by getting treatment right away.

Why Brain Injuries Get Missed in the Emergency Room

The most consequential fact about mild and moderate brain injuries is that the emergency room frequently does not find them. A CT scan is built to rule out the things that kill people in the first hours, bleeding and swelling, and it is very good at that. It is not designed to show diffuse axonal injury, the microscopic shearing of nerve fibers that produces most lasting cognitive symptoms. A normal CT means you are not about to die. It does not mean your brain is uninjured.

Compounding this, symptoms often arrive on a delay. People walk out of the hospital cleared, and over the following days develop headaches that will not resolve, light and noise sensitivity, difficulty finding words, irritability that startles their family, sleep that never restores, or the sense that thinking now takes visible effort. Because the discharge paperwork says the scan was clean, they assume the two are unrelated. Insurers rely on exactly that gap, and it is why a documented follow-up matters as much as the initial visit.

Serious trauma in this region now stays closer to home. In June 2026, Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery was designated a Level I Trauma Center, the first in central Alabama and one of only four in the state. That changes the medical record a case is built on, and it changes how quickly the most severe head injuries reach neurosurgical care.

How a Brain Injury Is Actually Proven

Brain injury cases are won on evidence that is different in kind from a broken bone. Neuropsychological testing is the backbone: a battery administered by a neuropsychologist that measures memory, processing speed, executive function, and attention against population norms and against what your background predicts you should score. Advanced imaging such as DTI or functional MRI can show damage a standard CT missed. Treating physicians, neurologists, and rehabilitation specialists supply the clinical picture.

The other half of the proof is human, and families consistently underestimate it. Before-and-after witnesses, a spouse, a supervisor, a longtime friend, a teacher, describe the specific person who existed before the injury and the differences since. Employment records showing performance changes, missed deadlines, or a demotion carry real weight. So do school records for an injured child. Keep a simple daily journal of symptoms from the beginning; contemporaneous notes are far more persuasive than a recollection assembled two years later for litigation.

Determining Value in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

When determining the potential settlement value of your brain injury, we look at some or all of the following factors:

• Medical expenses to date,
• Future anticipated medical expenses,
• Loss of earnings to date,
• Future lost wages and income potential,
• Other related costs 
• Pain and suffering, and
• Loss of enjoyment of life.

To establish anticipated medical costs in the future and support for your pain and suffering, it may be necessary to retain medical experts who can provide an expert opinion.

What a Brain Injury Claim Has to Account For

The cost of a serious brain injury is measured in decades, not in medical bills to date. A properly built claim accounts for future medical and rehabilitative care, often through a life care plan prepared by a certified planner; lost earning capacity, which is the difference between what you could have earned and what you can earn now, and which an economist calculates rather than a guess; the cost of care your family is currently providing without pay; assistive technology, home modification, and supervision where required; and the loss of the life you were living.

Settling a brain injury case early is the mistake that cannot be undone. The full picture of a cognitive injury frequently is not clear for a year or more, and once you sign a release, later deterioration is your problem. That is the single strongest reason to have counsel before an adjuster puts an offer in front of you.

Deadlines and the Alabama Fault Rule

Alabama gives most injury claimants two years from the date of injury under Ala. Code § 6-2-38, and claims involving a city, county, or state entity can carry much shorter notice requirements measured in months. Cases involving injured children follow different rules, so ask rather than assume.

Alabama also applies pure contributory negligence, which can bar recovery entirely if the defense pins even one percent of the fault on you. That rule is unusually dangerous in brain injury cases, because a client with memory and word-finding problems gives an uncertain recorded statement, and the insurer treats that uncertainty as an admission. Do not give a recorded statement about how a head injury happened without a lawyer present.

Why Do I Need an Accident Lawyer for a TBI?

Negotiating a traumatic brain injury case is challenging. It would be best to have a legal advocate who can build a strong case and gather all the evidence necessary to maximize your potential compensation.

If a family member passes away from a traumatic brain injury, surviving family members might have the right to bring a wrongful death claim. One of our brain injury attorneys in Montgomery can help you determine your legal rights.

Victims who sustain a traumatic brain injury often have other catastrophic injuries as well. Calculating the maximum value requires an understanding of these types of claims.

At Fob James Law Firm, we have years of experience litigating catastrophic injury claims in Montgomery, including traumatic brain injuries.

Don’t leave your future well-being to chance. Contact our office today or call us at 334-739-9000 to schedule an initial consultation with a TBI lawyer in Montgomery to learn more about how we can assist you.