Brain injury claims
A brain injury claim is difficult for a reason that has little to do with the law: the injury is often invisible. A person can have a normal CT scan, walk out of the emergency department, and still be unable to hold a conversation, keep a schedule or return to the work they did before. The legal problem is proving that gap. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles brain injury claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York.
Why these claims turn on documentation
Defense arguments in brain injury cases are predictable. The imaging was normal. The person was not unconscious. There was no complaint of a head strike at the scene. Symptoms appeared weeks later. Each has an answer, but the answer has to come from records rather than from testimony about how the person feels. That means emergency and follow-up records, evidence of the mechanism of injury, and where indicated neuropsychological testing and advanced imaging interpreted by qualified clinicians.
What the record needs to show
Three things, in sequence. A mechanism capable of causing the injury, established from the scene and the vehicle or incident evidence. A documented change in function, usually established most reliably by people who knew the person before — employers, colleagues, family, teachers — describing specific differences rather than general decline. And a clinical explanation connecting the two, provided by treating physicians and, where appropriate, retained physicians in neurology, neuropsychology or physiatry.
The treatment-gap problem
Many people with a serious brain injury do not seek immediate care, because they are focused on someone else who was more visibly hurt, or because they do not recognize what is happening to them. Gaps in treatment are then used to argue the injury is not real. That argument is answerable, but the answer is stronger when treatment is documented early. Anyone who has struck their head, or experienced a mechanism producing rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head, should be evaluated.
Filing deadlines
Every injury claim is governed by a statute of limitations, and the periods differ by state and by claim type. For personal injury actions the period is two years in Virginia under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), accruing at the date of injury; three years in Maryland under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; three years in the District of Columbia under D.C. Code § 12-301(8); two years in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; and three years in New York under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5). These are general periods. Discovery rules, tolling for minors and incapacity, claims against government entities — the District imposes a six-month notice-of-claim requirement for claims against the District government — and claim-specific statutes can shorten or extend them. Do not rely on a general period for your own case; have the deadline confirmed on your facts.
Pages in this section
This section covers diffuse axonal injury, epidural and subdural hematoma, mild traumatic brain injury with objective findings, post-concussion syndrome, neuropsychological testing, diffusion tensor imaging and related topics.
Speak with Mr. Sris
Injury claims are governed by filing deadlines that vary by state and by claim type, and evidence degrades quickly. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.
Last reviewed: August 22, 2026.
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