Subdural hematoma accident attorney

A subdural hematoma is a collection of blood between the brain and its outer covering, caused when bridging veins tear. Unlike most brain injuries it is usually visible on imaging, which removes one common line of defense — but it introduces a different one, because subdural bleeding can also occur with minor trauma and can be chronic, and carriers use both facts to argue the collection predates the incident. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles head injury claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York.

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What the imaging and records show

CT identifies subdural collections readily and is the study obtained acutely. Density on CT is informative about timing: acute blood appears bright, subacute blood becomes isodense with brain tissue over a period of days to weeks, and chronic collections appear dark. That progression is what allows a neuroradiologist to opine on the age of a collection, and it is the center of most disputes in these cases. MRI is more sensitive for small or subacute collections and for identifying whether more than one collection of differing ages is present.

Why this injury meets the legal threshold

A radiologically confirmed subdural hematoma is objective injury and ordinarily satisfies any threshold requirement. The contested questions move to timing and to consequence: whether this collection arose from the incident, and what lasting deficit followed. Where a craniotomy or burr-hole drainage was required, severity is established by the intervention itself.

Typical treatment course and prognosis

Small collections without mass effect may be observed with serial imaging. Larger collections, or those producing midline shift or neurological deterioration, are drained — by burr hole or craniotomy depending on the character of the collection. Recovery varies widely with the size of the collection, the speed of intervention and the person’s age. Chronic subdural collections can re-accumulate and require repeat drainage, which is a future-care consideration that belongs in the claim rather than being discovered afterward.

How insurance carriers attack this diagnosis

The principal argument is that the collection is chronic and therefore pre-existing — particularly where the injured person is older, takes anticoagulant medication, or has a history of falls or alcohol use. A second argument is that any deficit is attributable to age-related cognitive decline rather than to the bleed. A third is that a delay between the incident and presentation shows the two are unrelated, when in fact delayed presentation is a well-recognized feature of subdural bleeding. Neuroradiological opinion on the age of the collection is usually what resolves these.

Proving the accident caused it

Establish the mechanism and the date. Obtain the earliest imaging and have it read by a neuroradiologist specifically on the question of age, rather than relying on the treating radiologist’s clinical report. Where anticoagulant medication is involved, address it directly: a person on anticoagulation who bleeds after trauma has still been injured by the trauma, and being more vulnerable to injury is not a defense. Document the pre-incident cognitive and functional baseline through family, employment or care records, because that baseline is what separates the effect of the bleed from ordinary ageing.

Available insurance coverage

What can be recovered is limited by what coverage exists. The at-fault party’s policy is the starting point, but it is frequently not the only source: the injured person’s own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, household policies, employer coverage where a vehicle was used for work, umbrella and excess layers, and the coverage of any additional responsible party can all apply. Underinsured coverage typically requires notice and consent before any settlement with the at-fault party — settling first can forfeit it. Identifying every available layer is early work, not closing work.

How damages are categorised and proven

Damages are not a single number that gets negotiated. They are separate categories, each proven by different evidence. Past medical expense is proven by billing records and the reasonableness of the charges. Future medical expense requires a physician’s opinion that the care is reasonably certain to be needed. Lost income is proven by employment and tax records; lost earning capacity is a different and larger question requiring vocational and economic analysis. Non-economic loss — pain, limitation, and the effect on daily life — is proven through the medical record and through testimony from people who can describe specific changes rather than general decline. No one can responsibly tell you what a case is worth before that evidence exists, and any figure offered at the outset is a guess.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a subdural hematoma?

A collection of blood between the brain and the dura, the tough membrane covering it, caused when small bridging veins running between the two are torn. It can develop rapidly after significant trauma or slowly over days to weeks after apparently minor trauma. Because it occupies space inside a fixed skull, a large collection can compress the brain and requires drainage.

I take blood thinners. Does that mean the accident did not cause it?

No. Anticoagulant medication makes bleeding more likely and more extensive after trauma; it does not cause bleeding without a cause. An injured person is generally taken as found, and increased vulnerability to injury is not a defense to having caused it. Expect the argument to be made, and expect it to be answered with the mechanism and the imaging timeline.

My symptoms did not start for two weeks. Is that normal?

It is a recognized pattern. Subdural collections can enlarge gradually, and symptoms — headache, confusion, unsteadiness, personality change, weakness on one side — may appear days or weeks after the trauma that caused the bleed. Delayed presentation is a feature of the condition rather than evidence that the trauma was unrelated, and the medical literature supports that.

How can anyone tell how old the bleed is?

Primarily from the density of the blood on CT, which changes predictably as blood breaks down — bright when acute, isodense over days to weeks, dark when chronic. A neuroradiologist can express an opinion on age from that appearance, and where collections of different densities are present, on whether there has been more than one bleeding event. This opinion is frequently the decisive evidence.

What does treatment involve?

Small collections may be observed with repeat imaging. Larger ones, or those causing pressure on the brain, are drained through burr holes or a craniotomy. Recovery depends on the size of the collection, how quickly it was treated, and the person’s age and baseline. Chronic collections can re-accumulate and require a further procedure.

Will there be permanent effects?

There can be — including problems with memory, concentration, balance, speech, or weakness on one side, and in some cases post-traumatic seizures. Whether deficits are permanent is a question for the treating physicians, and the answer usually is not clear for some months. That is a reason not to resolve the claim early.

My elderly parent had this after a fall. Is there a claim?

Possibly, depending on why the fall happened. Where a fall was caused by a hazardous condition on someone else’s property, by inadequate supervision in a care facility, or by another party’s negligence, a claim may exist. Expect an argument that age and pre-existing frailty explain the outcome, and expect the pre-fall functional baseline to become important evidence.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

Two years in Virginia and New Jersey, three years in Maryland, the District of Columbia and New York for personal injury actions, subject to tolling and discovery rules, and with much shorter notice requirements where a government entity is involved. Where the injury involves a care facility or a public property hazard, the applicable deadline should be checked immediately.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris is the owner and founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., which has practiced since 1997. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and handle matters alongside him. In 2019 Mr. Sris testified before the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee on House Bill 635.

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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