Brain Damage Lawyer Miami, FL
If you or someone in your family has suffered brain damage because of an accident, a medical mistake, or another person’s negligence, our attorneys are here to help you. Cognitive difficulties, personality changes, and an inability to work or live independently are injuries that don’t just resolve themselves the way a broken bone does. Many of them are permanent, and the financial burden of long-term care and rehabilitation is staggering.
Needle & Ellenberg, P.A. has represented brain injury victims across Florida for over 46 years. Our Miami, FL brain damage lawyer has the experience, the resources, and the medical knowledge to build the kind of case these injuries demand. We offer free case evaluations and handle every brain damage case on a contingency basis. You pay nothing unless we win.
Why Choose Needle & Ellenberg for Brain Injury Cases in Miami, FL?
Unmatched Longevity in Florida Injury Law
Founding partners Andrew Needle and Andrew Ellenberg bring more than 70 years of combined experience in Florida medical negligence and plaintiffs’ injury law. Both handle plaintiffs’ injury and death cases exclusively.
Andrew Ellenberg focuses on plaintiffs’ injury and medical negligence cases, with practice concentrations that include plaintiffs’ injury and medical negligence cases across birth injury, delayed diagnosis, surgical error, anesthesia, and stroke claims. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1988. Martindale-Hubbell rates him AV Preeminent. Florida Super Lawyers has listed him every year since 2005, and The Best Lawyers in America has listed him every year since 2009 for plaintiffs’ medical malpractice and personal injury work.
Andrew Needle is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar. His practice concentrations include complex medical malpractice litigation and trial work, including multi- million dollar verdicts in cases that have tested the outer boundaries of existing Florida legal precedent. He holds a J.D. cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law (1977) and a B.S. from Cornell University (1974). He is a charter member of the Miami chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Best Lawyers in America named him “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice Law, Plaintiffs, in Miami for 2020 and 2025.
Resources to Match the Severity of the Injury
Brain damage cases are expensive to litigate. They require neurologists, neuropsychologists, radiologists who can interpret imaging, rehabilitation specialists, life care planners, and economists. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients across all practice areas, including multiple eight-figure results in medical malpractice matters. Many of the healthcare cases involved birth injuries, delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, anesthesia complications, and health system negligence.
Our personal injury attorneys in Miami, FL have handled brain injury claims that resulted from every conceivable type of negligence, and we approach each case knowing that the damages at stake will likely span the rest of the victim’s life.
Contingency Representation With No Upfront Cost
We take brain damage cases on a contingency fee basis. You will never receive an invoice from us unless we recover money for you. Initial consultations are free. Our staff speaks Spanish.
Reviews from Satisfied Clients
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“Andrew never treated us like just another case. He understood that behind the legal process was a family going through unimaginable fear and uncertainty. He took the time to explain every step, answer every question, and guide us with patience and clarity when we needed it most. His knowledge and skill were evident in every decision he made, and his dedication to protecting my husband and son gave us confidence during a time when everything else felt uncertain.” – Kerry Parker
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Types of Brain Damage Cases We Handle in Miami
Brain damage has many causes, and the legal path to recovery depends on what happened and who was responsible. Here are the types of brain injury cases we take on in Miami.
- Traumatic brain injuries. TBIs from car crashes, falls, assaults, and other blunt force impacts are among the most common cases we see. According to CDC injury data, there were over 69,000 TBI-related deaths in the United States in 2021, along with more than 214,000 hospitalizations.
- Concussions. Not all brain injuries involve a dramatic loss of consciousness. Some concussions cause symptoms that persist for months or even years: headaches, memory problems, difficulty concentrating. When caused by negligence, these injuries may be compensable. Post-concussion syndrome claims can be complex because the symptoms are often subjective, but they are very real to the person living with them.
- Brain contusions. A contusion is a bruise on the brain itself, typically caused by a direct blow to the head. These can range from mild to life-threatening depending on location and severity.
- Anoxic and hypoxic brain injuries. When the brain is deprived of oxygen (during a surgical complication, a near-drowning, or because of a provider’s failure to monitor a patient), the result can be devastating and permanent. These injuries often arise from medical negligence and can leave a person in a persistent vegetative state or with severe cognitive impairment.
- Birth injuries. Oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery can cause conditions such as cerebral palsy. When the damage results from a provider’s failure to monitor fetal heart tones, perform a timely C-section, or respond to signs of distress, the family may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.
- Head injuries. A fall on a wet floor, an uneven walkway, or a poorly lit stairwell can result in a skull fracture or brain hemorrhage. Property owners who fail to address hazards on their premises can be held liable for the resulting brain damage.
- Car accidents. Even with modern vehicle safety features, the forces involved in a serious collision can cause the brain to strike the inside of the skull. Coup-contrecoup injuries, diffuse axonal injuries, and intracranial hemorrhages are common in high-speed crashes.
- Brain injuries caused by violence. Assaults, shootings, and other violent acts can cause severe brain trauma. When inadequate security at a commercial property contributed to the attack, the property owner may share liability.
Florida Legal Requirements for Brain Damage Claims
The legal framework for a brain damage claim in Florida depends on what caused the injury. For negligence-based claims, which include most car accidents, slip and falls, and workplace incidents, the statute of limitations under current Florida law is generally two years from the date of the injury. Florida imposes strict deadlines on these claims, and missing the deadlines can result in a potentially viable case being barred from court. Our lawyers can help you determine whether your potential case is within Florida’s statute of limitations.
If the brain damage resulted from medical malpractice, additional requirements apply. Before any medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed in court, Florida law requires that the Claimant send the potential defendant healthcare providers a Notice of Intent, after which there is a 90-day presuit screening period for the exchange of information between the parties. With rare exception, the Claimant’s attorney must include with the Notice of Intent a verified affidavit(s), from a qualified expert(s), who under oath says what were the actions and/or omissions of the potential defendant healthcare provider(s) that caused injury and damage to the Claimant.
Florida’s modified comparative negligence rule also applies. If the injured person bore some responsibility for the incident (for example, by not wearing a seatbelt at the time of a crash), the recovery may be reduced by their percentage of fault. Under current Florida law, if that percentage exceeds 50%, the claim may be barred entirely. An experienced brain damage attorney in Miami can investigate the facts early to address fault arguments before they become problems at trial.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Miami Brain Damage Case?
Brain damage claims in Miami often involve some of the largest damage calculations in all of personal injury law. That’s because the injuries tend to be permanent and the costs of care are ongoing.
Economic damages can include the financial losses that were sustained and/or that reasonably will be suffered in the future, due to the negligence. These can include lost wages, diminished earning capacity, past and future care, treatment, therapies and services. In a brain damage case, that may include emergency treatment, surgeries, hospital stays, medications, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and long-term assisted living or home health care. The lifetime care costs for brain trauma can reach into the millions, depending on the severity of the injury and the age of the victim. Lost wages and lost earning capacity may also be compensable. If the injured person can never return to their prior occupation, or any occupation at all, the economic analysis must account for decades of lost income, adjusted for inflation and reduced to present value.
Non-economic damages compensate for the profound personal toll of a brain injury. Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and loss of the ability to maintain relationships all fall under this heading. For family members, the loss of consortium, the loss of the injured person’s companionship, affection, and partnership, may also be recoverable. These damages are difficult to quantify, but they can constitute a major portion of a brain damage verdict. The effects of long-term brain injuries on a person’s identity, autonomy, and quality of life deserve to be fully represented in any settlement or trial award.
Punitive damages may be pursued in cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct. While most brain damage claims arise from ordinary negligence, some involve conduct so reckless that the law permits additional punishment. A driver who caused a fatal crash while street racing, or a medical provider who ignored obvious warning signs. These are the kinds of circumstances that can support a punitive damages claim. The threshold is clear and convincing evidence, and recovery is subject to statutory limits in most instances.
Contact Needle & Ellenberg
A brain injury changes the course of a life. Sometimes it changes the course of an entire family’s life. The legal system exists to hold responsible parties accountable and to provide the resources victims need for care, rehabilitation, and financial security.
Our brain damage attorneys in Miami, FL have handled these cases for over four decades, and we understand what it takes to secure full compensation. We charge nothing unless we recover for you, and consultations are always free. Contact us to discuss your brain injury case with an attorney who has the experience to handle it properly.