What Compensation is Available in a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuit?

 Posted on March 05, 2021 in Catastrophic Injuries

Our brains control everything from speaking and moving to information processing and memory. Damage caused by a traumatic brain injury can affect every aspect of a sufferer’s life. If you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident, work accident, or other incident caused by another party’s recklessness or intentional malice, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. You could be compensated for the damages, or losses, that you experienced because of the injury.

Compensation for Medical Treatment in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case

Acquired traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur when an object punctures the skull and directly injures the brain or, more commonly, when the brain strikes the inside of the skull. About half of severe TBI sufferers require surgery and many more require hospital treatment and other medical care. Most medical interventions cannot repair the brain damage that has already occurred, but it may prevent further damage. The medical costs incurred by a severe TBI can be astronomical. A personal injury case may allow a sufferer to recover costs related to:

• Surgery
• X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and other imaging tests
• Blood tests
• Speech therapy
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Vocational counseling
• Psychological treatments
• In-home medical care
• Nursing care
• Hospitalization
• Appointments with physiatrists and other specialists  
• Medications
• Other medical needs

Lost Income and Missed Work  

Often, a large contributor to the financial burden created by a traumatic brain injury is the injured person’s lost income. Your TBI may have required you to miss work or the injury may have permanently reduced your ability to work. You may need to change careers, work fewer hours, or take on a less demanding workload because of the TBI. You may be able to recover compensation for your lost wages and the impairment to your earning capacity via a personal injury lawsuit.  

Pain and Suffering Damages in a TBI Case

The losses stemming from a traumatic brain injury also include intangible losses. Your TBI may have caused severe physical pain in the form of persistent headaches and vomiting. You may also suffer emotional and mental misery caused by sleep problems, difficulty with problem solving, and behavior and mood changes. Compensation for these non-pecuniary losses may be available in a personal injury case. The amount of compensation you may recover for your pain and suffering will be influenced by the severity of your TBI and the effect that the injury has on your daily life.

Contact a Winnebago County Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer

If you sustained a traumatic brain injury, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages through a personal injury lawsuit. A Rockford personal injury attorney from Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, can help. Call our office at 815-215-7561 for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn more.

Source:

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Traumatic-Brain-Injury-Information-Page