What Expenses Are Associated with Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Traumatic brain injuries or TBIs can be caused by many different incidents, including sports injuries, falls, diving accidents, car accidents, medical malpractice, assaults, and more. People who suffer severe TBIs might be left with lasting disabilities that will negatively impact them for life and jeopardize their financial security. Traumatic brain injuries might require ongoing medical treatment, physical therapy, rehabilitation, prescription drugs, and more. There are also other hidden costs associated with suffering from a traumatic brain injury. If you or your loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury and believe that someone else caused the injury through negligent, reckless, or intentional conduct, you should speak with an experienced brain injury lawyer at Raynes & Lawn. We can evaluate your claim and explain your next steps.
What Are the Physical Impacts of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Depending on its severity, a traumatic brain injury can cause various complications and conditions. People who suffer from moderate or severe traumatic brain injuries might have a permanently reduced quality of life and be unable to live or work independently.
Some of the severe types of complications that people might experience following traumatic brain injuries include the following:
- Amnesia
- Impaired ability to solve problems
- Difficulty speaking or loss of speaking ability
- Difficulty reading or loss of reading ability
- Paralysis
- Motor control and muscle coordination problems
- Loss of the ability to walk
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Seizures
- Loss of hearing, sight, the ability to taste, or the ability to feel physical touch
These types of complications carry both an emotional and financial burden for the victim with a TBI and his or her family.
What Are the Financial Impacts of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total economic impact of severe TBIs in the U.S. is $76.5 billion. For individuals with severe TBIs, they could experience up to $3 million or more in lifetime costs. The economic costs of traumatic brain injuries include the costs of the initial medical treatment, rehabilitation, ongoing treatment, physical therapy, home care, lost wages, lost ability to earn an income, and modifications that must be made to the victim’s car and home. Over time, these expenses can accumulate and impact both the victim’s finances and those of their immediate family members.
Initial Medical Treatment Costs
The initial medical treatment costs for a traumatic brain injury might include your visit to the emergency department, diagnostic and imaging tests, surgery, and medications you are prescribed. While these initial costs can be high, they only represent a small portion of the total medical costs you might incur for your TBI.
Lost Income
Many people who suffer moderate or severe traumatic brain injuries are unable to return to their jobs for weeks, months, years, or ever. Depending on your previous job, you might have to receive retraining or accommodations. You might also be unable to return to work in the same capacity or be unable to assume a different type of career that is less demanding. A severe TBI can permanently reduce your ability to earn an income.
Home Care Costs
People who suffer severe TBIs may no longer be able to care for themselves. Some people will not be able to live independently because of suffering mobility or cognitive impairments caused by their traumatic brain injuries. When this happens, the family might need to hire home care attendants to care for their loved ones when the family members are away at work or completing other tasks. In-home nursing care is expensive and might not be covered by insurance.
Some people with traumatic brain injuries will have to move into temporary or long-term care facilities. They might attend day treatment centers for care during the day, supervised living facilities, or nursing homes.
Lengthy Hospitalization
Particularly in the case of comas caused by traumatic brain injuries, lengthy periods of hospitalization might be required. In some cases, a victim might be hospitalized for years, resulting in extremely high costs. A victim who receives long-term hospital care will also be unable to work and experience lost income.
Rehabilitation Costs
Extensive rehabilitation is often required for victims of severe traumatic brain injuries. Rehabilitation might include cognitive retraining, vocational training and rehabilitation, physical rehabilitation, and more. Victims might need to undergo specialty care from speech-language pathologists, neurologists, occupational therapists, occupational therapists, neuropsychologists, and others during the rehabilitation process. Having to see numerous specialists can greatly increase the costs of a traumatic brain injury.
Non-Economic Losses
Individuals and their family members also can suffer many different types of non-economic losses. After suffering a traumatic brain injury, you and your family might be entitled to recover damages for physical pain and suffering, mental trauma, emotional distress, disability, a reduction in your quality of life, and others. Your spouse might be able to recover compensation for a loss of consortium, and your children might be able to recover compensation for a loss of guidance.
Talk to an Experienced Brain Injury Law Firm
The medical care costs associated with traumatic brain injury can be overwhelming, but they are not the only losses you and your family might face after a severe TBI. Both you and your family might face numerous problems and losses after you suffer a severe TBI. If you believe that your brain injury was caused by the negligent, reckless, or intentional actions of another person or entity, you should talk to an experienced attorney at Raynes & Lawn as soon as possible. We can carefully review what happened in your case to determine its legal merits and the various parties that might be liable for your injuries and losses. If we accept representation, we will thoroughly investigate your case to build strong evidence to help you recover fair compensation. Call us today at 1-800-535-1797.
For the general public: This Blog/Website is made available by the law firm publisher, Raynes & Lawn, for educational purposes. It provides general information and a general understanding of the law but does not provide specific legal advice. By using this site, commenting on posts, or sending inquiries through the site or contact email, you confirm that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Blog/Website publisher. The Blog/Website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.
For attorneys: This Blog/Website is informational in nature and is not a substitute for legal research or a consultation on specific matters pertaining to your clients. Due to the dynamic nature of legal doctrines, what might be accurate one day may be inaccurate the next. As such, the contents of this blog must not be relied upon as a basis for arguments to a court or for your advice to clients without, again, further research or a consultation with our professionals.