Top Ways Traumatic Brain Injury Settlements Improve Victims’ Lives
Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran
It’s no secret that a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most debilitating injuries brain injury patients and their families can suffer. Car accidents cause over 30% of traumatic brain injuries in Michigan. The extent of traumatic brain injuries can vary from mild traumatic brain injuries to severe, but all of them can have a profound, long-term effect on your life.
Those with TBIs are estimated to spend more than $76.5 billion a year in medical care, rehab, and lost productivity costs in the United States. While there is no cure for TBIs, there are ways that TBI settlements can help with the recovery process and increase your quality of life.
Factors in a Traumatic Brain Injury Settlement
The total amount of traumatic brain injury settlements can vary depending on your case and the severity of the traumatic brain injury. To figure out how traumatic brain injury settlements can improve you and your family’s quality of life, you need the help of an experienced brain injury lawyer at our law firm who can assess the factors impacting your case. Some factors considered in your settlement include:
Hospital Stays
Some traumatic brain injuries require extensive hospital stays, including visits to various specialists, X-rays, and more. Your settlement may cover the costs of your hospital stays, and a longer duration of in-hospital care can contribute to a higher amount of economic damages.
Ongoing Medical Treatments
The costs of surgery, rehabilitation, and medications can quickly add up when you or a loved one are facing a traumatic brain injury. You may also have to pay for in-home medical staff who can provide ongoing care for the victim and help them with daily tasks.
Non-Economic Damages
The effects of a traumatic brain injury not only affect the victim but their loved ones as well. Factors such as losing a loved one or pain and suffering caused by the TBI may lead to a successful traumatic brain injury settlement.
Ways Traumatic Brain Injury Settlements Improve Victims’ Lives
Settlements following traumatic brain injuries are beneficial for the victims and their families. It is crucial to understand how settlements can be used to ensure your rehabilitation and recovery.
Ongoing Medications
Many people are aware of the high costs of prescription drugs, and some individuals may struggle to afford them, especially if they’re taking time off work to recover. Some medicines may be helpful immediately following a TBI, while others manage symptoms and difficulties associated with recovery after some time has passed.
You may need to take certain medications to treat the symptoms of a TBI and reduce your risk of developing certain conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and mood swings.
There is a possibility that a TBI can trigger a seizure, months or even years later, with the severity of the injury affecting the likelihood of a seizure occurring. Post-traumatic epilepsy is a disorder in which some people experience continuous seizures for the rest of their lives. Apart from taking medication to reduce the likelihood of seizures, you might also have to face certain lifestyle restrictions, like being unable to:
- Drive your car
- Participate in physical activities like swimming or hiking
- Bathe on your own without the help of a family member or caretaker
With a successful settlement, you will receive financial compensation for these challenges and the funds to pay for medication necessary to treat conditions resulting from your injury.
Payments for Surgeries
Emergency surgery procedures may be necessary after a TBI. These procedures may include:
- Relieve pressure from the brain: A doctor may need to perform an intracranial pressure procedure to access the skull to relieve pressure and add more space for the swollen brain.
- Removal of skull fragments: Skull fragments can be removed from severe fractures to aid in the healing process.
- Removal of a blood clot in the brain: A collection of clotted blood in the brain, called a hematoma, can develop after a TBI with subtle symptoms, like headaches, speech difficulties, and abnormal thoughts. This may require surgical intervention to help relieve pressure and prevent further damage to the brain tissues.
You may need future treatments to help your vision or hearing upon discussion between you and your doctor. A brain injury attorney experienced in understanding TBIs can factor in your past and future necessary surgeries for your brain injury case.
Emotional and Cognitive Therapies
Several resources are available to help with your recovery from your TBI. A rehabilitation team that works to create a plan for you, your home, and your family can be hugely beneficial.
Depending on the severity of your TBI, you may need help with regaining your cognitive abilities and finding a job. Following a TBI, psychological support may also be required to cope with the cognitive and psychological challenges resulting from the injury.
Your brain injury settlement can cover various post-surgery therapies and counseling such as:
- Cognitive Therapy: Cognitive therapy can help to regain memory, attention, planning capabilities, and perception. It may involve using memory exercises like writing in a journal or solving puzzles. Using computer-assisted training may help improve attention, memory, and planning abilities in a shorter time.
- Psychological Counseling: Getting psychological counseling can boost coping skills, interpersonal relations, and emotional wellbeing. It may involve medication or another approach to relieving chemical imbalances that result from a TBI. Family intervention is also sometimes helpful, as a TBI can adversely affect family members who help with rehabilitation.
- Speech Therapy: Speech therapy can help with regaining the ability to talk and develop other communication skills. For those with TBIs that affect their communication skills temporarily or permanently, speech therapy may also require specific devices, such as touchpads or tablets.
- Vocational Counseling: About 60% of patients with TBI cannot return to work, and another 35% can only work part-time. Vocational counseling can help patients return to work and live in the community by finding suitable job opportunities. People living with TBIs require a very specific, intensive, and rigorous process of vocational testing to return to work successfully. With these evaluations, vocational counselors can identify the educational programs the person may need and the potential occupations to re-enter the workforce.
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
Your settlement can also cover the costs of rehabilitation, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. Physical therapy refers to exercises that help with regaining your balance and coordination. It might also refer to occupational therapy for habits, such as relearning how to drink from a cup again. Those who require consistent care for their physical limitations and difficulty performing daily tasks can use rehabilitation programs.
- Physical Therapy: Physical therapy is needed for people who have had a TBI to help them regain the cognitive and physical function of their body parts after an accident. Spinal cord injuries can also occur at the same time as a TBI in an accident involving blunt force or trauma.Physical therapy begins with a physical evaluation of your state of health and what you need to do to regain your abilities. It can boost your energy levels and strengthen your body. Physical therapy aims to improve motor skills, cognition, balance, coordination and prevent complications such as pneumonia.
- Occupational Therapy: Through occupational therapy, people with a TBI can relearn or develop the ability to dress themselves, prepare food, and care for their personal hygiene. Occupational therapists can also help people relearn how to interact in everyday social environments such as banks or grocery stores by thinking about what might happen and then rehearsing how to answer questions. They can even collaborate with your company and/or school to make changes that support you in your work or studies.
- Rehabilitation Programs: Various TBI rehabilitation programs are available depending on your treatment needs. If you have a loved one who suffered a severe TBI, they might need an intensive in-patient hospital rehabilitation program. A non-medical residential program provides an opportunity to develop the life skills you need for independence and reintegration back into society. TBI victims have access to long-term care and supervised living programs if they need consistent care.
Financial Support for Family Members
Family members might need in-home help, such as nursing assistants, to aid a loved one in their daily tasks if they cannot function independently. They may also rely on respite care to give themselves a break from the round-the-clock care of their loved ones.
Families may also feel sad, angry, or worried when caring for their loved one who has a TBI. They may find short-term and long-term therapy and brain injury support groups particularly helpful in dealing with the pressures and challenges of caring for a loved one with a traumatic brain injury.
TBIs can also affect a family’s financial situation because an adult who suffered a TBI and was also the family’s primary provider cannot work. On an emotional front, a spouse might suffer a loss of companionship if the person died from complications resulting from a TBI.
Brain injury settlements can cover these losses and expenses for people with TBIs and their families:
- Loss of companionship or consortium for spouses of those with a TBI
- Loss of wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Burial and funeral expenses resulting from wrongful death
- In-home assistance and respite for caring of a loved one with a TBI
Reach Out to a Brain Injury Lawyer
Traumatic brain injuries can have a tremendous impact on those who love and care for the injured person. These cases involve many resources to help with the recovery and rehabilitation process after someone suffers a TBI. A personal injury attorney is an invaluable resource that allows all parties to determine what they need to move forward together in court proceedings or negotiations.
At Cochran, Kroll, and Associates, P.C., senior partner Eileen Kroll is a seasoned personal injury attorney who formerly worked as a nurse in intensive care. Using her medical knowledge and the experience of our legal team, she can work with you to earn a settlement for your traumatic brain injury lawsuit.
Our law firm offers a no-obligation free consultation to accident victims and their families. Call 866-MICH-LAW to schedule an appointment and learn more about your legal rights and options.
FAQs
How can I provide evidence of my medical costs and treatments for a brain injury settlement?
It is important to keep track of all your medical bills, receipts, and invoices as you go through the recovery process of your TBI. Your lawyer can use these to calculate the estimated cost of your TBI settlement.
What do I need to prove that another driver is at fault for my TBI?
In Michigan, the other motor vehicle driver can be held liable if you can prove they’re at fault for your injury. Texting while driving could be considered negligence, but you will need physical evidence such as video recordings and witness testimonies to prove it. With the help of an experienced brain injury lawyer at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., you can gather solid evidence to support a claim.
My insurance company wants to negotiate with me after my TBI. What should I do?
Your lawyer can negotiate on your behalf as you focus on your recovery. They can ensure you get fair compensation, and your medical costs are included in the settlement.
Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.