During an accident, it’s possible to sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). When this happens, it can impact your life significantly – and it’s important to know just how much it can impact (and for how long).
Although patients can suffer from a TBI in different ways, ranging from concussions to comas, almost everyone with a TBI will experience lasting side effects. If you’re the victim of a TBI, it may impact memories, cognitive abilities, and even components of your personality – even if it’s defined as “mild.”
Recent studies have shown that small concussions have the ability to alter one’s brain function. Further, it’s been estimated that more than 10 million people suffer from TBIs every year.
Particularly when you’ve encountered a brain injury from a car accident, you have to consider the long-term effects and how it will impact future earnings.
Understanding the Long-Term Effects of a Brain Injury
The Center for Disease Control estimates that there are 2.5 million visits to the ER every year related to TBI injuries. Within that 2.5 million, approximately 50,000 deaths occur. Those who survive struggle with symptoms and conditions that may linger for weeks, months, years, or their entire lives.
Some of the long-term effects of a TBI can affect the way you live your life:
- Slurred speech
- Loss of fine motor skills
- Visual impairment
- Paralysis
- Memory loss/loss of ability to form new memories
- Depression/other mood disorders
- Lack of focus
- Loss of motivation
Even if you’ve been living with a TBI for weeks or months at this point, there can be changes in what you experience. The changes may be physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral. Individuals who have moderate to severe cases of TBI may find it difficult to go back to their jobs and even work within the same industry ever again.
Some patients have had to regain fine motor skills, re-learn speech patterns, and spend years in rehabilitative therapy in order to improve their conditions.
Children who experience a TBI may have even more pronounced side effects, including headaches and mental disorders. The American Academy of Pediatrics identifies that the symptoms can be heightened for up to five years following the injury. A sample study also identified that up to 39 percent of the children experience neuropsychiatric symptoms as well.
As you explore the long-term effects of a brain injury, you can see how it may impact your ability to go back to work and continue in the same job that you have now. If you have to deal with these effects, how will it impact your career as well as your earning potential?
The Costs of a TBI
There are a number of costs involved with a TBI that need to be considered:
- Medical expenses
- Unemployment benefits
- Workers’ compensation
Each and every year, $76.5 billion is spent in the U.S. to accommodate those individuals with traumatic brain injuries. The reality is that those with a TBI will struggle to pay for basic costs and have the ability to have financial peace of mind when experiencing unemployment or other woes.
Studies have shown that nearly half of all homeless men in the U.S. have sustained at least one TBI within their lifetimes – and many of the injuries occurred right before losing their jobs and their homes.
In the event that a TBI is worse than you might expect, it’s critical to fight for the compensation that you deserve. You don’t know what the real cost is going to be because the effects may not be fully known yet. If you cannot go back to your job, you need the finances to take care of yourself – and if you can go back to your job, you need the confirmation that you can continue at the same level of earnings as before the accident.
Since you don’t know what the cost of your TBI is going to be, you have to be ready to hold the party responsible for the TBI financially responsible. Filing a claim can make it easier for you to have the finances necessary to get the care and assistance needed to ensure you can live your life on your terms.
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, patients should undergo at least 6 hours of therapy a day in a post-acute facility – and this can last weeks, months, or years. This level of rehabilitation is considered the “gold standard for care” following a TBI. The cost can be so significant that many patients never get the full level of rehabilitation that they need – and it’s all the more reason why you should work with a legal team.
Obtaining Legal Help for Your TBI Claim
The moment you’ve been diagnosed with a TBI, you have to consider how it’s going to impact your future earnings – and seek the financial compensation that you may be owed. If there is an organization or individual responsible for your brain injury due to negligence or improper conduct, it is your legal right to pursue legal action. You may have the ability to seek financial compensation for the long-term costs of your TBI while also keeping in mind that future earnings may be significantly impacted.
In the state of Louisiana, the statute of limitations identifies that you have one year to make a claim. While you’re working on improving your health and going through rehabilitation, time can slip by. The best thing to do is reach out and work with a personal injury lawyer who specializes in traumatic brain injuries.
Financial compensation is designed to help you heal and allow you to go on with your life. We’ll fight for the compensation that you deserve at Allan Berger & Associates. Our personal injury lawyers love what they do, and they can work with you to provide you with the best possible outcome.
Schedule a consultation with us to discuss your case by calling us at 504-526-2222 or by contacting us through the website. We’ll see to it that you know what your options are after meeting with one of our personal injury lawyers.
