A brain injury suffered by a family’s breadwinner is a completely different struggle than the work needed to support a brain damage injury in a baby, child, or young adult. What about in cases of multi-person accidents, where one member of the family has physical and emotional trauma to heal from, while their loved one is waking up after a life-changing head injury? This is why it’s important to engage an attorney as quickly as possible, even regarding mild brain injury settlements, as brain injury settlements and lawsuits can take vital time you don’t have to spare.
As devastating and difficult as brain injuries can be, it’s important to move forward. That is easier said than done, however, depending on your circumstances. Contact us at the Brain Injury Law Center as soon as you can for a free consultation regarding your needs. In the meantime, read on to learn more about what head injury settlements or damages awards can do to improve the lives of survivors.
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5 Ways Brain Injury Settlements or Damages Awards Improve Victims’ Lives
Contact a Dedicated Brain Injury Lawyer Today
Brain Injury Lawsuit FAQ
5 Ways Brain Injury Settlements or Damages Awards Improve Victims’ Lives
Asking what a brain injury case is worth is like asking what a life is worth: there is no monetary equivalent that can make up for the data lost to your body’s central computer. That being said, while filing a traumatic brain injury lawsuit cannot reverse the damage suffered, here are five different ways an appropriate settlement could help ease the burden for you and your loved ones.
1. Surgical Support
While not all brain injury cases involve surgery at first, head injury lawsuits or settlements take into account the changing nature of a healing mind. Any procedure necessary to aid a brain injury patient should be taken into consideration under the law when awarding damages, and an experienced brain injury attorney would know to advocate for doctor/patient discretion.
For example, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) might require immediate surgery to access the skull and relieve pressure on the brain. The Mayo Clinic describes this procedure as “opening a window in the skull.” That surgery has a far clearer connection to a head injury than, say, medical insertion of a shunt to prevent future swelling or pressure. There may also be future procedures necessary to account for vision, hearing, or other perception problems related to the initial injury. All of those options are for the patient and doctor to discuss and decide, not an insurance agent.
A knowledgeable attorney could argue for financial support of both current and future surgeries. That could mean the decision regarding whether you enter the operating room is based on what you need, not what you can afford.
2. Recovery Resources
Regardless of surgical status, brain injuries require recovery resources. This might mean aid for physical healing, such as nursing staff to change bandages and help prevent or treat infection. It could also mean proper training to relearn behaviors, as when repairing the neural pathways involved in picking up and sipping from a cup.
What this means in the context of head injury lawsuit or settlements is allowing for possible:
- In-patient brain recovery rehab
- Out-patient home care
- Regular physical and/or cognitive therapy
- Medical and therapeutic equipment for healing and mobility
- Various other resources that you and the medical professionals you work with opt for
Medicine doesn’t always stop when a patient leaves the hospital. A recovery map is essential for those who have survived brain trauma.
3. Therapeutic Treatment
Physical therapy rehab and cognitive retraining is one aspect of recovery, but so is psychological support. Depending on the severity of the injury suffered by you or a loved one, there may be a lot of emotional anguish that needs to be recognized and professionally treated.
Brain injury lawsuits or settlements could allow for the patient and their family to seek comprehensive support when dealing with psychological trauma. Examples include feeling helpless, enduring extreme personality changes, or coping with emotions like anger, grief, and fear.
Contact us at the Brain Injury Law Center to ask specific questions about your situation, and whether the therapies you need could be accounted for in a legal setting. Asking your questions is free and confidential, and could reveal a better path towards healing.
4. Medication Maintenance
Post-traumatic epilepsy is when the injured party suffers from seizures that could persist for days, weeks, or years after a brain injury. For those who must live with a lifetime of seizures, there are many dangers and restrictions that accompany them.
Specifically, those with uncontrolled epilepsy may not be able to:
- Drive a motor vehicle or ride a bicycle
- Participate in physical activities such as various sports, rock climbing, or even walking near open bodies of water
- Use a curling iron or a stove without having someone else in the room
- Consume alcohol or mind/mood-altering substances like cannabis
- Take a bath without risk of drowning
This is a profound change in one’s independence, but certain prescription drugs could reduce or stop the seizures from occurring. Proper medication could give a brain injury patient their freedom back.
Anyone who needs regular medication like insulin or birth control pills knows how much it costs to get their prescription drugs. Along with the constant maintenance of having to fill and take these meds, their prices fluctuate and can be subject to the whims of one’s insurance company.
If you or your loved one suffers from epileptic episodes after a brain injury, the medication needed to control this new condition deserves to be considered in connection to any brain injury settlement you could receive.
5. Family Fortitude
A brain injury to an adult could leave a family without a provider. A brain injury to a child could leave a marriage in shambles. A death due to brain injury could leave a hole in the lives of countless family, friends, and colleagues. What about support for those around the injured party?
Head injury lawsuits or settlements could help provide restitution for:
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Loss of consortium (the legal term for the love and affection between spouses)
- The cost of outfitting a home or vehicle for someone who has altered mobility needs
- Funeral and burial expenses in cases of wrongful death
Brain traumas don’t just happen to the injured party, they happen to those who work with, live with, and love them too. The work of a compassionate brain injury attorney may help all involved with what they need to move forward.
You may have heard the phrase “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” So is an opportunity to potentially help heal the mind and body of someone impacted by brain injury.
Contact a Dedicated Brain Injury Lawyer Today
Before entering the legal profession, our firm’s founder Stephen Smith graduated from Marquette University’s Neuroanatomical Dissection of the Human Brain and Spinal Cord program. From our inception, we at the Brain Injury Law Center have fostered a dedication to brain trauma survivors, their needs, and the needs of their families.
A consultation with our attorneys is free, and could begin a journey towards life-saving support. If nothing else, we can help answer your questions about brain injury lawsuits and advise you on your particular circumstances. Call us today at (757) 244-7000 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a consultation.
You may have heard the phrase “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” So is an opportunity to potentially help heal the mind and body of someone impacted by brain injury.
Brain Injury Lawsuit FAQ
How could a brain injury lawsuit or settlement help me and my family?
The financial results of a brain injury lawsuit or settlement could help cover:
- Surgical needs
- Physical recovery resources
- Emotional therapeutic treatment
- Proper medication maintenance
- Family support for those who live with (or lose someone due to) a brain damage injury
What can and can’t I do with epilepsy due to brain injury?
Some who suffers from post-traumatic epilepsy can control the condition with medication. The proper medication could return freedoms to those who otherwise can’t drive, swim, or cook without risk.
You can call a brain injury lawyer to ask about legal avenues towards support.
Is wrongful death part of a traumatic brain injury lawsuit?
