The Lifetime Costs of Traumatic Brain Injuries
There is a wide range of outcomes when talking about lifetime costs of TBIs. It all depends on the extent of your injury and your future prognosis. One study has placed the average lifetime costs of TBI treatment at between $85,000 and $3 million. This is just the cost of treatment. There are additional costs that would raise the value of your financial recovery. Before you file a claim for a TBI, it is important to understand all the ways that these injuries can cause you harm, both now and in the future.
Medical Care for Traumatic Brain Injuries Is Very Expensive
The most obvious cost of a TBI is in the medical care that you may need. Rehabilitation is possible, depending on the extent of your treatment and how early you begin aggressive intervention. This could include neurological surgery and extensive rehabilitation. You may need an entire team of doctors to provide medical care, led by a neurologist. These costs can remain with you for a lifetime, especially when you will not be able to make a full recovery.
The rehabilitation that could be needed for years could include:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
In addition, a patient would need extensive psychological counseling because TBIs can cause emotional changes, such as depression and anxiety. Medical care costs can reach into the millions for a lifetime, and you must recover these costs now.
Lifetime Costs of a Traumatic Brain Injury Includes Lost Wages
Studies also show that the employment prospects for someone with a TBI are far worse than they were before the injury. One study has the rate of unemployment among people with TBIs at more than five times higher than the expected rate. The overall unemployment rate for people with TBIs is over 40%.
This adds up to perhaps a lifetime of lost wages, as many TBI patients lack the capacity to work again. Even those who do may not be able to earn what they previously made because of their limitations from the injury. If someone was injured early in their professional career, the damages from lost wages could reach into the millions of dollars.
Further, the family could also suffer lost wages. If a family member must stop working to care for their injured loved one, this is also harm that the defendant must pay. Your lawyer will consult with a vocational expert to establish the exact amount of lost wages from an injury to get a starting point to negotiate with the insurance company.
Another major part of TBI costs are the people necessary to care for a TBI patient. When someone is not able to do everything for themselves, they will need care to help with the activities of daily life. This could include home health care and other aids. This can be a major expense that the family must bear to make their life more manageable.
Your Lifetime of Complications Raises the Costs of Your TBI
These are just the economic costs for financial damages that have come out of your pocket. In reality, the lifetime costs of a TBI are far higher because of what you may go through from your injury. These are the non-economic costs that could be every bit as high as your lost wages and medical bills.
The main non-economic damage that will drive the lifetime costs of a TBI higher is the pain and suffering that you will endure. When you will never be the same after a TBI, there are a number of effects that stretch beyond physical pain and discomfort. Going through life limited by a TBI will also cause many emotional impacts. Having a reduced quality of life, along with the stress of a TBI, can cause the following:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trouble sleeping
- Loss of memory
- Irritability
You can also receive compensation for the emotional distress aspect of your TBI. This includes distress from both the incident that caused the injury as well as the continuing harm that you suffer.
You Need to Learn About the Extent of Your Costs After Your Traumatic Brain Injury
It is crucial that you have as much information about the lifetime costs of a TBI as possible after your injury. You will only have one chance to settle or recover compensation for your TBI. You do not want to do it before you know how you may be affected over the course of your lifetime. Accepting a settlement will require you to sign a release agreement that will keep you from coming back for more money if you do not recover enough money now.
You may wonder how it is possible to know the lifetime costs of my TBI now. This is where your personal injury lawyer comes into the picture. It takes skill and experience to know how much a TBI is worth, especially when so much of the damage happens in the future. We will work with experts to help put a value on your case. We will consult with the following:
- Medical experts who can help establish the degree of severity of your injury
- Life care planning experts who could describe the amount of care that will be necessary to help the TBI victim in the future
- Economic experts who can explain how inflation will affect the value of the claim (since you are recovering money for years into the future)
- Vocational experts to establish how the TBI has impacted your ability to make money now and in the future
New Orleans Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers
At Egenberg Trial Attorneys, we know how to value complex damages such as TBIs. We know what your claim is worth, and we do not hesitate to stand up and fight for you to get everything that you legally deserve after your TBI. Call us today at (504) 229-5700 or contact us online to arrange a free consultation to discuss your case. You will owe us nothing out of your pocket for legal services, as we are only paid if you win.