Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are some of the worst injuries possible. Your brain is very delicate. It also controls everything about you, from your heart rate to how well you sleep. TBIs can lead to some of the most complex and expensive personal injury cases.
Unlike other, more straightforward injuries, like broken bones, TBI claims often require careful consideration and planning. What makes a brain injury different from any other kind of personal injury or workers’ compensation claim?
The evidence can be harder to prepare
A broken bone that is clearly the result of a fall or blunt force trauma from a car crash is easy to connect to a specific individual or incident. A TBI can cause many different symptoms, which may not be obvious right after someone gets hurt. It is also challenging to documents symptoms that may include memory issues and changes in personality.
While these symptoms can absolutely affect someone’s quality of life, relationship and career, they can be much harder to prove than straightforward physical injuries and the consequences they have for someone’s job performance.
Delayed symptom onset can complicate TBI cases
TBIs are progressive injuries. The bruising or bleeding caused by a traumatic incident will put pressure on the brain, which may only worsen as the injury progresses.
Sometimes, people fail to report a car crash or similar injury is incident because they don’t notice that they got hurt right away. It could be days before they realize they need medical care. Other times, the gap between when they got hurt and notice symptoms can lead to an intense fight with the insurance company.
They can persist for life
If you break a bone or suffer a soft tissue injury, your symptoms will eventually improve. With the right care, you can likely get back to the same exact line of work you had before. In other words, the losses someone suffers will be easy to cover with just a liability insurance policy.
TBIs may require a lifetime of medical interventions and expensive machinery. They can also lead to lasting changes in someone’s earning potential. Those coping with a TBI or caring for a loved one with a severe brain injury may need far more compensation than the insurance policy someone carries will offer.
TBI cases can be difficult to negotiate and litigate without the right preparation. Learning more about the impact of brain injuries can help you prepare for a personal injury or workers’ compensation claim related to a TBI.