If someone has legal liability to you for your TBI, then they may owe you money damages. How much money they might have a legal obligation to pay you will vary based on the circumstances of your injury. Also, how much money they have the ability to pay you may vary significantly from what the law says you ought to receive. Speak with an experienced Philadelphia brain injury lawyer to discuss the potential range of damages available in your case.
Generally speaking, in a legal action seeking financial compensation for a TBI, the injured person can seek payment for:
Medical and other expenses. Recovering from a traumatic brain injury can come at an extremely steep medical cost. TBI victims frequently need emergency medical attention. A severe injury might require a long hospital stay. Doctors may also prescribe medication to control symptoms, and extended course of therapy to help the TBI victim cope with, adapt to, and/or overcome the impairments and deficits brought-on by the brain injury. In addition to medical expenses, a TBI can leave a victim and the victim’s family needing extra help with daily activities, at least for a while, and sometimes for the rest of the victim’s life. The expense of living with a TBI often involves paying for services to perform tasks that the injury prevents the victim from doing on his or her own.
Lost wages. Many complications associated with traumatic brain injuries can lead to substantial difficulties and limitations at work. Volatile emotions, for example, may interfere with an individual’s ability to interact with customers. Cognitive impairments may limit a person’s capacity to keep up with creative responsibilities or to focus and concentrate on job duties. Employers may have a legal obligation to make accommodations for brain-injured employees, but in some cases, TBI survivors may struggle to work in their prior job position even with modifications. Any change in an ability to work comes with a loss of income and earning capacity that can inflict severe financial strain.
Pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life. Life can change drastically, and for the worse, after suffering a TBI. Recovery from a brain injury rarely follows a straight-line path. Victims and their families often endure setbacks and frustrations that cause strain and upset. Relationships can suffer. Victims can fall into depression. Though these difficulties do not come with a price tag attached to them, they are no less real than the out-of-pocket costs that a TBI can impose.