The way traumatic brain injuries affect people differs from person to person. No two brain injury claims are exactly alike. Every client’s claim must be evaluated independently. If you or someone you love has sustained a brain injury caused by the negligence of another person, corporation, business, or government agency, you are entitled to the maximum financial compensation permitted by law. As lawyers for brain-injured clients, it is our job to make each client as “whole” as possible.
The Cost of Medical Care and Treatment of Brain Injuries Is Recoverable
Regardless of whether a brain injury is considered mild, moderate, or severe, there will almost certainly likely be medical bills and associated costs associated with getting the victim better. While a victim with a so-called mild traumatic brain injury may only have initial emergency room medical bills, counseling, and testing, expensive brain MRIs and other tests may be required as time passes. For those who sustain moderate to severe brain injuries, bills and expenses for monitoring, rehabilitation occupational therapy, medicines, and in-home care can reach into the millions of dollars over a victim’s lifetime. Medical expenses that follow a brain injury can include:
- Ambulance transportation costs
- Emergency room expenses
- MRI, CT, and Neuroradiology testing
- Extended in-patient treatment and surgery for subdural bleeding and brain swelling
- Medical devices
- Prescription medications
- Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation
- In-home nursing and attendant care
It is critical that your brain injury lawyer understands the extent of medical care that will be required and seek reimbursement of all such expenses.
In-Home Nursing and Attendant Care Can Be A Reality
Individuals who sustain moderate to severe brain injuries may not be able to be left alone. Safety concerns often require need in-home attendants or nursing care. In serious cases, this in-home care may be permanent. Such care is never covered by insurance. Your lawyer must be ready to advocate for this necessary and expensive help. It is not uncommon for individuals to need extended or lifelong in-home care as a result of their brain injury.
When calculating the settlement or verdict value of brain injury claims at trial, medically necessary in-home care must be considered, priced, and claimed. Typically, our brain injury team works with highly skilled, well-known trusted medical and economic experts who can accurately predict how long a person may need specialized care and convince an insurance carrier, defense lawyer or jury of those costs.
Recovering Lost Earnings and Benefits
Tragically, for many brain injury victims loss of employment flows from cognitive impairment. Inability to perform as well or as fast at work occurs in far too many cases. Even mild or subtle traumatic brain damage can impair cognition, memory, executive functioning, processing of complex tasks, and judgment. It is not uncommon for individuals who sustain brain injuries to lose their careers and jobs. At the Walkup firm, we understand that a person’s livelihood is key to their wellbeing, We also know that sometimes there are delayed effects of traumatic head injuries.
When we evaluate the size of any client’s monetary claim for TBI, we must calculate and value the loss of employment, wages, benefits, and pensions. What must be replaced is what will be lost. We must accurately estimate and predict future employment-related losses and have to examine the income a person will lose. Replacing lost income caused by someone else’s wrongdoing is key to our client’s financial recovery.
Fairly Calculating Pain, Suffering, Disability, and Metal Suffering
Individuals who sustain brain injuries experience significant physical pain and mental suffering. To fully compensate for what has been lost we must show through both lay and professional witnesses’ the personal pain and emotional and psychological trauma that comes with a TBI. Loss of quality of life has value and the San Francisco brain injury team knows how to demonstrate the impact of impaired quality of life.
