A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can dramatically change a person’s life in an instant. Whether it happens due to a car crash or a slip and fall accident, the effects of a TBI can be long-lasting and devastating. Often, survivors face numerous challenges, including memory issues, personality changes, cognitive difficulties, and physical impairments. Sometimes, these challenges require a lifetime of specialized, often intensive medical care, making it crucial that any settlement or judgment in a personal injury claim adequately covers future medical expenses. Failing to secure compensation for future medical care can lead to financial hardship and inadequate care.
Understanding the Long-Term Costs of a TBI
Unlike many other injuries, traumatic brain injuries often result in ongoing medical requirements that continue long after the initial accident. Survivors might need ongoing physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, or mental health support. Others even require assistive devices, home modifications, or personal care services to help them live a meaningful life. If these costs are not taken into account, even a seemingly substantial settlement or judgment may be insufficient.
In addition to medical expenses, TBIs often affect a person’s ability to resume work. Some people are unable to ever return to work. And even those who can resume work often face diminished earning potential. A TBI settlement should not only consider past and future medical expenses, but also lost income, diminished earning potential, and any other past and future damages.
Why Future Medical Care Must Be Included in a Settlement
Often, insurance companies try to focus solely on current and past medical expenses during settlement negotiations. However, due to the nature of traumatic brain injuries, it is impossible to fully assess a claim’s full value without considering future requirements. These injuries often require lifelong treatment, rehabilitation, and care long after a case closes. Additionally, TBI symptoms may worsen or manifest later.
Including future medical expenses in a settlement or judgment can ensure that a survivor can access:
- Ongoing rehabilitation, such as physical, cognitive, or speech therapy
- Specialized medical care, including neurological and psychiatric treatment
- Assistive devices and home modifications to enhance daily life
Not including future medical care in a settlement can leave survivors financially vulnerable, unable to afford critical care, and at risk of declining health over time.
Why You Should Work With an Attorney
Navigating a TBI claim is complex. Insurance companies are known to undervalue cases, especially when future medical care and other long-term expenses and losses are involved. An experienced TBI lawyer can help you secure a settlement or judgment that fully accounts for past, present, and future needs.
Attorneys collaborate with experts such as financial specialists and life care planners to determine the lifetime costs associated with a TBI. This includes ongoing treatment, long-term therapy, assistive devices, home modifications, and potential lost income. With a skilled attorney, you can be confident that a settlement or judgment will provide the financial support you need long after your case is resolved, and that you won’t be left financially vulnerable or unable to afford much-needed care.
Contact Us for Legal Help
If you or a loved one is dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury in Kansas or Missouri, contact our experienced brain injury counsel at Griggs Injury Law for help securing the maximum possible compensation.
