What is the Average Settlement for a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury can affect every aspect of your life, from your ability to move and think to whether you are able to care for your family or return to work. Personal injury cases involving traumatic brain injuries are among the most complicated because these injuries result in long-term medical care, a loss of earning capacity, and emotional suffering.
No one can determine exactly how much a traumatic brain injury claim is worth without first fully evaluating the facts of a case. Still, there are some guidelines you can use to evaluate how much your claim may be worth. Our Tampa catastrophic injury attorney explains what these are below.
The Severity of the Injury
All traumatic brain injuries should be taken very seriously but there are some that are more severe than others. For example, a minor concussion may take just a few weeks to completely heal while others, such as a penetrating injury, can result in memory loss, cognitive damage, and mobility issues that remain with accident victims for several months or even years.
Insurance companies as well as the courts will consider the length of recovery time and if an accident victim suffered a permanent disability. If a traumatic brain injury prevents you from resuming your career, caring for yourself or others, or enjoying a normal lifestyle for a lengthy period of time, the financial consequences can last a lifetime. These factors can result in a larger settlement.
Current and Future Medical Expenses
Traumatic brain injuries require ongoing medical treatment and so, they are some of the highest valued personal injury claims. Medical costs immediately after an accident can include emergency room visits, hospitalization, diagnostic imaging, and multiple surgeries. Sadly, these are often just the beginning. Many accident victims require months and even years of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and cognitive retraining to repair lost functions.
Valuing future medical expenses often requires collaborating with economists, medical professionals, and life care planners who can provide testimony regarding your prognosis. This ensures you obtain the compensation you need to maintain stability in the coming years.
Lost Income and Earning Capacity
It is unlikely that you will be able to return to work right away after a traumatic brain injury. Any lost income and other employee benefits such as bonuses can be included in a claim. Additionally, a traumatic brain injury can also prevent you from returning to the same type of work in the future, or from working at all. This lost earning capacity should also be included in your claim to ensure you can support yourself in the coming months and years.
Physical Pain and Emotional Suffering
Both a traumatic brain injury and the medical treatment required to correct it can be very painful. Additionally, the loss of ability to enjoy life as you once did is also very emotionally distressing. While these losses are not as visible as others, you still deserve compensation for them and they should be included in your claim.
Our Catastrophic Injury Attorney in Tampa Can Accurately Value Your Claim
Accurately valuing your losses after a traumatic brain injury involves many factors and it can quickly become complex. At Moore Law, our Tampa catastrophic injury attorney can identify all of your losses and obtain the necessary evidence, such as expert testimony, to help you obtain the fair settlement you are entitled to. Call us today at 813-510-5400 or chat with us online to schedule a consultation with our experienced attorney to get the legal help you need.
Source:
ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-5/subpart-B/section-5.29
