A Traumatic Brain Injury Can Have Serious Consequences On Your Life And Your Finances
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of those injuries that does not present itself until long after an accident has occurred. For many individuals, symptoms do not become apparent until weeks, months, or even years later. Unfortunately, it is difficult for accident victims to recover compensation for latent injuries like TBIs because it is difficult to prove that the accident was in fact the cause and not some other event that happened later on in the victim’s life. However, while the health consequences of a TBI can be extreme, the financial risks posed by head injuries should not be ignored.
TBIs Can Have a Devastating Financial Impact
According to a study published in the ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research Journal, approximately 10 million people will be affected by a TBI each year. What is more scary is that many of these individuals will not regain their social independence once symptoms of a TBI begin to make themselves present, and despite no changes in their physical appearance or their overall lifespan expectancy. A major reason they will not regain their social independence is because of reduced finances.
“Reduced finances” can happen for any number of reasons following a TBI, including the inability to work the same job or to work at all, extensive medical costs associated with psychotherapy needs, higher divorce rates, and problems finding and sustaining employment.
The study went on to detail how, exactly, TBIs affects victims, chronicling year by year. At year one, the study found that approximately 52 percent of survivors were moderately to severely disabled. At year four, it found that most survivors lived with their families and were neither employed or enrolled in school. Many families cited a heavy psychological burden in caring for their injured loved one.
Mood disorders are common between two and seven years, and the risk of suicide is high. There is very little evidence in improvement in psychological problems between two and seven years post injury.
Over time, a TBI can deteriorate one’s personality, turning them into someone completely different from who their family once knew and loved. Victims also suffer from disturbances of cognition (often manifesting in executive dysfunction), making it difficult to impossible for them to care for themselves. As a result, the financial impact of a TBI are not just limited to the victim, but to the victim’s family as well.
Seek the Help of a Compassionate Miami Personal Injury Lawyer
At Spencer Morgan Law, our Miami personal injury attorneys understand how severe of an impact a TBI can have on a victim and his or her family. If you or a loved one was in an accident in which you sustained any sort of head trauma, it is imperative that you request a CT scan or MRI to disqualify traumatic brain injury. If the results come back positive and you do have a TBI, our attorneys will fight for the compensation you and your loved ones are sure to need in the coming years.
If your accident was months or even years ago, it may be more difficult for you to win an accident claim but it is not impossible. Talk to our experienced lawyers today about your legal rights and what you can do to uphold them. Call 305-423-3800 to schedule a free, confidential consultation with a member of our legal team today.
Resource:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3699059/