How Do You Determine Damages in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case?

After a serious accident that causes a head injury – like a car crash or bad fall – you’re likely hearing a lot of people telling you to get a lawyer. When you suffer injuries in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you have the right to file a claim against the negligent party to cover the costs of your injuries and losses. In the cases of a traumatic brain injury, these costs can be tremendous.

However, you’ve almost certainly never experienced a brain injury before, so how do you even know how much compensation to which you’re entitled? What does it cover? Are there limits under Kentucky law? Today our personal injury attorneys discuss traumatic brain injury cases and how damages and compensation work.

What is a traumatic brain injury?

The Cleveland Clinic describes traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) as follows:

When you take a violent, hard hit to your head, your brain may experience changes in chemical and energy use as a way to compensate for the injury. These changes can result in headaches, light/sound sensitivity, and confusion. In mild TBIs, these changes are short and do not permanently damage the brain. However, with more severe injuries, these changes can last longer and result in damage to the brain cells. These effects can cause the brain to swell and expand inside the skull. The swelling can lead to even more brain damage.

And, the CDC tells us that, in 2020, 64,000 Americans died from TBI-related injuries – 176 deaths every day. According to their research:

• “Falls lead to nearly half of the TBI-related hospitalizations
• Firearm-related suicide is the most common cause of TBI-related deaths in the United States
• Motor vehicle crashes and assaults are other common ways a person may get a TBI”

They also report that older adults have a higher risk of experiencing fatal TBIs in comparison to other age groups, as they’re often misdiagnosed with conditions like dementia rather than a brain injury. Children are also at risk of serious complications from TBI, as their growing brains and bodies experience brain injury different than adults.

Traumatic brain injuries fall under the umbrella of what the legal and insurance industries call “catastrophic injuries,” which means injuries so severe they alter the course of a person’s life. Along with TBIs, catastrophic injuries also include spinal cord injuries, severe burn injuries, and limb loss injuries. These injuries are generally irreversible, permanent, and disabling.

Catastrophic injury patients often need ongoing medical treatment in addition to the initial care they received after the accident. For TBI patients, the Cleveland Clinic notes this can include:

• Counseling to provide emotional support post-injury
• Surgery to reduce bleeding and pressure
• Occupational, physical, and speech therapy
• Rest to allow the brain to heal

Treatments focus on improving symptoms and quality of life rather than reversing the effect of the injury, as TBIs are mostly permanent.

The amount of treatment and ongoing support a TBI patient requires depends on the severity of their injuries and their personal circumstances. However, one fact is that patients with serious brain injuries usually need assistance for the rest of their lives – and when their injury happened because of someone else’s negligence, they should not be responsible for those expenses.

Your Kentucky personal injury attorney works to assess the entire scope of your injuries, both now and in the future, to ensure you secure the compensation you need to live a comfortable life..

How do you assess damages in a Kentucky TBI case?

We understand that, often, a catastrophic injury doesn’t just affect the accident victim, it affects their entire family. When the TBI patient is the main income earner, or the main caretaker at home, when they can’t function as before, everyone feels the loss – emotionally and financially. A catastrophic injury can empty your bank account and exhaust all your resources in the blink of an eye, even if you have insurance. However, with an attorney on your side, you don’t have to worry about losing everything. Wilt Injury Lawyers can help.

Assessing damages properly in a TBI case means really getting to know you and your life. We want to understand exactly what you’ve lost due to your injuries and get to work making things right. It’s not just a matter of plugging numbers into a calculator – we look at your true losses and the reimbursement to which you’re entitled for each and every one. Although every case and every client is unique, our Kentucky brain injury attorneys typically seek compensation for damages like:

• Physical impairment (current and future)
• Lost wages (current and future)
• Pain and suffering (current and future)
• Anxiety and mental distress (current and future)
• Loss of enjoyment of life (current and future)
• Inability to perform ordinary activities (current and future)

Kentucky also puts no limit on recoverable damages in personal injury lawsuits.

We work to secure maximum compensation for your injuries while holding the responsible party or parties accountable. It might feel impossible to put a price tag on your pain and suffering, but it’s important to do so, to ensure you live the best life as possible after your injury, and our attorneys can help. We prepare every case as if it’s going to trial, to show insurance companies and opposing counsel that we mean business and won’t settle for anything less than you deserve.

The Kentucky traumatic brain injury attorneys at Wilt Injury Lawyers have decades of experience helping people harmed by the negligence of others. If you were injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, we can help you recover the compensation to which you’re entitled for your injuries. Talk to us today to find out how we can fight for you and your family. Call our offices at 502-253-9110 or reach out through our contact form to schedule a free consultation today. We serve individuals and families in Louisville and Lexington, and throughout the state.