If you suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a car accident, car crash, slip-and-fall, or other incident that occurred due to another’s negligence, the consequences can be long-lasting and require extensive treatment. These long-term effects, such as headaches, depression, and chronic pain, can impact your claim by increasing its value, and may include catastrophic injuries and life altering consequences. At Callahan & Blaine, our knowledgeable lawyers consider every detail, including the long-term effects of your TBI, to ensure you receive a fair settlement.
With a 40-year legacy and over 700 years of combined trial experience, our robust team of 29 lawyers has experience handling all types of complex, high-value claims, including TBI cases. Brain injury cases are often highly complex and require specialized legal expertise due to the challenges in diagnosis and establishing the severity of the injury. Therefore, you can trust us to accurately calculate your claim’s value and help you understand how the impact of your TBI, including cases involving severe traumatic brain injury, can affect your case. This open communication and our high-quality services have given us a proven track record of success, allowing you to focus on recovery better informed and with peace of mind.
Understanding Brain Injury
Understanding brain injury is essential for anyone affected by a traumatic brain injury (TBI), whether as a victim or a loved one. A traumatic brain injury occurs when a sudden blow, jolt, or penetrating injury disrupts normal brain function, often resulting from incidents like car accidents, sports injuries, falls, or someone else’s negligence. The severity of a traumatic brain injury can range from a mild concussion to a severe, life-altering condition, with each level presenting unique challenges.
Traumatic brain injuries can cause a wide array of symptoms, including cognitive impairments, emotional distress, and physical symptoms that may persist long after the initial injury. For some, the effects are temporary, but for many TBI victims, the consequences can be permanent and profoundly impact daily life. In cases of repeated mild TBIs, such as those experienced by athletes, there is a risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a serious neurodegenerative disease that can lead to long-term cognitive and behavioral changes.
Because brain injuries can be complex and unpredictable, understanding their causes, symptoms, and potential long-term effects is crucial for navigating the legal process. Working with a traumatic brain injury lawyer can help ensure that your rights are protected and that you seek compensation for all the ways your injury has affected your life. By fully understanding traumatic brain injuries, you can better advocate for yourself or your loved one and pursue maximum compensation for your losses.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Because every TBI victim is different, this injury affects everyone in various ways. The type of accident that caused the injury and the part of the brain can play a major role in the symptoms you experience. Some individuals may be experiencing symptoms that are difficult to diagnose, but these symptoms are real and can still significantly impact their claim. Many TBI patients experience symptoms like migraines, anxiety, memory loss, chronic pain, trouble concentrating, and seizures. These symptoms can have a long-term impact on your quality of life and can profoundly affect a person’s life in the following ways:
- Career and Financial Security: A TBI can leave you unable to work or reduce your capacity to perform your job, making it difficult to sustain a career and keep you financially stable.
- Mental Health: TBIs can impact your mental health, causing symptoms like depression and anxiety. To get through these mental struggles, you may need support groups, therapy, and other mental health services.
- Regular Activities: Daily tasks that used to be easy, such as cooking, cleaning, bathing, and getting dressed, can be much more difficult with a TBI. You may need assistance from a family member or caregiver to do these activities.
- Relationships: TBIs can affect personal relationships, adding stress to anyone who takes on a caretaker role. The depression and anxiety often associated with TBIs can also make victims isolate themselves from social events.
With these long-lasting effects of TBIs, many patients need extensive care, including therapy, rehabilitation, support groups, and ongoing medical treatments. Some TBIs result in permanent disability, requiring lifelong support, while others may allow a person to fully recover over time. At Callahan & Blaine, we understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll a TBI can have on your life, so we fight tirelessly to ensure insurance companies recognize these damages and give you the compensation you deserve.
TBIs can range from mild concussions and mild TBI, which may not always be detected by standard imaging, to severe injury and severe TBI, which can cause significant long-term consequences and, in the most serious cases, even death.
Can You Recover Damages for the Long-Term Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
If you have suffered a TBI due to someone else’s negligence, the long-term effects of the injury may impact your claim by increasing its value. When filing an injury claim, you can seek compensation and demand compensation for the current and future effects of this injury on your life. Depending on the severity of your TBI and your unique needs, you may recover the following damages:
- Past, present, and future medical bills
- Medical costs
- Lost wages from missed work
- Loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
When calculating your claim’s worth, we consider every detail, including the treatment you will need in the future and how your TBI will affect you long term. TBI settlement values and how TBI settlement values are determined depend on the severity and long-term impact of the injury.
Our experienced team uses your bills, invoices, personal statements, pay stubs, and tax returns to help you better understand the value of your losses and avoid settling for a lowball offer from insurance adjusters. The insurance company plays a significant role in the settlement process, and consulting a personal injury lawyer is crucial to ensure you receive fair compensation.
A traumatic brain injury case or traumatic brain injury settlement can provide the financial support needed for ongoing care. TBI settlement amounts are negotiated based on the specifics of your case, including the type of head injury you have suffered.
Managing Medical Expenses and Lost Income After a Traumatic Brain Injury
Managing the financial impact of a traumatic brain injury can be overwhelming, as medical expenses and lost income quickly add up. The costs associated with medical treatment—such as emergency care, surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and ongoing medical care—can be substantial. For those with severe TBIs or permanent disabilities, the need for lifelong support and physical therapy can create a significant financial burden.
Beyond medical bills, many TBI victims experience lost wages due to an inability to work or reduced earning capacity. Symptoms like memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, sleep disorders, and chronic pain can make it challenging to maintain employment or return to a previous job. This loss of income, combined with mounting medical expenses, can place immense stress on both the injured person and their family.
To navigate these challenges, it is vital to work with a traumatic brain injury lawyer who can help gather evidence, calculate both economic and non-economic damages, and negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement. A skilled TBI lawyer will ensure that all aspects of your injury—including chronic consequences like psychiatric problems, cognitive impairment, and emotional distress—are considered in your claim.
Additionally, support groups and community resources can provide much-needed emotional support and practical guidance for coping with the long-lasting effects of a traumatic brain injury.
By seeking legal representation and connecting with available resources, TBI victims and their families can better manage the financial and emotional challenges they face and work toward rebuilding their lives after a life-altering injury.
Reach Out to the Trusted California Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers at Callahan & Blaine
Suffering a traumatic brain injury can leave you with lifelong challenges, from financial instability to a diminished quality of life. At Callahan & Blaine, our 40 years as a firm and trusted 29-lawyer team give us the expertise to fight for the full compensation you deserve. We understand how the long-term effects of your injury can impact every aspect of your life and your TBI claim, and we use this knowledge to ensure insurance companies recognize the true value of your claim.
Our team works closely with you, handling every detail of your case so that you can focus on recovery. From calculating damages to negotiating with insurers, we are committed to advocating for your rights. Contact us today through our contact form today!
We invite you to schedule a meeting with an experienced personal injury lawyer to discuss your brain injury case and learn about your options for compensation.