A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is perhaps the most severe of all catastrophic injuries. When a person’s brain is damaged, they will immediately suffer the consequences, which can range from a loss of memories, debilitated faculties, or death. To make matters worse, the brain is not an organ that heals quickly, and so brain damage is often permanent, even in mild cases.
As a result of a mild TBI’s permanence, the true cost of a TBI can go much further than just initial medical bills. In fact, research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate the average brain injury will cost the survivor anywhere between $100,000 to $3,000,000 across their lifetime. This number is all the more harrowing given that the CDC estimates nearly 2 million Americans will suffer a brain injury to some degree each year.
Damages for a TBI will escalate as the patient requires the care of additional specialists, such as:
- Emergency medical responders
- Neurosurgeons
- Neurologists
- Neuropsychologists
- Other specialists
Specialized Therapies After a Mild TBI
A brain injury will require the survivor to receive special therapies after being released from hospitalization depending on how the injury afflicted their cognitive faculties. For example, someone who develops a speech impediment after a cranial impact will need to see a speech therapists. Or, someone who has lost motor functions and control will need to see a rehabilitative or occupational therapist often, and perhaps for the rest of their life.
It is quite common for someone to require cognitive rehabilitation therapy after a TBI to help them cope with memory loss, multitasking inability, and other cognitive deficits experienced due to the brain injury’s lingering symptoms. Psychological rehabilitation is also commonly needed by TBI survivors who become emotionally and psychologically damaged by their injury. People who suffer a TBI are at a high risk of falling into depression as they try to cope to their newly-limited life, especially if they lose their job. The feeling of having lost so many future good years can be more damaging than the pain and suffering they have naturally felt due to the severe injury, and it can be exacerbated by uncharacteristic depression, anxiety, and irritability.
When everything is considered, the cost of all of these therapies can be steep. Lifelong therapy is often the best solution if a TBI survivor wants to live as comfortably as can be, and so lifelong costs will keep adding up.
40+ Years of Standing Up for TBI Survivors
At Biren law Group of Los Angeles, our attorneys proudly protect and uphold the rights of TBI survivors who were severely injured due to the negligence or recklessness of another. If you have suffered a TBI – mild or severe – and do not know how you can make ends meet due to the total costs of your injury, including what you have already accrued and what will come in the future, then please contact our firm at once. With our representation, you may be able to secure fair and maximized compensation for your TBI.
Call (310) 896-4345 to talk with our Los Angeles TBI attorneys today.