A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is devastating. You or your loved one may be disabled with high medical bills, out of work, and in excellent physical and emotional pain. You can need long-term rehabilitation and treatment, too.
When a brain injury is caused by someone else, you deserve compensation for your injuries and damages. Pain and suffering are usually a significant part of a brain injury settlement, and the amount of compensation depends on many factors. More information on compensation for pain and suffering from brain injury is detailed below.
Talk to a personal injury attorney in your area today for more information and to find out if you have a case. They can review your case for free to determine your legal options.
What Causes Traumatic Brain Injuries?
There is no single cause of brain injuries. The CDC reports that nearly 3 million Americans suffer brain injuries annually, and many are through no fault of their own. TBIs happen for many reasons, including:
Auto Accidents
Car accidents are one of the most common reasons for brain injuries. A crash or sudden stop can cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull and cause serious brain injuries. Even if no injury is obvious, you can have dizziness, balance problems, headaches, or memory issues that reveal a brain injury.
Auto accidents involving brain injuries usually cause difficult insurance claims, and a brain injury attorney should represent you. If the other driver is to blame, your attorney can file a claim against their insurance company.
Falls
You or your loved one can fall anywhere - on a wet floor in a grocery store, a staircase, an icy sidewalk or parking lot, etc. You can receive compensation in a personal injury claim for a brain injury if the fall happens on another person’s property.
Assaults
Some brain injuries aren’t accidents; they are caused by acts of violence, including assaults, child abuse, or domestic abuse. The defendant can face a criminal case and a personal injury lawsuit for damages.
Job-Related Accidents
Workplaces with heights, heavy machinery, or dangerous conditions may put workers at higher risk of brain injuries. Slips from scaffolding, falling objects, or defective equipment can cause serious harm to workers. Employers must maintain a safe workplace; if they fail, an injured worker can file a claim for justice.
Medical Mistakes
Some TBIs happen because of medical negligence, such as surgical mistakes, missed diagnoses, wrong diagnoses, prescription drug errors, or birth injuries. A brain injury attorney can file a claim against the doctor or medical facility that injured you.
Compensation In A Traumatic Brain Injury Claim
A TBI claim or lawsuit can produce compensation for two categories of losses: economic and non-economic damages:
Economic Damages
Economic damages are relatively straightforward to calculate and include:
- Current and future medical bills. Your brain injury attorney will collect your current medical bills to determine fair compensation. They will also work with medical experts to calculate your future medical and rehabilitation needs.
- Lost earnings. You should receive payment for all lost earnings related to your brain injury and recovery. Also, you may receive compensation for lost earning capacity if you have a permanent disability preventing you from working.
- Home modification costs. A brain injury may leave you unable to function as you once did, so your settlement may pay for the costs of modifying your home and vehicle.
- Property damage. You may receive compensation for property damage, such as if your car was totaled in the accident.
- Funeral and burial costs. You can receive compensation for funeral and burial expenses if your loved one died from a brain injury from someone’s negligence.
Non-Economic Damages
You can also pursue damages for subjective losses related to the TBI, such as:
- Pain and suffering. A serious brain injury can cause a lot of pain related to the initial injury, subsequent treatments, and recovery. A brain injury attorney will work with your medical team to document your level of pain and suffering and demand just compensation for it from the insurance company.
- Mental and emotional anguish. The effects of a brain injury will cause extensive mental and emotional pain. You or your relative may have serious disabilities, such as an inability to walk, care for yourself, or enjoy leisure activities. Your brain injury attorney will document your degree of mental suffering by interviewing your doctors and mental health providers.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. A brain injury can seriously affect your ability to enjoy life, including relationships with your family.
- Loss of consortium. You may be unable to enjoy an intimate relationship with your spouse.
A traumatic brain injury attorney has years of experience assisting victims in receiving compensation for their damages. Ask a brain injury lawyer for a free consultation to see if you have a case. After thoroughly investigating your case, they should also be able to provide a rough case value range.
How Much Compensation For Brain Injury Pain And Suffering?
The amount of compensation for pain and suffering in a brain injury claim varies based on the case details. You or your loved one can be entitled to compensation for medical bills and lost earnings, which are relatively straightforward to calculate.
Compensation for pain and suffering is different. How does one value a person’s mental and physical suffering from a brain injury? There are no medical bills or paystubs to add up on a calculator.
Courts, juries, or insurance companies typically determine pain and suffering based on the unique circumstances of the injury and its impact.
Insurance companies and juries usually use one of two methods to estimate pain and suffering compensation. The first is the multiplier method, which takes your economic damages, like medical costs and lost income, and multiplies them by a number, usually between 1.5 and 5, depending on how severe the pain and suffering is.
For example, if your medical bills are $10,000 and a multiplier of 3 is applied because of significant distress, you might get $30,000 for pain and suffering on top of the $10,000.
The per diem method, on the other hand, assigns a daily value - say, $100 - to your suffering and multiplies it by the number of days you’re affected. If you’re in pain for 200 days, that’s $20,000.
Brain injury severity matters a lot for pain and suffering compensation. A minor concussion can lead to thousands of dollars in pain and suffering. However, a severe brain injury with permanent cognitive effects can boost compensation into the hundreds of thousands or more.
Other factors include how long the suffering lasts, how it disrupts your daily life, and even your age or health before the injury. Some states cap non-economic damages in specific cases, such as medical malpractice. Most cases settle out of court, so the final amount often comes to negotiation between your lawyer and the insurance company.
Without a detailed case evaluation, it’s impossible to say what your pain and suffering are worth. A brain injury attorney can review your case and estimate pain and suffering. They can also review your prognosis and medical reports to determine what you can receive for current and future medical expenses.
Why Do You Need A Brain Injury Attorney?
A traumatic brain injury can be minor, moderate, or severe. But all brain injuries require rest, recovery, and medical care. Whether recovering takes two weeks or a lifetime, your time should center on recovering and being with your family. You don’t need the hassles and stresses of haggling with complex insurance companies about fair compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost earnings.
Negotiating a fair settlement for your brain injury requires the skills and talents of an experienced personal injury attorney. They have the experience, resources, and dedication to fight for the best compensation from the insurance company.
Some of the duties your brain injury attorney will handle include:
- Collecting evidence to prove liability, such as eyewitness reports, police reports, photos and videos, surveillance video of the incident, cell phone records, etc.
- Interviewing eyewitnesses to prove liability. Eyewitness statements from the accident or incident can be key to proving fault for the insurance company or jury.
- Gathering medical records and estimating damages. Your brain injury attorney will collect all required medical documents and carefully assess your compensation demand for medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost earnings.
- Handle all insurance company communications and negotiations. Your lawyer will communicate with the insurance company and negotiate aggressively for a brain injury settlement.
- Take the case to court. Most brain injury claims are settled out of court because both sides want to resolve the case faster and at less expense. However, the insurance company may balk at paying a huge settlement, so your attorney will be ready to prepare the case for trial.
A brain injury claim is serious. You or your loved one can have six or seven figures of damages. Negotiating your own settlement will yield far less money for your damages than you deserve. Always rely on an experienced brain injury lawyer to fight for your rights.
What Is A Brain Injury Claim Worth?
Obviously, a TBI is a serious injury with potentially serious long-term effects. Therefore, you should demand the most compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. How much can your brain injury attorney get you? It depends.
Figuring out what a brain injury claim from a car crash might be worth isn’t a straightforward numbers game. Much depends on the details of your case and injuries. The value of your brain injury claim hinges on things like how severe the injury is, the medical costs tied to it, how it affects your life long-term, and who’s at fault.
For a minor brain injury, like a concussion, settlements may be in the thousands of dollars, paying for expenses such as doctor visits and a few missed paychecks. But if it’s a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, where you need ongoing therapy, have a permanent disability, or may not work again, you can have a settlement of six or seven figures. In this case, you should always retain a brain injury lawyer to fight for top dollar.
Let’s look at medical expenses. A minor TBI may have medical bills for ER visits and doctor follow-ups, but a severe injury may have expenses for surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care. If you are young and can’t work, the case will be worth more than if you are retired. Also, as mentioned earlier, pain and suffering can be substantial for a serious brain injury.
Another factor influencing your settlement is insurance limits. Suppose another driver hit you and caused a serious brain injury. You may have $250,000 in damages, but their insurance only covers $50,000. Unless your attorney recommends filing a lawsuit to recover the rest, you may be stuck. That may be worth the time and expenses if the person is wealthy.
How Long To Settle A Brain Injury Case?
It’s difficult to answer with certainty. Unfortunately, many brain injury cases involve long-term or permanent injuries. The settlement value can be high. The more money at stake, the harder the insurance company will fight it. A case worth $1 million can take at least a year to settle and possibly longer. A high-value case that goes to trial can take two years or more.
A brain injury attorney can review your case details and provide a timeline. They can quickly see if it’s a straightforward or more complex case.
Speak To A Brain Injury Attorney Today
Were you injured in an accident and suffered a brain injury? You may be entitled to compensation in a brain injury lawsuit. However, obtaining maximum compensation is difficult, so retain a brain injury attorney to assist. You can speak to Fields Injury Law in your community today for free. There is no legal fee if your brain injury attorney does not obtain compensation for you.
Steve Fields
Founder | CEO | Principal | Attorney
Steve Fields founded Fields Law in 2001 and quickly established a reputation with his Personal Injury clients for being a lawyer who truly cares. After more than 20 years, those clients continue to refer their friends and family whenever they have been injured or become disabled.
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