Car crashes, unsafe premises and even dangerous employment practices could lead to someone suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs are some of the most devastating injuries that a person can experience.
Concussions and other injuries to the brain are notorious for being expensive to treat and damaging to someone’s daily lived experience. What can you expect when you or someone you love develop the TBI because of an accident?
Brain injuries are expensive to treat
When you hurt your brain, you will need specialized medical care. The ability to properly diagnose and treat a TBI has improved in recent decades, but those advances come with huge expenses. Some people require surgery, while others may need therapeutic support to relearn skills.
In extreme cases, people may even require life support after a brain injury, as the brain controls all of your subconscious and life-sustaining actions, like breathing and digestion. It could cost someone between $85,000 and $3 million for medical treatment alone. That estimate does not include the impact of lost wages and other secondary consequences of a brain injury.
Brain injuries can mean major changes to your daily life
Areas of the brain perform different functions, so the location of the injury, the severity and your neurology all play a role in what lasting symptoms you will have because of a TBI. People report sensory symptoms, mobility symptoms and even changes in their overall personality. Memory issues and problems with balance are also known consequences of brain injuries.
Many people have to change professions or stop working entirely because of a brain injury, and those lost wages will only compound the expenses they incur when they need medical treatment. In some cases, people will also require specialized medical equipment, skilled nursing support and more accessible living space after a TBI.
Homeowner’s insurance and car insurance may have protection that falls far short of the costs to treat a TBI and the secondary expenses that it causes. Workers’ compensation may not cover secondary costs or fully replace your lost wages. People who suffer a moderate to severe brain injury have to consider a civil lawsuit in addition to any insurance claim to recoup the losses that insurance cannot cover.