Car accidents top the list for reasons of traumatic brain injury. When negligence is a primary factor, there is compensation available to TBI victims. TBIs are serious and can alter a person’s personality or functionality. Brain injuries can be mild with subtle symptoms of damage. They can also be life-altering, leaving the person incapacitated or like a vegetable hooked up to machines. Some may even have a progression in cases that go downhill slowly, or it can happen overnight. Either way much is lost with TBI victims as some have to learn how to live all over again.
Car Accidents and Brain Injuries
While driving your vehicle, it feels like you are floating on air, and nothing can harm you. Perhaps, it is the air-tight technology that has progressed over the decades. The truth is, nothing changes the fact that once control gets lost of the vehicle, the people inside the automobile will get jerked and thrown around like rag dolls. That is why it is so vital to wear a seatbelt because of the velocity and thrust. A person cannot hold their body in place with the impact of a severe accident. Another truth is you do not have to hit your head on something to get a TBI. All it takes is a whiplash from a massive impact to have the brain jerked back and forth against the skull.
Other impacts, such as the vehicle flipping over, can cause extensive damage. It depends on the direction of impact as to how a person can hit their head. If the vehicle gets T-boned, the head will hit the side of the door. The seatbelt will not stop this injury, but it will keep the person flying out of the side windows. In a head-on or rear impact, the person may hit their head on the steering wheel, or the airbag may deploy, causing TBI.
TBI and a Legal Claim
Most people would think it is an open and shut case with proof of negligence on the other party involved in the accident. The insurance companies will fight to keep every penny, and they will try their best to get away with paying the bare minimum. Believe it or not, they will even try to get away with paying less than that. This is where the attorney comes in and takes the reigns to fight the insurance companies. The main thing is for the client, and anyone involved in the accident in your vehicle to get the proper medical care.
Everything will get documented by the doctors and hospital concerning the TBI and the amount of damage the accident caused. This is valuable information of the diagnosis that the attorney will use to win the case. It will explain the level of severity. Once the attorney gets their hands on the medical records, they can predict the damage owed to their client. Listed below is what they will go after in the case:
- All medical bills must get paid.
- Pain and suffering money gets paid.
- Compensation for lost wages short and long term.
- Compensation for those who care for the victim.
- Property damages from the vehicle and any valuables inside the vehicle.
TBI Symptoms
TBI symptoms in mild cases are noticeable only to the victim in most situations. Those with severe cases are obvious, and it leaves loved ones concerned for the victim. Mild cases may be able to overcome, but the damage of severe cases will never achieve 100 percent recovery. They come close, but it will take a miracle to get back to normal. The symptoms of mild cases are as follows:
- Vomiting.
- Headaches.
- Brief loss of consciousness or confusion.
- Difficulty sleeping.
- Sensitivity to light or sound.
The ones with severe TBI are noticeable by personality and physical disabilities. The severe cases are those that are in a comatose state. Machines will operate the organs while the person is alive, but barely. Others may have disabilities that may leave a person in a condition like that of a stroke. Paralysis is common, and speech can become impaired. Numbness on one side is common, depending on which side of the brain is damaged. The side that is damaged will leave the opposite side of the body numb or paralyzed.
Personality changes are awkward for those who deal with the victim, like family members or close friends. It can change their personality completely, or it will give them mood swings where they will be happy one minute and angry the next. The chemicals in the brain get altered as they will not flow properly. Sometimes the effects are permanent and become the opposite of what the person was before. For example, if they were nice before the accident, they may become permanently agitated or mean after the TBI. The brain cells may expire in some areas, causing memory loss resembling amnesia.
Depression After the Accident and TBI
Among the statistics, since car accidents make up the majority of TBI, the most horrendous symptom of all is depression and anxiety. These symptoms are a little different as they do not always show up right after the accident. They may take days to years to show up, but when they do, the results are something to keep a close eye on. The difficulty in controlling emotions can get devastating and even lead to suicide attempts or succeeding in the worst-case scenario.
The reasons to never settle right away with an insurance company would have to be with the long-term effects that show up later in life. Depression and anxiety are usually the last to take effect. Treatment can be extensive and possibly for the rest of the person’s life. These are the awarded settlements that reach in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for lifelong treatments. Medication and therapy usually work in these areas. In the worst case, mental institutions that house patients are the only option left. It can take years, or it may never happen that the person will get better.
Getting a TBI Attorney
The cases of TBI in car accidents are about 25 percent and steadily rising over the last decade. Getting a TBI attorney should be a priority upon getting in an accident. They will be able to get you through the ins and outs of everything legally and see to it you get fair compensation. If the victim is the one suffering from the TBI, another trusted individual can work closely with the lawyer to handle the case. The attorneys can help alleviate the cost, especially in the medical area.
