Traumatic brain injuries are life-changing and often require extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation. Rehab targets long-term effects, including cognitive dysfunction, headaches, visuospatial deficits, and sleep disturbance. Rehabilitation may help provide emotional and social support, help manage the physical and mental issues caused by the injury and improve a patient’s ability to function at home. Many TBI patients, even after rehabilitation, may be unable to handle normal activities of daily living, participate in the hobbies they once enjoyed, or even return to work. Failing to consider all the lifetime costs of a traumatic brain injury after an accident caused by negligence may be an expensive mistake.

A TBI from a traffic collision or another type of accident may be life-altering and costly. Our skilled California traumatic brain injury lawyers are here to help you seek full compensation for rehabilitation and other costs. Call (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly case advice.

Claims adjusters and defense counsel work for insurance companies, and their goals are to pay the lowest amount possible on personal injury cases, including those involving TBIs. Our dedicated California personal injury lawyers at AutoAccident.com are prepared to help with TBI cases caused by a wide array of accidents. All our services are provided on a contingent fee basis. This means clients are not charged any costs of legal representation unless we secure a successful result in their accident case. When you work with our legal team, we will stop at nothing to obtain the financial recovery you need and the justice you deserve. Contact our law office today to tell us your story and receive a free case evaluation.

Recovery from a traumatic brain injury will depend on the patient and the severity of the injury. Traumatic brain injuries may harm an individual and their family in various ways. Therefore, it is essential to understand all the effects of a TBI on a patient’s life to determine appropriate treatment moving forward. Imaging is necessary for the timely evaluation and diagnosis of traumatic brain injuries. This generally consists of non-contrast computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in select TBI cases.

The specific treatments for those with TBIs vary from patient to patient. This is due to the complex effects of traumatic brain injuries influenced by factors such as severity, location, and cause. Rehab should start once a TBI patient has reached medical stability. Patients should not be kept in nursing homes or acute hospitals any longer than medically necessary. Rehabilitation for traumatic brain injuries can assist with challenges like daily care, mobility, and speech. The goal of rehab for TBI patients is to promote healing, prevention of complications, and reintegrating back into society.

If a traumatic brain injury is left untreated, the long-term effects of the injury may present later. This may increase an individual’s risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other types of dementia. Therefore, rehabilitation and follow-up TBI treatment is necessary. Immediate medical treatment is a crucial aspect of recovery following a traumatic brain injury from an accident or other type of incident. Some TBI patients may return to the same level of function before the incident, while others may require lifelong treatment.

Rehabilitation is intended to help TBI patients improve their function at home and in the community. Rehab is intended to meet specific patient needs, and each type of therapy may be provided in a group or individual setting. Rehabilitation may be provided in different settings, such as an independent living program, home health service, outpatient rehabilitation, and inpatient medical rehabilitation hospital. Rehab is intended to enhance and maintain a TBI patient’s recovery. These include:

• Cognitive Rehabilitation: Cognition, or the ability to think, may be impacted by a brain injury, such as a concussion or stroke. Patients often report issues with speech, memory, problem-solving, learning, comprehension, perception, concentration, attention, and orientation. Cognitive rehabilitation is tailored to each patient’s unique needs and situation. This type of rehab incorporates a compensatory and restorative approach into treatment. The restorative approach is intended to restore, strengthen, or reinforce impaired cognitive functions, whereas the compensatory approach teaches the patient different ways of compensating or bypassing the impaired skill.
• Physical Therapy: If a TBI results in paralyzed or weakened limbs, treatment from a physical therapist may be effective. Physical therapy is designed to maintain the range of motions for joints and move the affected limbs to help relieve or prevent contractures. Some TBI cases may require coordination exercises where a therapist performs constraint-induced movement therapy. This involves restraining the unaffected limb as a patient practices daily activities through repetition. This is intended to help a patient with a traumatic brain injury using the paralyzed or weakened limb.
• Occupational Rehabilitation: Some issues attributed to TBI may require specific treatments and therapies. Occupational therapy is a comprehensive post-acute rehabilitation program with the goals of addressing psychological results, enhancing patient safety, and improving the physical capacities of patients. This works to ensure that individuals with accident-related injuries, like TBIs, are able to return to activities of daily living and employment. Occupational rehabilitation programs may involve a multidisciplinary or multimodal approach or both.
• Outpatient Rehabilitation: A patient with a traumatic brain injury may receive ongoing outpatient therapies to meet long-term and short-term goals for recovery. This follows sub-acute, post-acute, or acute rehab. A patient may attend outpatient therapies if they were not diagnosed with TBI when the accident happened or if their traumatic brain injury was not serious enough to need hospitalization. Outpatient therapy is intended to achieve re-entry into the community and attain social, domestic, and physical independence.

Under California law, if an individual is injured in an accident or another incident caused by someone else’s negligence, the injured party may be entitled to compensation. This is in the form of non-economic and economic damages. These are intended to make a claimant whole again. If the losses exceed the at-fault party’s liability limits or they do not have insurance, an injured party may seek recourse through their uninsured/underinsured motorist protection. Recoverable losses in TBI cases may include:

• Renovations to the home and vehicle as reasonable accommodations for a traumatic brain injury
• Costs of past and future treatment that is reasonable and necessary for injuries from an accident
• Pain and suffering from the emotional hardship and physical pain brought on by a head injury
• Diminished earning potential for the inability to return to the same career before the crash
• Lost income for the hours that were missed at work to recover from crash-related injuries
• Loss of enjoyment of life to participate in hobbies and other activities
• Loss of consortium for marital relationship damage caused by a TBI
• In-home professional caregiving or long-term care facility costs
• Occupational rehabilitation and other rehab programs
• Prescription medications and medical appliances

The unfortunate reality is that it is often challenging to recover the financial compensation you need after getting injured in an accident. Insurance carriers and defense counsel may dispute the severity of injuries, like TBIs, and the resulting damages. The other side may delay, devalue, or deny claims to protect their bottom line. That is why it is essential to level the playing field and hire the best California personal injury lawyer to represent you and protect your rights.

An expert witness may provide testimony in a personal injury case based on their experience in the relevant field, line of work, and educational background. Explanation from an expert may clarify matters subject to misunderstandings and misconceptions. Without expert witness testimony, it may be challenging to support a personal injury case effectively. An expert’s knowledgeable findings and opinions would establish credibility in the matter. A skilled California accident attorney will have the resources to work with expert witnesses who can review a TBI case and provide valid opinions.

Some examples of personal injury cases involving TBIs requiring expert witness testimony may include car accidents and other types of traffic collisions. The expert witness may provide an explanation of how the incident occurred and connect the car wreck to the resulting injuries. Expert witness testimony may also be useful in establishing a case’s value. For instance, an economist may provide insight into past and future wage loss based on their expertise in accounting. It is essential to hire an expert that is not only knowledgeable and experienced in their field but also reputable and articulate.

Living with a TBI from an accident is challenging. In such situations, it is helpful to have someone looking out for you and your best interests. At AutoAccident.com, our California traumatic brain injury lawyers have helped many individuals and their families obtain the justice and full compensation they deserve. We have the experience, skills, and resources to navigate the complexities of TBI cases and seek the favorable resolutions our clients deserve through settlements and verdicts. Our legal team is here to help you and offer free, friendly case advice. Get started by calling our injury attorneys at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400.

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