According to the Centre for Neuro Skills, approximately 2.5 million traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) occur in the United States every year. While traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can vary widely in severity, estimates suggest that as many as ~5 million Americans live with TBI-related disability and ~90,000 people per year develop long-term disability (exact figures vary by method and year).
If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the road to recovery can be long, uncertain and complicated. Between mounting medical bills, life-altering side effects and potential legal issues, many TBI survivors feel overwhelmed by the many conflicting demands placed upon them. Let’s explore some of the ongoing challenges posed by traumatic brain injuries and discuss how a TBI lawyer can help survivors pursue the compensation they need to move forward after an accident.
What is a TBI?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden trauma disrupts a person’s normal brain function. Concussions are the most common type of TBI, and over 50% of all traumatic brain injuries are attributable to motor vehicle accidents. It’s important to note that TBIs can be the result of direct or indirect trauma to the head. This means a person might develop a TBI after a direct blow to the head or from a forceful motion like whiplash. In both cases, the brain is subjected to physical impact — either with an external object or the inside of the skull — which can lead to bruising and bleeding.
Because traumatic brain injuries affect the way a person’s brain functions, their long-term effects can range from mild to severe. While many TBI victims recover from their injuries with minimal medical intervention or brief hospital stays, a significant number of TBI sufferers develop long-term complications from their injuries. Tragically, around 69,000 people ultimately died as the result of traumatic brain injuries in 2021.
What is the long-term impact of a TBI?
As we’ve mentioned, many patients make full recoveries from mild TBIs, but more severe brain injuries can result in permanent or prolonged side effects. Some symptoms commonly associated with the long-term effects of a TBI may include:
- Memory loss
- Difficulty concentrating
- Impaired motor skills
- Changes in speech
- Mood swings/personality changes
Even with early medical intervention, many victims require long-term physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and other medical care. For some patients, traumatic brain injuries can lead to an overall loss of independence and the need for round-the-clock care.
All of these symptoms and side effects can place emotional and financial strain on victims who are already dealing with the physical impact of their injuries. What’s more, many incidents of TBI put patients’ families in difficult positions as they try to make the best possible care decisions for their loved ones.
What long-term care looks like for TBI victims
TBI survivors who require extensive, long-term care commonly have a handful of options available to them. Depending on the severity of a person’s injury and its side effects, long-term care options may include:
- Outpatient rehab: Patients with mild to moderate TBI-related impairments may attend periodic physical, occupational and/or speech therapy sessions to help them improve or regain certain cognitive and motor skills.
- In-home care: Some families opt to hire in-home assistance to aid survivors with daily activities like bathing, cooking or taking medication.
- Assisted living communities: Patients who can live semi-independently with only minor support can benefit from placement in an assisted living community that offers flexible care and community with fellow survivors.
- Skilled nursing facilities: These facilities offer 24-hour medical supervision to patients with high support needs.
While these services can prove vital to a victim’s recovery, all of these options can be incredibly costly for patients and their families. In fact, the estimated lifelong cost of a TBI can reach up to $3 million. Given the limited nature of most Americans’ insurance coverage, it is often necessary for TBI survivors to pursue full and fair compensation through a personal injury claim to help them cover their long-term care costs.
What makes TBI cases so complex?
Traumatic brain injury cases are uniquely complicated because they involve overlapping medical, financial and legal challenges. Unlike a broken bone or soft tissue injury that may heal in weeks or months, TBIs can involve lifelong consequences that are difficult to fully predict or plan for at the time of injury.
When a TBI occurs as the result of another person’s negligence, the injured party and their family may be within their rights to pursue compensation to ease some of the strain caused by the injury. While this compensation can prove vital in safeguarding a victim’s recovery journey, calculating appropriate compensation in these cases can pose additional challenges for victims and their representatives.
That’s because compensation for a TBI isn’t just about seeking reimbursement for today’s hospital bills. Comprehensive compensation in a TBI claim should also account for:
- Future medical expenses
- Long-term rehabilitation costs
- Loss of income
- Reduced earning capacity/ability to work
- The cost of in-home care or placement in an assisted living facility
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Presenting a strong case for compensation requires ongoing collaboration, meticulous documentation and reliable legal representation. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help clients and their families make the necessary determinations about what kinds of compensation make the most sense in their case and work to secure a more favorable case outcome at the end of the day.
Who is entitled to compensation in a TBI case?
Here in East Tennessee, we know that accidents happen. Winding roads, bustling tourist attractions and an unpredictable climate can all contribute to the likelihood of someone falling victim to a motor vehicle crash, slip and fall accident, workplace injury or other safety hazard. While not all accidents justify a claim for compensation, injuries that occur as the direct result of another party’s negligence may serve as sufficient basis for a personal injury claim.
In the state of Tennessee, negligence might be in play in a TBI case if:
- The at-fault party owed a legal duty of care to the injured individual
- That duty of care was breached through action or inaction
- The injured party suffered measurable harm as a result of an accident
- Those injuries can be directly linked to the at-fault party’s breach of duty
If your injury was caused by another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation under Tennessee personal injury law. A personal injury lawyer can help you gather the necessary evidence of negligence to support your claim for compensation from the at-fault party in your case.
Additional legal considerations for TBI victims in Tennessee
Under Tennessee law, most personal injury claims must be filed within one year of the date of the injury. This is one of the shortest statutes of limitations in the country, so it’s vital to act quickly – especially because many TBI symptoms do not present immediately following an accident.
Additionally, Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule. This means that if you are found partially responsible for the accident – even if your claim is successful – your compensation may be reduced commensurate with your percentage of fault. What’s more, if you are found to be 50% or more at fault, you cannot recover damages at all from the other party or parties involved in your case.
Need help fighting for TBI compensation?
If you live in Sevierville or the surrounding areas and you have suffered a TBI as the result of another person’s negligence, you don’t have to navigate the legal system. At Delius & McKenzie, PLLC, we specialize in helping TBI victims fight for compensation without compromising their recovery efforts. Our local team understands the long-term, complex ramifications of traumatic brain injuries and knows what it takes to help clients fight for justice to the fullest extent of Tennessee law.
If you or a loved one has suffered a TBI in Sevierville or anywhere in East Tennessee, don’t wait. You can contact us to schedule a free consultation and speak with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys about taking the next step in your recovery journey.
Attorney Bryce W. McKenzie received his JD from University of Tennessee College of Law, and has been a clerk for the Court of Criminal Appeals. He is admitted in Tennessee, Federal Court, and the US Court of Appeals. Read more about Bryce W. McKenzie.
