Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are considered catastrophic, as they often result in temporary or permanent disabilities. As such, TBIs command the highest settlement among personal injury claims. Mild and moderate traumatic brain injuries often settle for six figures, while severe TBI claims usually exceed $1,000,000, depending on the severity and circumstances of the brain damage.
Calculating the worth of a TBI claim is not always straightforward, as it involves several factors. But there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get what you deserve.
With the help of an attorney who handles TBI cases, you’ll find out what your claim is worth based on your unique circumstances. They calculate your claim using standardized methods and negotiate on your behalf to ensure you get the compensation you need to push forward.
Factors Influencing the Worth of Your TBI Claim
A traumatic brain injury is any physical injury to the brain resulting from an external cause. This cause can be either of two things:
- An object penetrating the skull into the brain
- Blunt force so intense that the brain jerks against the skull, causing damage
Because the brain controls our actions, behavior, movement, and cognition, even minimal damage to it can be devastating. Brain injury may lead to temporary or permanent disability. That’s why settlements are so high.
However, TBIs are not created equal, and neither is their monetary value.
Here are factors influencing how much you can claim.
1. Severity of the Damage
The injury’s severity is the most important factor in a traumatic brain injury valuation. While you may feel no physical pain, the severity is in how much impact the injury has on your life. A bump on the head that causes a concussion (a mild TBI) would settle for much less than when cognition or mobility is permanently impaired.
2. Disability
Some TBIs result in total disability that completely renders the victim incapable of working, such as vision loss or paralysis. Life never remains the same. In certain cases, the TBI causes partial disability. Partial disability may be in the form of memory loss or mood swings that come and go, but still allows you to function to an extent.
The lifelong care needs of a permanently disabled person will be way higher than those of one who recovers after some months, so they’re naturally entitled to a higher injury claim.
3. Lost Income
During recovery from TBI, earning capacity can be severely affected. When your injury keeps you out of work, the sum you are supposed to earn throughout that period, had you been healthy, would be calculated. Future earnings lost because of disability are also estimated by medical and economic professionals whom your attorney will collaborate with when valuing your TBI claim.
4. Emotional Distress, Pain, and Suffering
Traumatic brain injuries resulting in lifelong disability can leave a debilitating effect on relationships. Victims may no longer be able to engage in certain activities with their loved ones, depriving them of true companionship. If your traumatic brain injury makes you and your loved ones unable to fully enjoy life anymore, your attorney can claim compensation for pain and suffering on your behalf.
5. Liability
Liability is an important factor when establishing negligence and valuing claims. In California, for example, personal injury claims follow pure comparative negligence. This means that if you are partly at fault for your injuries, your personal injury claim will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
Say, you are found by the court to be 30% at fault in the accident that caused your traumatic brain injury. In that case, the defendant is only liable to pay 70% of your TBI claim.
This is where things get tricky. Defendants can contest liability by shifting more blame to you to reduce how much money leaves their account. But every dollar counts. Having a highly skilled Brain Injury Lawyer protecting your best interests becomes indispensable. By working with a forensics team, top neurologists, and past reference cases, a skilled attorney can connect every piece of evidence and build a strong case that captures the full extent of the defendant’s liability.
Be Cautious of Insurance Companies
Your insurer or that of the defendant will likely reach out to you pretty early to make an offer. More often than not, the offer is not in good faith. They aim to pay as little as possible before you determine the full extent of your injury. And once you accept, it’s over. You renounce the right to claim anything else later when new findings come to light, such as the need for surgery or long-term care.
Accept nothing until you’ve had your attorney evaluate the extent and worth of your TBI claim.
Why You Need a Highly Skilled TBI Attorney
Perhaps no amount of money can reverse that disability — that emotional suffering that you get to live with henceforth. But there’s no reason why you should have to suffer it all without the financial buffer to make it a little easier. The emotional costs of traumatic brain injuries are humongous. The financial cost of a resulting disability, whether permanent or temporary, is just as dire.
Consider speaking with a highly skilled and reputable brain injury lawyer who can fight for you.