It only takes the blink of an eye for you or a loved one to be injured in some sort of accident. A car might run a red light and slam into you, a driver might fail to yield to you while you’re in a crosswalk, or a dangerous property condition might lead to a slip-and-fall accident. Regardless of how the incident in question occurs, it might leave you or your loved one with serious harm that completely redefines the way in which you live.
This is especially true for those who suffer traumatic brain injury. As we discussed on one of our recent blog posts, brain injuries can leave an individual subject to a whole host of limitations. A traumatic brain injury sufferer may experience damage to their cognitive abilities, including difficulty concentrating and remembering, and such an injury can also affect a survivor’s mood, leaving them with anger and anxiety.
There may be other serious effects of traumatic brain injury. In the worst instances, an individual is left comatose or in a vegetative state, but those who are awake and able to leave the hospital can develop conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, seizures, and severe headaches.
As if the pain and suffering of dealing with a traumatic brain injury isn’t enough, these victims also often have to watch it spread into every aspect of their lives.
At home: Victims need to be patient with themselves and seek the help they need from loved ones and medical professionals. Being expressive can help alleviate the stress of their newfound condition, too. An individual’s home should be modified to make life easier, too, such as the installation of ramps, ceiling lifts, door openers, and ceiling lifts. It might also be necessary to widen the doors of one’s home to make wheelchair accessibility easier.
At work: Those who are able and willing to venture back into work should consider doing so slowly while working less with more breaks. This can prevent the experience from becoming so overwhelming. It’s also important to be prepared for the reality that you probably won’t be able to take on the same amount of responsibility that you did before your injury. This doesn’t devalue your worth as a human, even if your income is significantly decreased.
Relationships: Brain injury sufferers can feel isolated, particular as time goes on and he or she is further removed from the even that caused the injury. Significant others of brain injury sufferers need to recognize that a brain injury can change personality traits and redefine familial responsibilities. This can be tough to handle, but all parties involved need to allow themselves to have patience.
Finances: All too often brain injury victims accumulate significant medical expenses and rehabilitation costs while they are unable to work and earn a wage. This might leave a family without its “breadwinner’s” income, threatening to derail financial stability.
As scary as that may sound, brain injury victims and their families may have options available to them to help them secure the financial stability they need to allow them to focus on their new lives. Oftentimes, this takes the form of a personal injury lawsuit filed against a negligent individual who caused the accident that resulted in the brain injury. This may be another motorist, a property owner, or even a medical professional.
To succeed on one of these claims, though, you or your loved one need to aggressive, which means being informed, prepared, and ready to fight both at the negotiating table and in court. The good news is that you don’t have to face this battle alone. Instead, you can secure powerful assistance from a strong legal advocate who understands the true costs of brain injuries and is experienced in litigating these kinds of cases.