The CDC reports that head injuries are a significant cause of injury and death in the US, with an estimated 64,000 TBI-related fatalities in a recent year and 282,000 head injury hospitalizations annually. When another person’s negligence causes a head injury to you or a loved one, you may be eligible for compensation in a personal injury lawsuit.
It’s understandable to wonder what a head injury claim may be worth. No two accident scenarios are the same. Putting a number on the losses due to a head injury accident depends on various factors relating to your specific accident. If you have questions about a potential claim, speak to a San Francis personal injury attorney today. They will explain your rights and potential case value.
What Is A Head Injury?
A head injury, also known as a traumatic brain injury (TBI), is an injury that affects your brain function. A head injury can be caused by a bump to the head in a car accident or fall, a blow to the head in an assault, or a penetrating injury, such as a rock or bullet.
A head injury also can occur in a car accident when the head whips back and forth, causing the brain to hit the skull interior.
Several head injuries may lead to compensation when another party causes the incident.
The more severe the head injury, generally, the higher the potential compensation:
- Open head injuries: This is also called a penetrating injury and happens when an object penetrates the skull. Gunshot wounds and stabbings are common causes of open head injuries:
- Closed head injuries: These injuries don’t cause penetration, but they may still be severe brain injuries. A closed head injury may happen in a car crash, football, or soccer play, or slip and fall when the head slams into a hard object. This injury may cause a concussion, contusion, or subdural hematoma.
- Coup-contrecoup head injuries: This injury doesn’t happen from a blow to the head but occurs when the brain hits the inside of the skull. This is common in a car accident during a severe collision.
The most common causes of head injuries are auto accidents, slips and falls, sports injuries, violence, and explosions.
How Much Money Can You Get in a Head Injury Claim?
You can receive head injury compensation if your head injury lawyer proves another person’s liability. However, it’s hard to say how much you can receive.
Every head injury claim is different from another, so it’s irresponsible to give an average head injury settlement. That said, many head injuries are severe, so the case value may exceed other injuries.
Typical in-patient head injury expenses can range from $2,130 to more than $400,000, with the average cost approximately $87,000. Additional head injury care costs and other financial losses may occur after initial in-patient care.
The following case factors may also influence your head injury settlement:
How Severe Is The Head Injury?
The most significant factor in your case value is the severity of the head injury.
Your doctor cannot predict how a TBI will affect you based only on your initial symptoms. Even a “minor” TBI such as a concussion can cause serious consequences over time. On the other hand, a severe head injury doesn’t always mean long-term disability. Some patients enjoy a full recovery.
How Much Are the Medical Bills?
A severe head injury will probably have hundreds of thousands in bills of medical care, including ambulance, ER, hospital, surgery, rehabilitation, medications, medical and assistive devices, etc. Your loved one may require months or years of medical care.
On the other hand, if your loved one had a moderate concussion in a car accident, they may only need a month or two of medical care. This would usually mean a smaller personal injury settlement.
How Much Is The Lost Income?
A severe head injury may mean the person cannot work for months, years, or permanently. This case would result in much more lost income and loss of income-earning capacity than if they had only missed a few weeks on the job.
Your head injury attorney will work with economists and occupational experts to understand the amount of earnings that will be lost. Having a personal injury attorney handle this work is essential so your loved one gets pretty compensated.
Age
The victim’s age is also an essential factor in a head injury settlement. A teenager with a severe TBI can have decades of care and support required. On the other hand, a retired person would have a shorter lifespan and fewer care needs.
Employment
Employment and education are essential factors when considering future lost income. Someone with an advanced degree and high income would have a more significant loss of earning capacity than someone with a high school diploma.
Pain And Suffering
A head injury settlement also will consider the person’s pain and suffering from the accident and treatments. A severe head injury may cause debilitating pain, while a minor concussion will cause much less pain and discomfort.
Insurance Policy Limits
Many liability policies have a relatively low amount of insurance—about $25,000 or $30,000 for a car accident. However, a head injury attorney will find every potential insurance policy to compensate you.
For example, if a trucker hits your loved one and puts them in a coma, the employer’s insurance policy can offer more compensation than a personal auto insurance policy.
How Can A Personal Injury Attorney Help?
Your loved one suffered a head injury in a car accident caused by another driver. You should talk to a personal injury attorney about representing you. You can receive compensation for your loved one’s injuries, medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.
Some of the essential tasks your brain injury attorney will engage in are:
- Investigate the incident: First, your personal injury attorney will investigate the incident that injured your loved one. In a car accident, they will review eyewitness statements, police reports and statements, crash scene evidence, and accident reconstruction expert reports to understand how the crash occurred.
- Prove fault: You must prove that another person’s or entity’s negligence caused your relative’s head injury. Suppose another driver ran a red light and T-boned your relative in a busy intersection. They suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Your attorney must prove that the other driver violated their duty of care and caused the accident, which caused injuries and financial losses.
- Handle all correspondence with insurance companies and other attorneys: Your lawyer will handle all communications with different stakeholders in the case, including insurance adjusters and defense attorneys. You can focus on your recovery.
- Estimate your losses: Next, your head injury attorney will review your medical records, lost earnings, and other damages to understand your potential case value. You can be entitled to payment for current and future medical bills, lost current and future earnings, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and mental anguish.
- Conduct settlement negotiations: Most head injury claims result in an insurance settlement. Your attorney will estimate a case value and attempt to reach a fair settlement that accounts for your losses. They also will prepare the case for court and a jury if the insurance company doesn’t offer a fair amount.
- Take the case to trial: If needed, a skilled personal injury attorney will represent you in court and argue the best case to the jury.
What Are The Common Causes Of Head Injuries?
There are thousands of severe head injuries every year in the United States. The most common causes are:
Construction Accidents
Construction workers are one of the highest risks for traumatic brain injury. This is because construction sites are more hazardous than many workplaces, such as offices and retail stores.
There is a lot of heavy machinery and workplaces at heights. As a result, the construction area environment lends itself more readily to severe injuries, including head trauma.
Common causes of TBIs at construction sites include:
- Falls: Last year, falls from height were responsible for at least 50 percent of all job-related TBIs. The CDC states that falls from roofs, ladders, and scaffolds are common causes of falls and TBIs at construction sites.
- Vehicle accidents: Traveling to and from a construction site puts you at a higher risk of accidents. Vehicle traffic on site is also a common cause of traumatic brain injuries. Construction zones also contain many obstructions and large objects, making it harder to spot danger.
- Object strike: Construction materials are often being moved around on construction sites. For example, metal beams and other building materials must be moved. These activities put workers at higher risk of injury.
Workers at construction sites can reduce their chances of injury by following fall protection protocols, always wearing a hard hat, and knowing about their surroundings.
Falls
The CDC reports that falls due to tripping and slipping accidents often cause traumatic brain injuries. ERs admit more than 1 million Americans every year because of significant damages from slip and fall accidents.
TBIs are one of the most severe types of injuries in falls. TBIs in falls can range from minor to severe and may cause severe disability for the accident victim.
Some of the reasons slip and fall accidents lead to severe injuries such as TBIs are:
- Slippery floors
- Uneven sidewalks and other walking surfaces
- Debris and clutter
- Poor lighting
- Ice and snow
- Stairway accidents
- Loose electrical wires and cords
Auto Accidents
Motor vehicle crashes cause many traumatic brain injuries annually. During a crash, you will probably be subjected to severe, sudden, and violent movements.
This can slam your head into the steering wheel, windshield, dashboard, or window. Also, the sudden movements can slam the brain into the inside of the skull, causing injury.
A direct blow to your head in a car accident can bruise the brain and damage the delicate internal blood vessels and tissue. Note that your head trauma will differ depending on where the vehicle was struck.
For example, if someone T-bones your car on the right side, the left side of your head may slam into the driver’s side window. Most cars now have side-impact airbags, but these violent collisions frequently cause TBIs.
Note that the skull is only about 1/4” thick, so a violent impact in a car accident can cause a severe and catastrophic head injury. If it happens, you will need ample compensation for your recovery.
Medical Malpractice
Many medical errors may lead to traumatic brain injuries. One of the most common is an anesthesia error.
These mistakes can cause a brain injury in these situations:
- Dosage error: The anesthesiologist may provide too much anesthesia to the patient, who may stop breathing or go into cardiac arrest. Both problems can interrupt blood flow to the brain, which can cause severe brain damage. A common issue with dosage errors is damage to the area of the brain that controls vision, potentially leading to blindness.
- Failure to monitor the patient: When a patient is under anesthesia, they must be carefully monitored. If not, there can be irreversible brain damage.
- Failure to administer oxygen: Brain damage can occur if the patient receives the incorrect oxygen concentration.
- Other medical errors: may lead to traumatic brain injuries, as well:
- Medication errors: Giving a patient the wrong or incorrect amount of medication can cause seizures, an allergic reaction, or a heart problem that can reduce blood flow to the brain.
- Surgical mistakes: A mistake during surgery can affect oxygen flow. However, errors during a brain procedure can cause scarring, blood clots, and other damage.
- Failure to diagnose: If the doctor does not diagnose a serious condition and worsens, it can lead to a severe medical error. Sometimes, these mistakes can cause brain damage.
Some possible brain injuries from medical mistakes may affect your memory, thinking, communication, balance and sensation, and emotions. Some patients never recover full brain function in a medical malpractice case.
Assault
The last common reason for traumatic brain injuries is assault or physical violence. There is always a chance of a head injury when there is assault or violence. For example, a crime victim can suffer a head injury in an assault, carjacking, mugging, fighting, choking, and more.
In addition, some evidence indicates that women and children domestic violence victims may face a higher risk of traumatic brain injuries.
Contact A Personal Injury Attorney Today
A severe head injury to you or a loved one can turn your life upside down. Talk to a personal injury lawyer in your community immediately for legal assistance. You can receive compensation in a brain injury lawsuit.
