Catastrophic head injuries like traumatic brain injuries and concussions can have severe impacts on your life, sometimes with permanent consequences. While filing a lawsuit may not be the first thing on your mind after suffering a TBI, a fair settlement can make all the difference in supporting you and your family and helping you recover.
If someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, you can hold them accountable for the result. After a catastrophic injury, a lawsuit settlement helps you get damages to compensate you for your losses – including your medical bills, out-of-pocket costs, and lost wages. Whoever was responsible (or their insurance company) pays for the consequences of their actions.
Because head and brain injuries tend to be catastrophic, the life effects are usually profound. You may need extensive medical treatment, surgeries, rehabilitative care, long-term supportive care, or mobility or communication aids. A settlement can help you take the time to recover and access the care that you need without worrying about how you’ll afford it.
You also deserve to get the best legal representation possible without worrying about whether you can afford it. That’s why at Sepulveda Law, we take TBI cases on a contingency fee basis, where we front the cost of your case and you don’t pay us until we win for you. Our legal fees get taken out of your settlement so we’re just as invested in your case as you are.
Is a TBI a Catastrophic Injury?
Unfortunately, yes. The most common types of traumatic brain injuries and head injuries are usually catastrophic. Your brain is simply responsible for so much of your body’s functions that even “mild” head injuries like “minor” concussions are actually quite serious. Catastrophic injuries usually require extensive medical treatment and have long-term effects.
To make matters worse, despite their catastrophic effects, traumatic brain injuries like concussions are often not obvious right away. After an accident like a car crash, you may not realize that you hit your head or lost consciousness. If you decide not to get medical attention because you were able to walk away from the accident, you could overlook a serious head injury that could get worse over time. By the time you realize the cause of your injury, your condition may have deteriorated or you may have missed the statute of limitations.
In California, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit after an injury is 2 years from when you were injured or 1 year from when you discovered the injury. If your injury was caused by an incident like a car crash, the 2-year time limit starts ticking from the date of the incident – because that’s when you should have gotten checked out for injuries. If you never took the steps to discover your injury, you cannot later rely on the “delayed discovery” exception to the statute of limitations.
This is why even if you feel “fine,” you should get medically checked out after an accident or fall. The longer you wait after an accident, the harder it will be to link your symptoms to the incident.
Is a Severe TBI a Permanent Disability?
A TBI or major head injury is likely to change your life in significant ways, from your life at home to your career. Severe TBI could cause long-term or permanent disability, affecting your mobility, your ability to care for yourself, and your capacity to work.
Because the brain is so complex, the symptoms of traumatic brain injury can vary widely from person to person. Family members may have to step in to help you recover. And while some TBI symptoms may improve over time, other injuries could get worse.
When you file a personal injury lawsuit based on a TBI you suffered caused by someone else’s negligence, a proper settlement should cover the full extent of your losses. That includes expenses you’re likely to expect decades later or for the rest of your life.
How Much Is a TBI Case Worth?
The point of a personal injury settlement is to “make you whole” for the losses that you’ve suffered. Because catastrophic injuries and permanent disabilities have such a profound effect, a fair settlement could amount to hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in damages.
However, you cannot trust your insurance company to pay out the full worth of your claim. Above all, insurance companies are interested in protecting their profits – the less they can pay out to you, the better it is for them. This is why it’s important to have a lawyer on your side.
After you suffer a car accident, your insurance company might reach out to you with a settlement offer. This is practically guaranteed to be a lowball offer that they’re hoping you’ll take because it’s quick and convenient. But if you accept this settlement, you’ll lose your chance to ever file a claim again – and you could be leaving a lot on the table.
An experienced personal injury lawyer who regularly handles catastrophic injury cases will have formulas to calculate just how much you should really get in a settlement.
How Much Money Can You Get in a TBI Settlement?
Every case is different. The total amount you should get in a TBI settlement depends on:
- The severity of the injuries that you’ve suffered,
- The reality of your situation and the needs of your disability, and
- The strength of your evidence proving that negligence caused your injuries.
The stronger your case, the better position you’ll be in to negotiate a proper settlement that gets you and your family the support you deserve – covering:
- Your medical expenses now and for the foreseeable future,
- Surgeries, doctor’s appointments, and hospital stays,
- Transportation to and from your treatments,
- The income you expect to lose throughout your life,
- Any mobility improvements you must make to your home,
- Any communication aides or long-term rehabilitative care,
- In-home supportive care for as long as you may need it, and
- The mental and emotional toll of dealing with your injury.
Traumatic brain injuries and catastrophic head injuries like post-concussive syndrome and second-impact syndrome have serious, often lifelong and permanent consequences. If someone else caused your injuries, you shouldn’t be the one left on the hook for all of your losses and damages. You can hold the person responsible accountable for their actions.
Our experienced team of personal injury attorneys is here to help. Contact us now.