Can Someone Fully Recover from a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Whether someone can fully recover from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) depends on the severity of their injury. Traumatic brain injuries range from mild to severe. In mild cases it may take only days to fully recover. The more severe the injury, the longer recovery will take. In the worst cases, recovery isn’t possible.

The Model Systems Knowledge Transition Center, which distributes the latest research into TBIs, says that: Recovering from a severe TBI can take a long time. Some people regain consciousness within a few days or weeks and recover quickly. Others progress more slowly and may remain in a state of impaired consciousness for months or years.

The longer someone is in an impaired state, the more difficult a full recovery is likely to be. The costs of care also add up the longer recovery takes. People who don’t recover from their traumatic brain injuries often need lifetime medical care. They may also need help with even the most basic activities of daily life. This level of care can add up to millions of dollars during just one patient’s lifetime. Nationwide, statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that traumatic brain injuries cost tens of billions of dollars every year.

How Can You Fully Recover from TBI? Improve Your Chances by Getting Immediate Medical Attention

Don’t delay in getting medical help if you were injured in a serious accident in which you hurt your head. Getting immediate emergency attention can improve the chance of fully recovering from a traumatic brain injury. If a doctor determines your TBI is mild, treatment may involve only bedrest and over-the-counter headache medication. Depending on the circumstances, treatment for more severe TBIs could include:

• Drugs to limit pressure on the brain, prevent seizures, or even induce coma
• Surgery to remove blood clots, relieve pressure, stop bleeding in the brain, or repair skull fractures
• Rehabilitation and therapy to relearn how to eat, talk, walk, dress, bathe, use the bathroom, and other basic skills.

As you can see, with a more severe brain injury, recovery can take a long time. During rehabilitation, patients may work with a variety of specialists. These specialists include psychiatrists, physical and occupational therapists, neuropsychologists, speech and language experts, rehabilitative nurses, case managers, and others.

It is critical to your health to get the full extent of medical treatment you need for your recovery. But surgeons, medical specialists and prescription drugs cost a lot of money. If you or a loved one was injured in an accident that you think was someone else’s fault, consider speaking with an experienced accident attorney. You may be able to file a legal claim to get compensation that will cover medical bills and other costs.

How Does a Legal Claim Work?

When someone is injured in an accident they believe was caused by another person’s negligence, they may be able to file a claim for compensation. To determine negligence, your attorney will examine all the evidence involved and work to prove the other party caused the accident. Your lawyer may then work to negotiate a settlement with the other person’s insurance company. If the negotiations don’t result in a fair settlement offer, your case may go to trial and a jury will decide the outcome and the amount of possible compensation.

Who Can Be Named in a Legal Claim?

People or entities who negligently cause accidents can be named in legal claims. The types of accidents in which TBIs are most common are falls, followed by motor vehicle accidents. Here are just a few examples of who might be at fault in an accident:

• The driver who carelessly ran a stop sign and hit you
• The maker of a car whose brakes failed and you crashed
• A store owner who didn’t clean up a spill on the floor and you slipped and fell
• A government agency that didn’t adequately maintain a roadway or parking lot
• A construction contractor who set up scaffolding that failed
• The manufacturer of defective playground equipment that collapsed.

Traumatic brain injuries don’t only happen in accidents. Sometimes TBIs are due to violent acts. In these cases, the person who assaulted you can be held liable. Even if they are facing criminal charges, you may also be able to bring a civil lawsuit (although it may not be possible to collect on a judgment against them).

How Much Compensation Could I Possibly Get?

The amount of money you might be able to get in a claim depends upon how badly you were injured and the circumstances of the accident or other incident. Personal injury claims generally ask for compensation for things such as:

• Current and future medical care
• Lost income for time missed at work during recuperation
• Loss of earning capacity if you can no longer work or can only work at a reduced level
• Pain and suffering for the physical and emotional pain and anguish caused by the accident
• Punitive damages to punish the at-fault party if their actions were especially negligent.

Every case is different. Some suits result in awards of thousands of dollars, some hundreds of thousands, and some over a million. Your attorney will carefully examine your case to help you arrive at a dollar amount that will fairly pay for your losses.

What are Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury?

Symptoms of traumatic brain injury following an accident can include:

• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Disorientation
• Confusion
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Sensitivity to light or noise
• Convulsions or seizures
• Dilation of one or both pupils
• Clear fluid coming from ears or nose
• Slurred speech
• Coma.

If you experience any of these symptoms after an accident, see a doctor right way. When you need legal help, turn to our Houston attorneys for assistance.

Contact Our Houston Brain Injury Attorneys for Help

Can you recover completely from a serious brain injury? The compassionate attorneys at the accident and injury law office of Terry Bryant certainly hope you make a full recovery. And we want to help ease your path as you focus on recuperation by taking away some of your financial worries. When you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to another’s negligence, we will fight to get you compensation to pay your medical expenses and other bills. Call our law firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation at (713) 973-8888.