The compensation you can recover for a brain injury depends on the details of your case. To determine how much compensation you could get for a brain injury, you must calculate the value of your recoverable damages. Damages could include the pain and suffering you experienced, emotional distress, medical bills, or lost income.
An attorney can walk you through the legal process to help you seek compensation for these losses. They can also provide a more accurate picture of how much compensation you could potentially receive in your case.
Types of Compensation You Could Recover After a Brain Injury
When you file a personal injury case, you file it intending to collect compensation for the losses you suffered. Your losses can range in value based on how they have affected your life.
When you hire an attorney, they can add up the total value of your damages to understand how much compensation you could get for a brain injury case. In addition to the monetary losses you sustained, they can also help you seek compensation for non-monetary losses, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. Your recoverable damages could include:
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering refers to the physical pain or discomfort you experienced because of your brain injury. People who sustain brain injuries commonly deal with physical pain during their recovery. It’s also common to experience long-term headaches and other painful issues. If you deal with pain on a regular basis, you deserve to get compensated for it.
Your attorney can prove you experienced physical pain by gathering the following evidence:
- Medical records
- Testimony from medical professionals
- Testimony from family members who have witnessed you experience pain
- Prescriptions you have received for medications to treat the pain
Your attorney can use calculations, tools, and other methods to identify the value of your pain and suffering. Then, you can seek that amount of compensation from the liable party.
Emotional Distress
Emotional distress damages could compensate you for the negative effect your brain injury had on your mental health.
A brain injury could cause:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Fear
- Sleep loss
Since these damages are subjective, each person has a different experience. It helps to speak to an attorney if you have any negative emotional issues associated with your brain injury, so they can help you seek compensation for those losses. They can gather evidence, such as your mental health records and proof of medications a medical professional has prescribed to you.
Since emotional distress is a non-economic damage, it does not have a pre-assigned monetary value. Your attorney can help you to determine how much compensation to seek for these damages.
Medical Bills
After a brain injury, you could deal with medical expenses far into the future. Because of the severity of many brain injuries, you could require long-term care.
You could incur expenses for:
- Diagnostic testing to determine the extent of the brain injury
- Surgeries and the hospital stay while you recovered
- Rehabilitative therapies to help improve your independence
- Medications to treat pain or infections
- Emergency room treatments
You need solid evidence to prove you sustained these losses. Keeping records and receipts of medical bills you have can prove you suffered these losses.
In addition to the medical bills you have paid up until now, your attorney can also calculate an estimated value for your future medical expenses. You must think about your future medical costs to get fully compensated for your losses. Your doctor can explain whether you can expect to pay for ongoing medical treatment.
Lost Income
If you have a brain injury, you could lose your ability to work. You could face a reduced or total loss of income. Fortunately, through a personal injury case, you can seek compensation for all income losses you face.
Evidence you could use to prove you suffer from income losses includes:
- Pay stubs before and after the injury to prove you now make less money than you did before
- Testimony from your employer stating that you cannot fulfill the duties of your job because of your injury
- Testimony from a medical care provider that you cannot work in the future because of your injuries
The future income you could lose if your injury recovery takes a long time. Your attorney can calculate the cost of both your current and future income losses.
Other Monetary Losses You Incurred
Most injuries will cause you to accrue other expenses. You might have to travel far away to see a medical professional who specializes in brain injuries. If that happens, you would have to spend money to travel to the appointments and stay in a hotel while you receive treatments. These costs can add up significantly over time.
Other monetary losses you could incur include:
- Over-the-counter pain medications
- Mobility devices, if needed
- Home accommodations
- Vehicle accommodations
- In-home care provider
- House cleaner
If your brain injury leaves you wheelchair-bound, your ability to take care of yourself independently could diminish. Therefore, you will have to pay someone to take care of your daily physical and household needs.
You must keep receipts, invoices, and other documentation proving you sustained these losses. Your attorney can review this information to determine how much compensation to seek for the other monetary losses you incurred because of your brain injury.
You Must Prove the Other Party Caused Your Brain Injury to Recover Compensation
To prove the other party caused your brain injury, you must build a strong case against them. When you hire an attorney, they can build the case on your behalf. You may find it beneficial to hire a lawyer while you’re recovering. While they take care of building your case, you can spend time with your loved ones and prioritize your health.
An attorney can gather evidence, speak to witnesses, and prove liability, so you have a fair chance at recovering compensation for your brain injury. In addition to taking these critical steps, your attorney could also take on communications with the opposing party. This allows you to avoid saying anything that could jeopardize your case.
Hiring an attorney means having an advocate who can:
Investigate the Accident
To build a solid case against the person or entity that caused your injury, you must first investigate the accident. Investigations could include reviewing the accident or police report, interviewing witnesses who saw the accident occur, and looking at any photo or video evidence. Your lawyer can aim to determine the cause of the accident and prove the liable party caused your brain injury.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common causes of brain injuries include:
- Falls
- Being struck by an object
- Vehicle collisions
Prove Negligence
Before you can pursue compensation, you need to prove that another party is the reason you suffered a brain injury. Your lawyer can prove fault by establishing negligence.
Proving negligence involves proving:
- Duty of care: The person who caused your brain injury had a duty to keep you safe.
- Breach of duty: The person who caused your brain injury breached their duty of care by displaying negligence.
- Causation: Their negligence caused you to sustain a brain injury.
- Damages: You suffered damages because of your brain injury.
Your lawyer can collect evidence such as police reports, medical records, photos, videos, and witness statements to help prove your case.
Explain the Laws That Apply to Your Case
It can be difficult to interpret laws without any legal knowledge. An attorney can explain the laws that apply to your case without using any confusing legal jargon.
One law you should be aware of is the statute of limitations. Each state has a statute of limitations that outlines how long you have to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, you may lose your right to recover compensation.
There are sometimes exceptions to the statute of limitations depending on the details of your case. If you have a lawyer on your side, they can explain the filing deadline that applies to your case.
Identify How Much Compensation To Seek
Before sending a demand letter to the liable party, your attorney can determine how much compensation to seek. They can review your damages to develop a value for your case.
Your lawyer may collect certain evidence to prove that you deserve compensation.
This evidence may include:
- Proof of the income you would have earned if you were not injured
- Statements from your doctor
- Receipts and invoices for your medical care or vehicle repairs
Send a Demand Letter
Your attorney can draft a demand letter explaining the facts of your brain injury case. Within the demand letter, they can include how much compensation you seek and why.
Once the other party reviews the demand letter, they can decide if they want to accept or deny its terms. If they accept it, they can pay you the amount of compensation you seek. If they deny the terms, your case can move to negotiations.
Negotiate a Settlement
Negotiating for a fair settlement can become tricky, which is why you may want to consider hiring a lawyer to handle this for you. Your attorney can advocate for you through the entirety of the negotiation process.
It’s important to avoid accepting a lowball settlement offer that won’t cover the cost of all your damages. You may also want to avoid accepting settlement offers at the scene of the accident, as initial offers likely will not compensate you for all your damages.
File a Lawsuit
If settlement negotiations do not end in a fair payout, your lawyer may recommend that you file a lawsuit. You also have the option of filing an insurance claim and a lawsuit simultaneously.
Your attorney can take all the steps on your behalf to file a lawsuit. They can also represent you through the discovery phase and mediation. In many personal injury cases, lawyers can negotiate a fair settlement before going to trial is necessary.
If you still don’t reach a fair agreement outside of court, you can move forward to the trial phase. During the trial, your attorney and the opposing counsel can present their cases to the jury.
The jury can deliberate to determine if you deserve compensation and how much compensation you deserve to recover. Both parties must abide by the jury’s decision. Having an attorney represent you through this process allows you to understand the steps you need to take to pursue compensation.
An Attorney Can Identify How Much Compensation You Could Get for a Brain Injury
No average settlement amount applies to brain injury cases because every case is different. An attorney can help you determine how much compensation to pursue for a brain injury. They can explain the damages that you have a right to recover.
In addition to helping you determine how much compensation to seek, an attorney can provide support. Sustaining a brain injury is a traumatic experience. After dealing with trauma, you may want someone on your side who will show compassion. Fortunately, many brain injury attorneys offer free consultations, so you can ensure the attorney you choose shows you the support and passion you require.
If you plan to have an attorney help with your brain injury case, you should contact them soon after the accident. Each state has a statute of limitations deadline you must meet before you could lose the chance of recovering compensation. To meet your state’s deadline, give your attorney enough time to build a case, so call a personal injury lawyer today.