Attorney
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) cause significant impairment that will most likely persist for the rest of the victim’s life. It’s important for victims and their families to understand the long-term consequences of these brain injuries so they can demand the compensation they are entitled to. A dedicated Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney is ready to fight for you.
Since the brain is responsible for so much we think and do, a traumatic injury will have drastic and often permanent consequences for the victim. Immediately after sustaining an injury, the brain will work to repair itself. But there are parts of the brain that cannot be repaired and will progressively decline. Some symptoms appear shortly after the injury, while others take a longer time to manifest themselves.
Long-Term Complications of a TBI
These are a few of the long-term physical complications that a TBI victim will likely experience:
- Headaches and migraines
- Trouble thinking or concentrating
- Heightened sensitivity to light or noise
- Fatigue
- Seizures
- Vision problems
- Weakness in the arms or legs
- Loss of coordination
- Difficulty sleeping or staying asleep
But a TBI also causes emotional, mental, and social problems, and these may be the most heart-breaking. While no one wants to suffer the physical effects that come with a brain injury, the victim’s loved ones will have to experience these and other types of damage:
- Memory loss
- Inability to retain new memories
- Difficulty staying organized and managing time
- Attention and concentration problems
- Anxiety
- Depression
These could be just the beginning of what the victim will face. Down the road, a TBI victim may experience behavioral problems that would have been unimaginable before the injury. For instance, a victim could become unexpectedly aggressive towards others or may be in a constantly irritable mood. The victim may no longer have any desire to do the things he or she once loved.
In some cases, the victim’s entire personality can even change. The TBI effectively turns the victim into someone different. Loved ones like spouses, children, and parents are forced to watch helplessly as the person they love becomes almost like a stranger.
Effects like these, and many others, will spell significant costs for the victim and the victim’s family. Among the most common long-term expenses that victims will face are:
- Medical expenses, including for therapy, physical therapy, counseling, rehabilitation, prescription medication, adaptive medical equipment, and nursing care
- Lost income because of time spent recovering or being treated for the injury
- Lost income potential due to decreased productivity or inability to work the same job
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
Fighting for fair compensation, therefore, doesn’t end with the expenses facing a brain injury victim today. Since these and other costs are long-term and could possibly last decades, expert witnesses may be relied upon to provide projections for their future financial impact.
As an example, a vocational expert witness can explain how the victim’s once-promising career has changed for the worse because of the TBI, and how much future earnings could be lost as a result. A medical expert witness can discuss the level of care that a severely injured victim may need for the rest of his or her life.
Contact Our DC Brain Injury Attorney Today
You need a law firm that has extensive experience handling this particular area of personal injury. At Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP, we understand not just how a TBI victim and the victim’s family will suffer now, but also the sort of challenges they will face later in life. Since every TBI victim is different, we take the time to get to know the victim and learn what they are dealing with. Then, we get to work building a personalized case and demanding justice.
If you have questions about brain injuries, or someone you know has been injured and doesn’t understand their legal rights, reach out to our firm today.