Rehabilitation And Long-Term Costs of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury is also known as acquired brain injury. It takes place when a jolt or blow to the head results in brain damage. TBIs can range from mild to severe. However, you should note that since brains are not alike, injuries related to the brain may also vary from one patient to another. This becomes challenging for the physician in terms of diagnosing specific deficits and determining the type of rehabilitation required.

Mild traumatic brain injuries are often undiagnosed. This results in the injured person losing out on medical care and rehabilitation benefits. Mild TBIs may have lifelong effects if proper care is not taken to mitigate them. You may suffer from loss of consciousness for hours to weeks in severe TBI, which can lead to permanent disability. However, all forms of TBIs can result in disability – whether short or long-term.

Traumatic Brain Injury Facts

• Approximately 2% or 5.3 million Americans live with disabilities as a result of brain injuries
• Males are twice at risk of facing TBIs as opposed to women
• TBI is the most common among older adults over the age of 75 and adolescents aged between 15 and 24
• Common causes of TBI:
  • Motor vehicle accidents (14.3%)
  • Violence (10%)
  • Falls (40.5%)
  • Unintentional blunt trauma (15.5%)
• TBI causes 30.5% or a third of deaths in the United States
• An estimated $60 billion is spent each year in the United States on TBI related medical costs and lost of productivity among others

Rehabilitation after Traumatic Brain Injury

Rehabilitation is supposed to help the patient live and function independently. It is focused on healing the body and assisting the brain in relearning chore performance. This is to make the recovery as efficient as possible. Rehabilitation is also focused on helping the person with TBI relearn new ways of doing things if previous abilities have been lost.

The patient would most likely become part of the rehabilitation program following their initial life-saving treatment. They will need to work with a team of specialists. Family and friends of the patient make the most important part of rehabilitation. This is why all doctors involve family members as much as possible.

Other professionals that may be part of the rehabilitation team include:

• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) Physicians or Physiatrists: These doctors have expertise in rehabilitation medicine and they oversee the process.
• Neurologists: These doctors are trained in the treatment and diagnosis of nervous system disorders. This includes diseases of the seizures, brain, nerves, spinal cord, and muscles.
• Physical, Occupational, and Speech-Language Therapists: They help the person regain physical, communication, cognitive and behavioral skills.
• Neuropsychologists: These are specialized psychologists that focus on behavioral issues and thinking skills.
• Job Coaches and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors: These employment professionals help with job retention and regaining job skills post-injury.

You should note that rehabilitation tends to take years. Your loved ones would benefit from receiving rehabilitation services. Appropriate treatments and programs may change as the needs of your family members change.

There is a wide variety of rehabilitation and treatment programs that can help your loved one. These are a few different types of rehabilitation facilities:

• Acute rehabilitation is an intensive in-patient and hospital rehabilitation program.
• A long-term or comprehensive rehabilitation program involves occupation, speech, and physical therapies. It also involves psychological counseling, group socialization, behavior modification, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and vocational rehabilitation program. This can be in a rehabilitation facility or as an outpatient weekday program.
• Day treatment programs provide behavior modification, basic rehabilitation, and group socialization during weekdays.
• Coma treatment centers offer medical care specific to coma patients.
• Transitional living is a nonmedical residential program that teaches community reintegration skills and independent living.
• Supervised living programs and long-term care in residential facilities provide rehabilitation and care for people with TBI who cannot live independently.

Caregiving for TBI Sufferers

The entire family gets affected when somebody suffers from a traumatic brain injury. In-home assistance in the form of caregiving is most helpful for traumatic brain injury patients. This can be in the form of personal care assistants and home health aides. Short-term or ongoing counseling for adjusting to life changes after the injury is also necessary.

Traumatic Brain Injury Costs in New York

Traumatic brain injuries are costly injuries in terms of actual economic losses and intangible or emotional losses. People suffering from traumatic brain injuries may incur thousands of dollars’ worth medical bills. They may even lose their ability to return to work or suffer from significant loss of enjoyment in their lives.

These are a few common costs associated with a traumatic brain injury in New York City:

Hospital stays

It can be expensive to stay in a hospital. This is especially true for people who don’t have health insurance. The average cost of a hospital stay for three days can be as high as $30,000. Traumatic brain injuries can warrant a hospital stay for weeks. The average cost of a hospital stay for three weeks may amount to $210,000. This excludes the cost of transportation, such as an ambulance service.

Medication, medical treatment, and surgery

You would need to deal with the costs correlating with the medical treatment, medications, and surgeries. This can go into thousands of dollars. Generally, brain injuries can cost as much as $100,000.

Future rehabilitation

Future treatments and upfront medical expenses can be expensive. Someone who has suffered from TBI would require ongoing therapy and treatment. It is possible the person may require home health care aid as well.

Lost benefits and wages

Workers can suffer from economic losses outside of medical care. For instance, the employee may not be able to return to work and lose out on wages or benefits. TBI can impair a person’s ability to carry out work. In some cases, employees are unable to return to their workplace permanently. This may mean hundreds of thousands of dollars lost.

Noneconomic losses

Costs related to traumatic brain injuries are not always economic in nature. People suffering from these injuries may suffer from intangible harm and losses. Noneconomic losses include mental anguish, physical pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. It’s vital for a person to be compensated for their losses even though it can be difficult to put a monetary value on these things.

Seeking Help from a New York TBI Lawyer

Traumatic brain injury can leave a person feeling emotionally drained and physically devastated. Hiring an attorney following a traumatic brain injury may seem exhausting, intimidating, and even unnecessary. However, getting in touch with an attorney may improve your chances significantly of recovering compensation needed for you to pay for your injuries and improve your life quality moving forward.

You should try and get help from an accomplished NYC traumatic brain injury attorney if your TBI is due to the negligence of another person. Negligence or recklessness can be explained as the failure to exercise due care as demanded by a situation.

For instance, in case the brain injury occurred during a car accident that was caused by the actions of a drunk driver, the drunk driver would be found to have acted negligently. This is because they failed to operate the car while sober and in compliance.

The same holds true if your traumatic brain injury was the result of a slip and fall accident that occurred on a property with no handrail and a broken stair. In this case, the property owner would be considered negligent for failing to maintain their property in a hazard-free and safe condition.

Brain injury attorneys can provide legal services and guidance if the brain injury was caused due to negligence. These services include:

• Determining the cause of the injury by conducting a thorough investigation
• Identifying all possible at-fault parties
• Gathering evidence to make the case stronger
• Demonstrating the extent of harm by compiling medical data
• Recruiting expert witnesses to testify on the behalf of the plaintiff
• Filing the claim on time
• Determining the amount and extent of damages suffered
• Negotiating for a fair settlement
• Taking the case to trial if required

Your attorney will also advocate for your rights at every step of the way. The lawyer will help answer all your legal questions and concerns. Your New York TBI lawyer will help you explore all avenues of compensation after the brain injury. This includes the types of damages and benefits you and your family may be entitled to receive by filing a personal injury action.

Consult with a Top-Rated New York Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

The legal team at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff in New York has a proven track record and a stellar reputation for winning record-breaking compensation and damage awards. We do not believe in cutting corners or compromising our ethics.

Above all, we place the health and well-being of our clients at the forefront. You can count on us to do everything that will help you attain the compensation amount you need. Get in touch with us for a free case evaluation today. Call Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP today at 212-344-1000 or contact us online for a free and confidential consultation.