Economic Loss Due to TBI
In a case involving catastrophic injury, the failure to obtain adequate compensation will deprive the victim of the very funds he/she may need in order to survive. Often, and especially where the victim's injury dictates ongoing medical care, the future economic loss may be staggering.
Contrast the catastrophic injury case with a mild TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury case. Often overlooked or misunderstood a case involving so called mild traumatic brain injury with corresponding cognitive deficits will cause a devastating impact on the vocational abilities of the victim, not to mention the impairment to quality of life.
Perplexity and distractibility are among the most common problems associated with brain injury. Any cognitive deficit, including impairment to attention and concentration, will have a devastating impact on an individual's ability to work and perform properly on the job. Necessarily, the quality of life is deeply affected.
Areas of financial responsibility are: (1) past, present and future medical bills; and (2) past, present and future lost wages and earning capacity. The victim has also sustained compensable damages relating to pain and suffering and emotional distress, although those damages are not discussed here.
(a) Past, Present, Future Medical Expense. Even if you do not have insurance, when you are transported from an accident scene or place of injury to a trauma facility, you will not be turned away. Even comatose individuals without insurance will initially be treated by a trauma facility. However, the length of treatment, quality of treatment and treatment options may be curtailed in individuals without appropriate coverage.
If another person's negligent or intentional acts cause the infliction of traumatic brain injury, there is no reason why that individual should not be held responsible for payment of your medical expenses. After all, if your own insurance is not sufficient to cover the losses, then the taxpayers will be left with the burden of funding whatever treatment you receive. The allocation of financial burden between the taxpayers and a negligent or intentionally wrongful actor should be an easy decision.
To give you an idea of the staggering health care costs involved in a typical catastrophic case, in one case, the health care costs of a spastic quadriplegic brain injured young lady were estimated at $106,000 per year through age 45 and then, once her parents are not able to assist in her care, costs were estimated to increase to $303,000 per year. The total future lifetime costs, assuming a below historically based medical inflation rate of 5%, is over $166,000,000. When reduced to present cash value (using a historic U.S. Government bond rate), the cost is still $14,000,000.
Medical expenses incurred in a mild traumatic brain injury case are considerably less. Life care plans developed for victims of mild traumatic brain injury do not typically include ongoing orthopedic care, ongoing neurological care, round the clock therapist care, and other expenses more commonly required in the catastrophic case. However, emergency room bills were likely incurred, and they are never cheap. Radiological studies, including CT scans or MRI may have been ordered. If properly followed, a neuropsychological assessment has been incurred, and rehabilitative training follows. With today's health care costs, the price tag for such treatment is expensive.
(b) Past, Present, Future Lost Wages/Impairment to Earning Capacity. In a catastrophic injury case, the victim may never be able to hold a job again. Where the victim is an adult parent, children and other dependents are left without any meaningful source of support. The loss represents the entire earning capacity from the time of injury through his/her work life expectancy. This often amounts to over a million dollars even when reduced to present value.
In a case involving mild traumatic brain injury, earning capacity is also dramatically impaired. Where a victim of mild traumatic brain injury has incurred attention and concentration deficits, job performance is adversely affected or outright prohibited. Frequently, the victim will require complete vocational rehabilitation training. Obviously, chances for job advancement are greatly curtailed.
(c) The Lawyers' Role in Presenting Damages. In the litigation arena, your lawyer's job is to present your damages in order you be compensated for your injuries. In the catastrophic case, the presentation of damage figures becomes an art unto itself. Jury alienation is always a concern, even where damage figures are reduced to present value.
In the mild TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury case, the jury must be made to understand that the cognitive deficits affecting this outwardly appearing normal human will have a devastating impact on that individual's ability to work and perform properly on the job.
In most instances, in addition to the testimony of treating physicians, life care plan specialists, vocational rehabilitation specialists, and forensic economists will be employed. By using these specialists, a jury is given the entire needs framework of the traumatic brain injury victim. The care given in the past, and the reason for that care is explained. Future care needs are explained and all care costs are quantified and reduced to present value. Similarly, earning capacity is explained including mitigating income. The jury is left with a thorough understanding of the severity of economic needs of a victim with traumatic brain injury.
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