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The impacts of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be immense for the injured person and their family and friends. A TBI is caused after a hit to the head damages the brain. They can range from a mild concussion to a blow that leads to a permanent disability after a long state of unconsciousness.
Traumatic brain injury attorneys see a lot of the different types of TBIs include concussions, contusions, penetration injuries from objects like bullets, or brain tissue tears after an accident with a bike or motorcycle.
How Many Are Affected by TBIs?
No matter their severity, TBIs are a very serious affair. It’s estimated that about 2% of the population has current disabilities that can be attributed to a brain injury. Most people receive a TBI after suffering a fall, but they can also occur in instances of violence or in a vehicle accident. Overall, they contribute to about 30.5% of deaths related to injury across the United States.
What Are the Costs of Living with a TBI?
One of the biggest effects of a TBI can be the change in the injured person’s mood and disposition. Those who have suffered a TBI can see their cognitive abilities drastically change. This could manifest through a shorter attention span, issues with memory, or even the loss of reading and writing abilities. These types of changes can have a big effect on an injured person’s personality, especially if they are not able to resume the activities they enjoyed before the head injury occurred.
Some of the costs of a TBI are also physical, which can have a dramatic effect on day-to-day life. TBIs can lead to weakness in muscles, sleep difficulties, speech problems, or even full body paralysis. Changes like this can significantly hinder the livelihood of someone who suffered a TBI, especially if they have trouble with normal human functions like eating or using the restroom.
The aftermath of a TBI can also lead to some drastic personality changes depending on how severe the injury was. For example, those who suffered a TBI might have permanent changes in their brain functionality, which could then lead to extreme mood swings, problems with social skills, or a penchant to be more self-centered. Those with a TBI are also considered to have a high risk for depression. These types of changes can make living with a TBI a very tumultuous affair, especially if one remembers how they were before getting injured.
What About the Economic Costs?
Aside from physical and psychological damage, living with a TBI usually comes with a high economic cost. The overall cost of TBIs is estimated to be about $48.3 billion dollars each year. Acute care and rehab usually total about $9-10 billion annually. Estimates put the cost of a mild head injury at about $85,000, a moderate one at $941,000, and a severe one at about $3 million dollars. Lifetime care for someone with a severe TBI usually has a price tag between $600,000 and $1,875,000. Contact the New Jersey personal injury lawyers at Nagel Rice, LLP today to find out your legal options.