Gomez Trial Attorneys Fight for Brain Injury Victims

The award-winning brain injury attorneys of Gomez Trial Attorneys have been fighting for brain injury victims to maximize their compensation for 15 years. The firm’s dedication to client service, case preparation, and seeking justice has resulted in millions of dollars of compensation for clients in the form of settlements and court-awarded damages.

Some examples of case results for clients who have suffered brain injuries include:

• $16,200,000 settlement for a brain injury caused by a slip and fall accident
• $13,500,000 jury award for a brain injury sustained in a car accident
• $12,300,000 jury award for a traumatic brain injury
• $10,800,000 jury award for a brain injury and broken neck
• $2,750,000 settlement for a brain injury caused by a trucking accident
• $1,000,000 settlement for a brain injury caused by a slip and fall accident

These case results serve as examples to give you an idea of potential financial outcomes for your brain injury claim; however, they do not guarantee a positive outcome in your case. Each claim has underlying facts and circumstances that increase or decrease its overall value. At Gomez Trial Attorneys, we have the resources and know-how to build the strongest case possible against individuals who caused you or your loved one harm, and we will diligently pursue the best financial outcome possible for your situation.

Brain Injuries Cause Psychological Struggles for Victims and Their Families

When a loved one suffers a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), family members must make decisions about care while simultaneously processing a wide array of emotions. TBI victims sometimes show increased aggression and experience changes in behavior and personality. Family members must deal with these types of changes in their loved ones, as well as changes in household responsibilities.

A family member may need to fill the role of caregiver or take on more responsibility to provide physical, emotional, and financial support. The American Psychological Association (APA) outlines a handful of challenges that are unique to those who provide care to TBI victims. These challenges include:

Uncertainty About the Future

TBI victims and their families often experience uncertainty related to recovery, future plans, and changes in the household. There is no question that suffering a traumatic brain injury is a life-altering event, but the way in which a TBI alters lives is different for every victim and every household. Family members and caregivers, as well as the victim, may have no idea what is to come.

Mourning the Changes in a Loved One

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals who suffer a severe TBI may struggle with regulating their emotions, increased aggression, and personality changes. Victims may also suffer from anxiety and depression and find it difficult to control their impulses in social situations. These changes may prove overwhelming for caregivers and family members, and such changes often lead to adjustments in family dynamics and how the household functions. Caregivers and family members sometimes have difficulty accepting an injured individual’s new normal, and they may mourn the loss of their loved one’s personality and abilities.

Long and Demanding Recovery Process

Recovery after a severe brain injury can last for weeks, months, or sometimes years. Even after going through multiple phases of rehabilitation and healing, individuals with the most severe brain injuries may not ever recover completely. During the initial hospitalization immediately after the injury, family members typically neglect professional, social, and household responsibilities.

This can make it difficult to transition back to a normal life after recovery. The ups and downs of a long recovery process affect caregivers and family members as much as victims. If a TBI patient is fortunate enough to return home, family members often take on the majority of needed care. Family members, especially those who act as primary caregivers, must adjust to the demands of recovery and rehabilitation, which often means redefining schedules, goals, and expectations.

Long-Term Financial Impact of a Brain Injury for Victims and Families

TBI victims and their families must face the economic consequences of a brain injury along with the physical and emotional challenges. Depending on the extent of the damage, required treatment, and financial situation, a TBI may continue to impact a family for decades. Expenses for medical care, rehabilitation, modifying the home, hiring outside help, and other costs may cause financial ruin. The financial stress that accompanies a brain injury looks different for every household, but it can include bankruptcy, vehicle repossessions, massive credit card debt, and the inability to pay for basic daily and monthly expenses. We provide some of the most common economic costs of a TBI below:

Medical Expenses

As mentioned above, brain injuries are expensive to treat. Victims often need to undergo a wide variety of expensive diagnostic tests. Lab tests and imaging come on top of ambulance and emergency services. Some brain injury victims need one or more surgeries to repair issues or stop additional damage from occurring. The biggest factor in the amount of medical expenses often depends on the length of hospitalization. TBIs, especially those that put patients in permanent vegetative states (PVS) or a comas, can result in hospital stays that last for several weeks or months.

Rehabilitation Expenses

Permanent brain damage from a traumatic brain injury affects each person differently, requiring an individualized approach to rehabilitation. Depending on the damage, a TBI patient’s rehabilitation regimen can include meeting with several specialists on a regular basis. These professionals help victims regain lost functions, cope with any permanent loss, and learn how to accomplish daily tasks in light of any permanent injuries.

Some of the most common treatments included during TBI rehabilitation include:

• Physical therapy helps patients train or retrain their muscles after suffering brain damage. Physical therapists also meet with patients in a coma or PVS to help maintain their muscles and flexibility.
• Occupational therapy helps TBI victims ease back into a daily routine after recovery. Sometimes, victims need to relearn how to perform common tasks, like brushing their hair or using a toaster. In other cases, permanent brain damage makes it impossible for victims to approach tasks in the same way as before their injuries. Occupational therapists help victims learn how to accomplish things in new and efficient ways.
• Speech therapy helps TBI victims who have lost the ability to speak or make certain sounds. In addition to retraining muscles in the throat, speech therapy can help brain injury victims learn new ways to communicate with others.
• Behavioral therapy remains a pivotal part of the healing process for brain injury victims and their families. Mental health professionals can help victims cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and feelings about changes that resulted from the injury. Psychologists and counselors can also help families learn to cope with personality changes, increased aggression, and lack of impulse control in their loved ones.

Long-Term Nursing Care Expenses

Sometimes TBI victims do not have close families or their families don’t have the resources to take care of the injured family member at home. Sometimes the consequences of permanent brain damage mean that TBI victims must have around-the-clock care in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

In other cases, families choose to hire in-home health services to help take care of their loved ones. Regardless of the chosen option, long-term health care is easily one of the most expensive aspects of a brain injury. Insurance policies do not cover nursing homes or similar facilities, unless the insured individual has purchased a separate rider policy, leaving families to absorb the financial impacts of obtaining long-term medical care.

Home Modification Expenses

When TBI victims return home after recovery and rehabilitation, they may need to make some changes to their homes to make them more accessible and safe. Some common modifications include installing a wheelchair ramp and handrails, remodeling bathrooms to add grab bars, creating a main floor living area and bedroom, purchasing special signs and placards for dangerous items, and installing locks or alarms for individuals who suffer from sleepwalking or confusion. Costs vary for each household, but they can easily total tens of thousands of dollars in the case of severe traumatic brain injury.

Replacement Service Expenses

When an adult sustains a brain injury, he or she likely cannot contribute to maintaining the household in the same way as before the injury. Family members can help do some of the extra work, but they likely cannot replace everything. Some families choose to hire outside help to replace the services that their injured loved ones used to provide. This may include hiring a landscaping or yard service, a cleaning service, a maintenance person or handyman, a grocery delivery service or cook, a driver, and a personal assistant to help run errands, go shopping, and prepare meals. If the injured family member took care of small children at home, some families will also need daycare services or must hire a nanny in the aftermath of the accident.

Lost Wages and Benefits

Another devastating financial impact of a brain injury is the lost wages and benefits of the victim and/or the family members who must miss work to care for the victim. Brain injury victims often qualify for disability payments, but they do not completely cover all lost monthly income, which can leave a large financial void, especially if your family member was responsible for most or all of the household income.

Victims and their families often must use up all of their personal time and sick time from their jobs, and then take unpaid leave from work after that. Infants and children who suffer severe TBI sometimes cannot seek gainful employment when they reach the legal working age. Filling the financial void created by a TBI often requires families to drain their savings and retirement accounts and rack up credit card debt, all while struggling to buy food and pay basic utilities.

Gomez Trial Attorneys Can Provide Legal Assistance

If you, your child, or another member of your family has suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, you and your family face many obstacles and challenges as you all forge ahead through this difficult time. The team at Gomez Trial Attorneys has years of experience assisting brain injury victims and their families, and we understand the struggles that victims and their families face.

We are here to help you hold accountable the individuals who caused you harm, so you can seek compensation for your mounting expenses. You shouldn’t have to shoulder the financial burden of a brain injury when another party’s recklessness or negligence caused it. We take brain injury cases on contingency, so you only pay attorney fees if we secure a settlement or jury award in your case. If you live in the San Jose area, contact us today online or call (866) 395-6792 for a free case evaluation with one of our team members.