Does Hiring An Attorney Help Your Recover After A Traumatic Brain Injury?

Every 5 minutes, someone else becomes the victim of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and 72% of those injuries are the result of car accidents and falls. There's a strong likelihood that you'll end up involved in a personal injury lawsuit if you've suffered a TBI due to someone else's negligence. Does hiring an attorney, however, improve your odds for a better recovery from your injury? It just might, and this explains how.

It's easy to overlook some of the injuries associated with a TBI.

The problems associated with a traumatic brain injury can be severe and obvious, but not all TBIs manifest in the same way. Some of the injuries may be subtle and overlooked by both patients and doctors, especially if the focus is on your physical recovery from the accident.

TBI symptoms like depression and mood swings can develop after the initial injury. As a result, they can be overlooked, or not immediately connected to the TBI. Patients are also sometimes not aware of their own personality changes or cognitive problems after a TBI, so they end up never reporting the problems to their treating physician.

However, an attorney who specializes in TBIs is going to be looking carefully to see how your injury affects all aspects of your life. He or she will likely want to talk to your spouse, adult children, or other people close to you, to find out if you're suffering from depression, mood swings, unusual fatigue, unusual outbursts, anxiety, memory lapses or personality changes.

Expert evaluation ultimately leads to better care for your condition.

If your attorney thinks that your TBI is affecting you in a way that's not yet really understood, or not well-documented in your medical records, he or she may send you to see an expert, such as a neuropsychologist.

The type of testing done by neuropsychologists is complicated and extensive, but it accomplishes several things:

• It can pinpoint the exact cause of a condition, and estimate how permanent the problems will be.
• The information learned through testing can be used by your regular doctor to help determine future treatment plans. That improves your odds of a more complete recovery.
• It provides the medical evidence necessary for your lawsuit to be successful.

Once your attorney is able to determine the full extent of your injuries, plus your prognosis, and what it will cost for you to have the proper medical treatments, he or she is in a better position to get a fair settlement for you from the other party.

With a fair settlement, you can use the money to get better treatment for your conditions - including therapy and other support that isn't covered by your insurance.

In many cases, the attorney who is pursuing the personal injury case ends up paying for the expert testing and evaluations out of his or her own pocket, and only gets repaid once your case is settled favorably. Without that, many clients would never be able to afford the testing on their own and gain its advantages.

Turning to a personal injury lawyer after a traumatic brain injury may result in you having a more complete diagnosis of your condition, a better understanding of how your condition affects your life, and a better treatment plan to help you recover. In addition, your attorney can get you a fair settlement, without which you might not have the money to afford the treatment you may need in the future.