Miami Accident Lawyer Blog
The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) defines a Traumatic Brain Injury (a.k.a TBI) as “an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force.” Anyone can fall victim to a traumatic brain injury at any time. Our team of Miami personal injury attorneys have heard of people suffering TBIs in car accidents, motorcycle wrecks, truck accidents, and many other preventable accidents. The consequences can be devastating and life altering.
Living with a Traumatic Brain Injury
Adequately funding the treatment for a traumatic brain injury victim can be extremely difficult because of increased need of medication, rehabilitation, post-injury checkups, and potentially dedicated at-home care.
A major potential side-effect of a traumatic brain injury is the rapid decline in basic cognitive abilities. The trauma to the brain can result in the victim reacting much more slowly to requests and actions and they may be more forgetful with everyday routine tasks.
Potential Inability to Return to Work
Returning to a previous workplace is usually delayed as a result of a traumatic brain injury. The victim may never be able to return to work, leading to additional financial strain on other family members.
The loss of independence and a sense of guilt at the forced dependence often engulf the victim in a severe depression that in turn has a dramatic effect on his or her family and social surroundings.
Legal Issues Arising from a TBI
There are a number of legal issues that are also involved with a person suffering from traumatic brain injury.
- Whether anyone can be legally entrusted with taking important medical and financial decisions on behalf of the injured person
- Whether the injury took place due to some unlawful reason
- What were the circumstances under which the injury was suffered
- Whether this was an on-job accident
- What is the extent of employer liability in case it happened in course of employment
- Whether the effects of the injury involve long-term care
- What are the types of medical insurance available to the injured person
- Whether the person has any medical directive or last will
A few long term legal issues remain must also be addressed.
Life-care planning – It involves long term evaluation of the TBI victim and his or her surroundings in order to provide the best possible lifestyle care, keeping in mind the goals, needs, and interests of the TBI victim.
Vocational rehabilitation – It involves the consultation with a professional counselor who can guide the patient to overcome barriers and access, maintain, or return to a suitable place of employment.
Estate planning – It involves the suitable protection and maintenance of an injured person’s property and other valuables as he no longer has the capacity to do that by himself.
As you can see, suffering a TBI can have long-term ramifications. If you or a loved one suffered a TBI as the result of a preventable accident caused by another party’s carelessness, contact the South Florida brain injury attorneys at Gerson & Schwartz, PA. Contact our law offices toll free at (877) 475-2905 or you can contact us online. We represent brain injury victims throughout the state of Florida including Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County and Monroe County. We also make house calls if necessary to Coral Gables, Miramar, Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, Aventura, Key West, Key Largo, Marathon, Plantation, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Coral Springs, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Jupiter. Our firm also handles traumatic brain injury cases statewide, from Orange County and the Tampa Bay Area.