The medical bills keep piling up. Physical therapy sessions stretch into months. Your concentration falters at work. How much is a head injury claim worth when your life has fundamentally changed? The answer depends on multiple factors unique to your situation, from the severity of your brain trauma to the long-term effects on your daily functioning.
Brain injuries affect more than 2.8 million Americans annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These injuries create financial burdens that extend far beyond initial emergency room visits. An experienced brain injury attorney can evaluate all of the factors that contribute to your compensation and build the strongest possible case for your recovery.
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Key Takeaways for “How Much Is a Head Injury Claim Worth?”
- Compensation for head injuries varies widely based on injury severity, long-term effects, and individual circumstances.
- Medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering comprise the main damage categories.
- Mild traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, can warrant significant compensation if symptoms persist.
- New York's comparative negligence laws allow recovery even if you bear partial fault for the accident.
- Experienced brain injury attorneys help maximize compensation by documenting all losses properly.
Factors That Determine How Much a Head Injury Claim Is Worth
Multiple elements influence how much compensation you might recover after a brain injury. Attorneys examine each factor carefully to build a complete picture of your losses and present the strongest case possible.
Severity of the Brain Injury
The most significant factor affecting compensation involves injury severity. Medical professionals classify traumatic brain injuries into three categories:
Mild TBI (Concussion): The most common type of brain injury, often caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head. According to the CDC, symptoms may include temporary confusion, headaches, dizziness, brief loss of consciousness, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, nausea, and sensitivity to light or noise.
While most people recover within weeks to months, some experience post-concussion syndrome with persistent symptoms that can last much longer.
Moderate TBI: These injuries involve extended periods of unconsciousness lasting minutes to hours, and confusion that may persist for days to weeks. The CDC notes that moderate TBIs often require rehabilitation services and may cause lasting problems with thinking, memory, movement, sensation, or emotional functioning that can affect all aspects of daily life.
Severe TBI: The most serious category, involving extended unconsciousness or amnesia lasting days, weeks, or longer. According to the CDC, severe brain injuries frequently result in permanent disabilities that may affect cognitive abilities, physical functions, emotions, and behavior. These injuries often require lifelong medical care and support services, with effects similar to those of a chronic disease.
Medical Expenses and Future Care Costs
Brain injury treatment costs accumulate rapidly. Emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging, neurology consultations, and rehabilitation services create substantial medical bills. Your claim should account for:
- Emergency medical treatment and hospitalization costs
- Ongoing neurological care and specialist consultations
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy sessions
- Prescription medications and medical equipment
- Home health care and personal assistance services
The most expensive cases involve severe injuries requiring specialized care facilities. Life care plans, prepared by medical experts, calculate the total cost of future medical needs. These comprehensive assessments consider ongoing therapies, adaptive equipment, home modifications, and potential complications.
In New York, cases operate under a pure comparative negligence system. The New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Section 1411 allows injured parties to recover compensation even when partially at fault. The damages they are entitled to ultimately are reduced by their percentage of fault.
Lost Income and Earning Capacity
Brain injuries affect your ability to work in various ways. Cognitive symptoms like memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and processing delays may prevent you from performing job duties effectively. Physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue compound these challenges.
Compensation calculations include both past and future lost earnings. Past losses are relatively straightforward to calculate using payroll records and tax returns. Future earning capacity requires more complex analysis considering:
- Your age and expected working years remaining
- Career trajectory and promotion potential
- Lost employee benefits if you cannot return to work
- The specific ways your brain injury affects job performance
- Whether you can retrain for different work
Vocational rehabilitation experts often evaluate these factors to determine fair compensation for diminished earning capacity.
Pain and Suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries
Brain injuries create profound emotional and psychological impacts that extend far beyond physical symptoms. Many TBI survivors experience personality changes, mood disorders, and cognitive impairments that fundamentally alter their relationships and daily experiences.
Depression and anxiety frequently develop following brain trauma. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that emotional regulation problems affect many brain injury patients. These changes may strain marriages, friendships, and family relationships in ways that weren't anticipated before the injury.
Cognitive symptoms add another layer of suffering. Memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and slowed processing speed create constant frustration. Tasks that once seemed effortless may now require tremendous mental effort. Many brain injury survivors describe feeling like they've lost their former selves.
Social isolation often compounds these challenges. Friends and family members may struggle to relate to personality changes or cognitive limitations. The invisible nature of many brain injury symptoms can make others question the severity of your condition, leading to feelings of being misunderstood or dismissed.
What Compensation Can You Recover for a Head Injury Claim?
Brain injury claims involve several categories of damages designed to address different types of losses. Attorneys evaluate each category to ensure comprehensive compensation for all injury-related impacts.
Economic damages
Economic damages cover measurable financial losses directly caused by your brain injury. These quantifiable costs include:
- Medical expenses (emergency care, hospitalization, ongoing treatment)
- Lost wages and employment benefits
- Future medical care and rehabilitation costs
- Property damage (vehicle repairs, personal items)
- Home modifications and adaptive equipment
- Transportation costs for medical appointments
Non-economic damages
Non-economic damages compensate for intangible losses that significantly impact your quality of life. These damages address:
- Pain and suffering from physical symptoms
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma
- Loss of enjoyment of life and recreational activities
- Cognitive impairments affecting daily functioning
- Personality changes and relationship strain
- Mental anguish from permanent disabilities
Wrongful death damages
When brain injuries result in death, surviving family members may recover specific damages under New York's wrongful death statute. These damages include:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Lost future earnings the deceased would have provided
- Loss of financial support and contributions
- Medical expenses before death
- Loss of inheritance the deceased would have accumulated
Brain injury cases involve multiple types of damages that work together to address the full scope of your losses. An experienced personal injury attorney can make sure your claim accounts for the full scope of your injuries and losses.
How Insurance Companies Try to Devalue Brain Injury Claims
Many people trust insurance companies to do the right thing and pay them fairly for their injury claim. Unfortunately, that is seldom, if ever, the case. Insurance companies are for-profit businesses that aggressively protect their bottom line.
They don't want to pay full value for brain injury claims, so they may question whether your injury is really that serious, blame your symptoms on pre-existing conditions, rush you into a quick settlement before you can contact a lawyer or know how bad things are, or send you to their own doctor who minimizes your injuries.
Your attorney handles these tactics by building a strong case with proper medical evidence, and in some cases, expert testimony.
Proving Your Head Injury Case
Strong brain injury claims require comprehensive medical documentation from the moment of injury through ongoing treatment. Emergency room records establish the initial trauma and immediate symptoms. Follow-up medical visits track symptom progression and treatment responses.
Neuropsychological testing provides objective evidence of cognitive impairment. These specialized assessments measure memory, attention, processing speed, and executive function. Test results help demonstrate how your brain injury affects daily activities and work performance.
While medical records and professional evaluations are the strongest primary evidence, any personal evidence of your daily struggles and how the injury has affected all aspects of your life can support your claim for pain and suffering damages. Family members and friends might provide testimony about personality changes and functional limitations they've observed.
Comparative Fault Rules
Every state has a system of determining compensation in shared-fault accidents. For instance, if you were texting while walking and suffered a brain injury when a distracted driver struck you, both parties might share fault.
New York's pure comparative negligence system affects compensation amounts based on your percentage of fault. For example, if you bear 30% responsibility for an accident, your compensation decreases by 30%.
These rules underscore the importance of working with a personal injury lawyer who will work to minimize your fault and protect the value of your claim. Without a lawyer, you may be at the mercy of an insurance company that blames you unfairly or even denies your claim.
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FAQs for How Much Is a Head Injury Claim Worth
Can I recover compensation for a mild concussion?
Yes, even mild brain injuries can warrant substantial compensation if symptoms persist or worsen over time. Post-concussion syndrome may cause ongoing headaches, concentration problems, and mood changes that significantly impact your life. The key is documenting how these symptoms affect your daily activities and work performance.
How long do I have to file a head injury claim in New York?
New York gives you three years from the accident date to file most personal injury lawsuits under New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Section 214. However, if you're suing a city, county, school district, or other municipal entity, you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the incident. Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of death, regardless of the cause.
How long does it take to settle a brain injury case?
The length of time needed to settle a brain injury case depends on the severity of the injury and the complexity of the case. Severe injuries requiring ongoing treatment may require waiting until doctors can determine maximum medical improvement (MMI). Rushing settlements often results in inadequate compensation. Your lawyer can give you a clearer idea of how long your case may take, depending on the unique circumstances of your case.
What if I can't afford a brain injury attorney?
Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency fees, meaning you pay nothing unless they recover compensation on your behalf. This arrangement allows injured parties to access quality legal representation regardless of their financial situation.
Do brain injury claims usually go to trial?
Most brain injury cases settle out of court through negotiations with insurance companies. However, having an attorney prepared to take your case to trial often results in higher settlement offers. Insurance companies settle more favorably when they know you have strong legal representation.
Can family members recover compensation for my brain injury?
Spouses may recover damages for loss of consortium when brain injuries significantly affect family relationships. These claims compensate family members for lost companionship and support. The more severe your injury's impact on family life, the higher these damages may be.
Injured on Long Island? Discover How Rosenberg & Gluck LLP Can Help
Brain injuries create financial burdens that extend far beyond initial medical treatment. Your compensation should reflect both current losses and future needs related to your injury. Working with attorneys who fully understand how a brain injury impacts your life can position you for the best possible outcome.
The experienced personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg & Gluck LLP have helped traumatic brain injury victims across Long Island, including Suffolk and Nassau Counties, recover substantial compensation for their losses. We work tirelessly to hold responsible parties accountable.Don't let insurance companies minimize your brain injury claim. Contact us today at (631) 451-7900 or reach out online for a free consultation. We'll evaluate your case and explain your legal options during this challenging time.