Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are frequently the result of someone falling or getting into a car crash. Even an act of assault, such as someone punching another person in the head, could result in a TBI. The consequences of a TBI can be hard for the average person to understand.
Frequently, people focus on their short-term medical expenses when negotiating with an insurance company or with someone who has personal liability for the incident. It is crucial that you consider how the TBI may affect your career and therefore your income so that you can secure enough compensation to offset those financial losses.
- Your symptoms may affect your job performance
The way that a TBI manifests is different for every person. Some people experience changes in their memory, while others have issues with their sense of balance. TBIs can also cause motor function issues and a host of other symptoms.
Both the career that you have developed and the symptoms you experience will influence how much of an impact your injury has on your job performance. In some cases, you may not be capable of doing your job anymore, or you may be at a much higher risk of injury.
- Your absences could prove problematic
Some people may require weeks or months of rehabilitative care after a moderate to severe TBI. For some professionals, it will be impossible for their employers to accommodate that long-term leave of absence. They will need to replace the injured individual with someone else eventually.
Even if the initial leave of absence is not particularly long, brain injuries frequently have ongoing care requirements that will force someone to routinely attend medical appointments, usually during business hours. Missing work repeatedly can, if nothing else, slow someone’s career advancement. In some cases, it may put them at the top of the list for workers to get let go of when the company downsized.
For many workers, even those who have previously commanded high wages and achieved all of their career goals, a TBI will be a major setback. In some cases, people have to retire years early or move into a much lower-paid profession. Evaluating the long-term impact of a serious brain injury on your life will help you better pursue compensation for the losses your injury creates.