Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are some of the hardest to overcome. Many of our clients suffer a TBI in a car accident, a slip and fall, or a violent attack. Brain injury compensation should cover out-of-pocket expenses, including the cost of medical treatment, while also providing compensation for more intangible losses, such as pain. Contact McCravy Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy today to speak about your case with a Greenville personal injury lawyer. We have helped many TBI victims make strong insurance claims or even file a lawsuit against a defendant.
Possible Traumatic Brain Injury Compensation
The amount of compensation you receive will depend on the severity of your injury, as well as the impact it has had on your life. We typically request the following damages as part of a brain injury claim.
Economic Damages
These are losses with a definite dollar value. Unless you were partially to blame for your accident, we usually demand compensation dollar for dollar. That is, for every dollar you spend out of pocket, you should receive a dollar back in compensation.
Medical Treatment
The medical treatment can include:
- Emergency transportation to the hospital
- MRIs or other imaging tests
- Doctor’s visits
- Medication (pain medication, sleeping pills, and so on)
- Oxygen therapies
- Rehabilitation, including physical therapy or occupational therapy
Medical care has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, so it is easy to rack up tens of thousands of dollars with even a relatively mild concussion. One ambulance trip could bankrupt many people. Keep all medical bills so your lawyer can review how much to request.
Lost Wages or Income
Brain injuries cause all sorts of symptoms which make work nearly impossible: dizziness, loss of balance, memory loss, impaired speech, and difficulty sleeping. Many people need months off from work to rest up. Doctors often recommend avoiding any blue light to help you heal, which means you can’t use a computer screen.
The amount you can request for lost income will depend on how much you make. Someone who makes $1,000 a week and misses 8 weeks of work can request at least $8,000.
Save your most recent pay stubs or W-2 form. If you are self-employed, keep documentation of what you usually make, such as bank records or contracts with clients. We will use this information to calculate possible brain injury compensation.
Property Damage
Some of our clients damage property in an accident, so we can include compensation to fix or replace it in a brain injury claim. For example, car accident victims often need substantial repairs to get their car working again. Remember to keep the bill from the body shop or a repair estimate if you have not yet had work done. We might also request compensation for a rental vehicle if you needed one while your car was in the shop.
Non-Economic Damages (General Damages)
Brain injury compensation should also cover non-economic losses. These damages include:
- Pain and suffering. TBIs cause considerable pain and discomfort. Many people struggle to sleep normally, or they experience dizziness.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. It is much harder to enjoy hobbies or spend quality time with family when recovering from a brain injury.
- Disability. Moderate and severe TBIs can leave someone disabled for years. You deserve compensation for all physical or emotional disabilities.
- Disfigurement. Some serious injuries leave a person with permanent disfigurement, such as nerve damage in the face.
Arriving at a calculation of non-economic damages is much harder. We can lean on our experience as well as research into how much other accident victims have received. Those numbers will guide our negotiation strategy.
Punitive Damages
We might also request punitive damages in certain cases. South Carolina limits punitive damages to cases where the victim has clear evidence that the defendant acted in a willful, wanton, or reckless manner. (S.C. Ann. Stat. § 15-32-520(D).)
That makes sense, since these damages are designed to punish the defendant for offensive conduct that goes above and beyond mere carelessness. The hope is that by forcing the defendant to pay punitive damages, we can deter future misconduct.
Our law firm sometimes seeks punitive damages from a drunk driver or a property owner who knew a dangerous defect had injured other people but still did not fix it. That type of conduct warrants punishment. Let us review to see if it makes sense to request these damages in your case.
Limitations on Your Damages
There are some common reasons why people do not receive as much compensation as they wish for a brain injury claim:
- Comparative fault. In South Carolina, a victim’s own negligence can limit financial recovery. For example, if you are more than 50% to blame, you cannot receive anything. Someone with less responsibility can still receive compensation, but it is reduced by their share of fault.
- Workplace injury. If you were hurt at work, you cannot sue your employer. Instead, the remedy is workers’ compensation benefits. These are less generous than you could get in a personal injury lawsuit. For example, you will get only 2/3 of your average wages, and there is no compensation for pain and suffering.
- Defendant’s limited resources. The defendant might not have enough financial resources to fully compensate you for a TBI. A driver with only the minimum liability insurance can probably only pay up to $25,000 for bodily injuries. This driver might not have any more money or property, not even money in a bank account.
Call our office today. Our objective is to receive the most traumatic brain injury compensation for our clients as possible. We might see if you can sue a non-employer for a workplace injury, or we might add another defendant who shares liability for the accident.
Speak with One of Our Greenville Personal Injury Lawyers Today
McCravy, Newlon, Sturkie & Clardy understands the difficulties of overcoming a serious TBI. Our clients deserve significant brain injury compensation when a negligent or reckless defendant hurts them in an accident. Contact us today to speak with a member of our legal team in a private, free consultation.