The Financial Burden of TBI Recovery

If you have sustained a brain injury, it is critically important to speak with an attorney about your legal options. The costs associated with TBI recovery are notoriously tough for the average family’s budget to absorb. If you have opportunities for legal recourse available to you, availing yourself of those opportunities will help to ensure that you can get the care you need and that your circumstances won’t wreck your family’s finances.

If Your TBI Was Not Your Fault

As an experienced brain injury lawyer – including those who practice at the law firm of Barry P. Goldberg – can explain in greater detail, the law broadly protects the rights of injury victims to seek compensation under certain circumstances. Essentially, if another’s negligence, recklessness, or intentionally harmful actions caused your TBI, you may be able to hold that party legally and financially responsible for the harm that you’ve suffered.

Common TBI scenarios that give rise to grounds upon which to file a legal claim include car accidents, medical malpractice scenarios, falls on another’s property, and negligent nursing home care. While you can sue another individual for causing you harm, you may also sue a business, government agency, or other entity if that “non-person” engaged in conduct that led to your injuries. For example, if you were injured in a single-car wreck due to a faulty auto part, the manufacturer of that part may be held liable for your harm.   

If Your TBI Was Work-Related

If you sustained your traumatic brain injury while engaging in work-related activities, you may be eligible to collect workers’ compensation benefits as a result of your TBI. If you are classified as a full-time or part-time employee (or you’ve been incorrectly classified as an independent contractor) chances are good that you’re entitled to benefits.

If you’re eligible for a workers’ comp benefits award, you may also file a personal injury lawsuit if your circumstances meet the criteria listed above. However, please note that you cannot sue your employer directly in a personal injury lawsuit if you are eligible for workers’ comp benefits. There is a legal loophole that protects employers from liability in the event that their employees who are covered by workers’ comp are hurt on the job.

Note also that workers’ comp is a no-fault system. This means that, with very few exceptions, workers can collect workers’ compensation benefits even if the injurious circumstances that led to their TBIs were their fault.