A brain injury is one of the most devastating types of bodily injuries that an accident victim can suffer. The brain is an extremely complex organ, and it is difficult to predict how a traumatic brain injury will impact a specific person. The damages, or financial compensation, that you can recover in a traumatic brain injury lawsuit in Georgia depend on how the injury has affected you. Brain injury survivors can seek damages for many different types of losses through a personal injury claim in Atlanta.
Past and Future Medical Expenses
Brain injuries are expensive to treat. The CT scans to diagnose a traumatic brain injury alone can cost thousands of dollars for a patient. If your brain injury is classified as moderate to severe, you are most likely facing future medical costs in addition to money that you’ve already spent on doctor’s appointments, tests and treatments.
You can claim damages for both your present and future foreseeable medical expenses during a brain injury lawsuit. This may include:
- Neurological care
- Emergency services
- Surgeries
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Psychological therapies
- Specialists
- Medical travel and transportation
- Disability-related expenses
- Medical devices
- Prescription medications
- A home health care aide
You may need help from a Life Care Plan expert to calculate your future foreseeable medical expenses connected to a traumatic brain injury.
Losses of Income
After sustaining a brain injury, you may have to take days, weeks or months off of work while you recover. This can result in thousands of dollars in lost wages, for which you can seek financial compensation. If your brain injury causes a temporary or permanent disability that interferes with your ability to work, you can recover compensation for future lost capacity to earn, as well. This can cover a lifetime of projected lost wages that you reasonably would have earned had you not suffered the brain injury.
Out-of-Pocket Costs
Most brain injury claimants have a list of out-of-pocket expenses connected to their accidents, injuries and legal proceedings. The defendant may be responsible for paying these costs, which may include:
- Property damage
- Travel or transportation
- The cost of a rental car
- Attorney’s fees
- Expert fees
- Court costs
Keep all of your bills and receipts to prove this type of economic damages during your traumatic brain injury lawsuit.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering can refer to many different types of noneconomic or intangible losses in a brain injury lawsuit. These can include physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, lost enjoyment or quality of life, permanent scarring or disfigurement, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
If a loved one passed away because of a traumatic brain injury, this category of damages can also include loss of consortium, or the loss of your loved one’s care, love and companionship. You can request loss of consortium damages along with other death benefits through a wrongful death lawsuit in Atlanta.
Punitive Damages
The damages listed above all fall under the category of compensatory damages. This type of compensation is meant to reimburse you for the losses that you suffered and will likely continue to suffer from the brain injury, with the goal of making you whole again. The second category of damages is instead meant to punish a defendant and send a message about his or her wrongful behaviors. This category is called punitive damages.
Although punitive damages are uncommon in Georgia brain injury claims, they may be awarded in a case with aggravating circumstances. These may include the defendant’s willful intent to harm the victim, malice, fraud, oppression or a wanton disregard for the safety of others. You or your lawyer must specifically request punitive damages to recover this type of financial compensation.
For more information about the types of damages that may be available to you in a traumatic brain injury lawsuit, contact the Atlanta brain injury attorneys at Hilley & Frieder, P.C. for a free case evaluation.