It depends on your specific injury, the areas of the brain affected, and your doctor’s recommendations. Some milder traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) don’t require any treatment but rest and possibly a day or two of observation at the hospital. Other patients may need medication to treat specific symptoms, such as seizures. Sometimes, patients with more severe TBIs may need surgery or other treatments.
When Should You Consult a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney?
As soon as you’re able. Often people contact us when their health insurance stops paying for treatment, or they find out another party’s liability insurance has denied their claim. If you speak with a lawyer before filing a claim, we can help you ensure your claim is submitted correctly and reduce the risk of a denial. However, if you’ve already received one, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of luck. In many situations, we can appeal your claim and convince the insurance company to make a reasonable settlement.
Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment
When you first go to the hospital after a head injury, you will receive a CT scan and other imaging or tests depending on your symptoms. After identifying any problems, the doctors will treat them if necessary – in some cases, no treatment is indicated. They may prescribe medication to treat symptoms or control complications like seizures or brain swelling. In cases of more severe injuries, you might need surgery.
But what about long-term problems? Many people who suffer TBIs develop chronic pain or challenges from their injury. The brain affects the entire body, so many potential issues could present long-term problems. Here are some common difficulties for those with TBIs and typical treatments:
- Trouble with speech or language. Sometimes a person will struggle with aphasia (inability to find the right words) or other speech problems after a TBI. Working with a speech language professional (SLP) can be helpful, but sometimes, the person has permanent difficulties communicating. Your SLP may be able to recommend alternative ways to communicate, like using picture boards or text-to-speech programs.
- Difficulty with movement. This can vary from being unable to walk to weakness on one side of the body. Some people have problems with their gait or doing typical tasks like brushing their teeth or picking up objects. A physical or occupational therapist will work with you to improve these areas.
- Balance and coordination. Many people struggle with balance or coordination after a TBI, and the hospital staff may take precautions because they consider you at risk of having a fall (which could aggravate your TBI). This is also an area where physical therapy may be helpful.
- Cognitive issues. A TBI can cause challenges with short-term memory, attention span, following complex instructions, problem-solving, critical thinking, and other cognitive tasks. Cognitive rehabilitation is a form of therapy that focuses on helping people with cognitive deficits through remediation, which means working to improve the skills that have declined, and compensation, which means finding alternative ways to work around a deficit and achieve a goal.
- Perceptual and sensory difficulties. A patient with a TBI may experience problems with one or multiple senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Some people have double vision or left- or right-sided neglect, a condition where the brain simply ignores visual input or sensation on the side of the body opposite the injured area of the brain. Others may find they’re now experiencing sensory overload or becoming hypersensitive to stimuli like noise, lights, or touch. A therapist can help you with coping strategies for these difficulties.
- Social challenges. Sometimes these are related to other problems, like cognitive or language difficulties. In other cases, the TBI may have affected the patient’s ability to read or understand social cues. Therapy focuses on setting goals and giving the patient tools or exercises to work on. For example, a therapist might have you practice conversations and work on things like not interrupting others or getting to the point when speaking.
- Mental health disturbances. Numerous studies have linked a higher risk of depression to TBI. Anxiety is also more common after a brain injury. If you’re feeling anxious, depressed, having mood changes, or just not feeling like yourself, don’t hesitate to speak with a mental health professional. Treatment options include talk therapy and medication to manage your symptoms.
- Epilepsy. People who have suffered a TBI are more likely to be diagnosed with epilepsy, a condition where the patient has repeated seizures, than those who haven’t had a brain injury. Seizures may begin right after your injury or months or years later. In most cases, seizures can eventually be controlled with medication, although you may need to try several different drugs until you find the right one. In less common cases, surgery may be needed.
- Functional deficits. Due to one or more of the above difficulties, some patients may struggle with everyday tasks like eating, walking, grooming, or using the bathroom. A specialist will help you work to regain these skills and use adaptive tools to become more independent in the meantime.
What is Brain Injury Rehab?
Many rehabilitation programs offer brain injury rehab, in which a team of specialists assists each patient recovering from a brain injury with any combination of the above long-term issues. You will be assigned therapists specializing in the type of care you need. Although it can take time, most patients show some improvement with rehabilitation. Certain patients may recover fully, while others regain at least some of their previous functions.
How Long Will You Need Care from a Brain Injury Specialist?
This depends on the severity of your injury and how quickly you progress in rehab. Working hard and making every effort at the exercises you’re given will improve your chances of recovering quickly, but in some situations, it may still be a long process. The more severe your injury and the lingering effects, the longer it will probably take.
Unfortunately, some patients need more rehabilitative care than their health insurance will pay for. A good brain injury rehab facility is costly, and you can quickly reach your policy’s limit. Many clients have told us how frustrating it was to realize they could no longer afford rehab just as they were starting to improve!
This is another reason why it’s so important to contact a brain injury attorney right away. In many cases, your injury may have been caused by another party’s negligence (even in some situations where this doesn’t seem obvious). If so, there could be a liability insurance policy that will pay for your medical expenses, or your attorney may be able to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. Before you give up on treatment because of the cost, please seek a free consultation with a Georgia personal injury lawyer to explore other options for getting your treatment covered.
Types of Brain Injury Rehab Programs
Brain injury rehabilitation may include:
- Physical therapy to improve strength, coordination, and flexibility
- Occupational therapy to help you re-learn everyday skills that you may now struggle with
- Speech therapy to recover speech and language skills
- Psychological counseling for the emotional and mental stress that often accompanies TBIs
- Vocational counseling to help you prepare to return to your job
- Cognitive therapy for a wide range of difficulties, including problems with memory, attention, critical thinking, learning, planning, perception, and judgment
Get Help from a Traumatic Brain Injury Law Firm
Brain injury treatment is essential after a TBI, but it may become prohibitively expensive for many people once health insurance is exhausted. If this has happened to you, don’t give up. Please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation. We will consider every option for seeking compensation for your injuries, and if we don’t win or settle your case, we won’t charge any fees, so you have nothing to lose.
