Brain injuries are among the more common debilitating injuries that people develop after a car crash. Someone might hit their head on the steering wheel, get shaken up during the wreck or suffer penetrating injuries caused by flying vehicle debris.
Any of those situations could lead to serious medical consequences for the person with the brain injury. Frequently, people underestimate the long-term impact of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) because they fail to recognize how the injury could affect their careers. They may focus solely on medical expenses and don’t consider the other financial setbacks possible after a crash-generated TBI.
What are some of the ways that a brain injury could affect someone’s income?
Missed work due to treatment
Someone could miss weeks of work right after they first hurt their brain in a car crash. An individual recovering from a TBI may need to stay at a hospital or in a rehabilitation facility during their convalescence. Someone could have many weeks of lost income because of the treatment they require after a crash. They might also miss work regularly long after the initial injury because they require ongoing medical care, such as occupational therapy.
Career setbacks due to cognitive symptoms
There are many ways that a brain injury affects how someone performs their job. Cognitive challenges can create an issue for those in any profession. A barista might not be able to remember the recipe for popular coffee drinks, while someone in an executive role may find that changes in their personality make managing their workers much more difficult. Changes in someone’s mood and personality or difficulties with memory and decision-making could drastically alter someone’s ability to perform their job effectively.
Physical challenges in the workplace
Brain injuries can also cause multiple physical and sensory symptoms. People can develop ringing in their ears or blurry vision that could make it unsafe for them to work in a professional kitchen or in a production facility. Other times, a brain injury might affect someone’s fine motor skills. Those working in manufacturing, information technology or even medicine could become suddenly incapable of doing their jobs because of issues with their fine motor skills, sensory perception or equilibrium.
If someone can’t do their job, requires time off of work or loses out on advancement opportunities, their brain injury could end up costing them thousands more than they initially anticipated. As such, accurately estimating what a brain injury could cost may help people seek financial justice after a crash.
