Injuries to the brain can be among the most catastrophic. Depending on the severity of the wound, the type of injury, and the part(s) of the brain that are damaged, victims can require tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions of dollars worth of medical care and treatment over the course of their lifetimes. Brain injuries don’t just cause medical bills to rack up, either. They can also lead to short-term and long-term disability, an overall reduction in earning capacity, chronic pain, changes in quality of life, and significant emotional distress.
When you suffer a brain injury in an accident in Nevada because someone else is negligent, these are costs and burdens you shouldn’t have to deal with on your own. State law permits victims of serious brain injuries to pursue compensatory damages to ensure you don’t have to.
Here, our trusted Las Vegas traumatic brain injury lawyers break down the compensation that’s most often awarded in brain injury lawsuits.
Medical Bills
Diagnosing, treating, and recovering from a brain injury can take time and require the input and involvement of a variety of medical specialists. When you file a personal injury lawsuit in Vegas, you can recover costs for reasonable and necessary medical treatment, both current and future.
This can include money to cover:
- Transportation to the emergency room in an ambulance
- Emergency room care
- Diagnostic tests, such as MRIs, CT Scans, X-rays, and bloodwork
- Consultations with neurologists and other medical specialists
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Anesthesia
- Medical devices and equipment
- Follow-up care
- Rehabilitation and therapy
Medical expenses are recoverable as long as they’re backed by evidence, such as hospital records, invoices, bills, receipts, and statements.
Lost Wages and Disability
If your brain injury prevents you from working, even temporarily, you can recover compensation for your lost wages and income with a brain injury lawsuit. Generally speaking, you can recover compensation for PTO or vacation you used during your recovery, wages and income equivalent to your salary or average earnings before you got hurt, lost job benefits, and long-term disability.
If you’re unable to return to work at the same capacity and are forced into a lesser-paying position, you can also ask to be compensated for the reduction in your overall earning capacity. When a brain injury causes a permanent impairment or disability that directly affects your ability to work, long-term or permanent disability compensation can be awarded in a brain injury case, too.
Pain and Suffering
Brain injuries don’t just inflict financial pain; they can cause emotional distress, social isolation, and psychological trauma, too. These consequences of a brain injury don’t have any less of an impact on your life because they don’t have a set price or value. They are also compensable as non-economic damages in a Nevada brain injury lawsuit.
Generally speaking, the severity of a brain injury dictates how much pain and suffering damages are worth. Negotiations usually focus on a multiplier between 1 and 5, with 1 reserved for mild brain injuries and 5 reserved for life-shattering trauma. The multiplier is applied to the value of economic damages for medical care, lost income, and other monetary costs. The more a brain injury disrupts your life, causes debilitating pain or impairment, and causes you to struggle, the more your non-economic damages will be worth. It’s important to note that non-economic damages like pain, emotional distress, and loss of consortium are capped in medical malpractice cases.
The insurance company might not be upfront and transparent about what compensation can be recovered in a Nevada brain injury lawsuit. Benson & Bingham will be. Our Las Vegas catastrophic injury attorneys will help you understand your claim’s worth and fight to secure every last cent to which you’re entitled under the law. Call our award-winning personal injury law firm to discuss your brain injury case today. Your first consultation is free.