Brain injuries change lives.
They can alter how you remember the past, affect your personality, and impact your ability to work — often overnight. And when someone else’s negligence was the cause…
You deserve maximum compensation.
Brain injuries were responsible for over 69,000 deaths in 2021 according to the CDC. (That’s 190 people per day.) There were over 214,000 hospitalizations related to TBIs that same year.
Brain injuries don’t just hurt you. They hurt your family.
Here’s the thing.
Claims for brain injuries aren’t easy. They require an abundance of evidence to prove 1) the injury occurred, 2) who caused it, and 3) how much it will impact you for the rest of your life. Without proper documentation, even legitimate claims get dismissed.
And this is why having an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side matters after a brain injury. These cases require legal and medical knowledge that exceeds an ordinary injury claim. Your health — and future — depends on it.
Without the right evidence, your strongest brain injury claim can be defeated in court.
Let’s take a look at:
- Why Evidence is Critical to Brain Injury Claims
- Medical Records and Reports
- Expert Witnesses: What They Are and Why You Need Them
- Supporting Evidence You Should Gather
- Understanding Brain Injury Compensation
Why Evidence Makes or Breaks Your Brain Injury Claim
Brain injury claims are difficult.
They’re difficult to prove. Unlike a broken bone that can easily be seen on an X-ray, brain injuries can be intentionally obscured or denied by insurance companies. Collecting your evidence early on is paramount.
According to one source, the median settlement offer for brain injuries hovers around $350,000. Recovering millions is possible with severe cases, but only with a rock-solid paper trail to back it all up. The difference in compensation largely comes down to one thing: your evidence.
Here’s why proper documentation can make or break your case:
- It proves the injury occurred due to the incident
- It identifies who is at fault for causing the injury
- It calculates the total lifetime cost of living with the injury
- It establishes credibility with the court and insurance companies
It’s pretty cut and dry. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to collect evidence. Let’s explore.
Medical Records and Reports: The Start of Your Case
Medical records are the foundation of any brain injury claim.
You cannot prove that your injury happened without a detailed paper trail from your doctors and hospital. Everything else is built on your medical documentation.
The most important records to start your brain injury claim include:
- ER visit documentation
- MRI, CT scan, and X-ray results
- Neuropsychological and neurological assessments
- Doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan
- Physical rehabilitation documents
- History of prescriptions
Think about it…
The insurance company’s only job is to save money on your claim. One way they do this is by claiming your injuries existed before the accident or are not as severe as you claim. Having a clear set of medical documents makes this argument useless.
Missed medical appointments, undocumented recoveries, or sudden leaps in therapy can severely weaken your claim. Insurance companies love to pounce on weak medical history.
Expert Witnesses: What They Are and Why You Need Them
Medical records prove that the injury occurred.
Expert witnesses explain the injury to everyone involved. Neurological experts, vocational experts, and life care planners all play a vital role in defining your injury and how it impacts your life. In many brain injury cases, expert witnesses are what separate winning cases from losing ones.
The 5 most common experts in brain injury claims include:
- Neurologist — discusses the severity of the brain injury with the court
- Neuropsychologist — discuss how your injury affects daily tasks
- Vocational expert — demonstrates how injury limits your ability to earn an income
- Life care planner — calculate total cost of future medical care
- Accident reconstruction specialist — Determines exactly how the accident occurred
Keep in mind that insurance companies will have their own experts. You need experts who know more than theirs.
Additional Forms of Evidence to Support Your Claim
Medical records and expert testimony make up the core of your brain injury claim. But there’s other evidence you can use to support your case.
The more documentation you have, the better your chances of winning fair compensation. Useful forms of evidence include:
- Incident reports — police, work accident, or official incident documentation
- Photos and videos — of the scene of the accident and any vehicles, falling objects, etc.
- Eyewitness testimony — from bystanders who saw the accident happen
- Employment and wages — document lost income and diminished wages
- Pain and symptom diaries — record your injuries on a daily basis
It’s important to understand that insurance companies will dig deep to invalidate your claim. They’ll dispute your evidence, fight your expert witnesses, and convince the court that your injuries are not as bad as you say. Organized and thorough paperwork prevents them from doing this.
How Much Compensation Can You Get for a Brain Injury?
Brain injury compensation falls into two categories: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages refer to dollar amounts that can be calculated. This includes:
- Medical expenses
- Past and lost wages
- Rehabilitation and long-term care
- Home modification costs (due to injury)
Non-economic damages cover things that don’t have a set dollar amount. These may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of consortium
You can also be awarded punitive damages. Punitive damages are a way to punish the negligent party for their actions. They don’t typically cover an aspect of your injuries, but they can increase the total compensation of your claim.
The severity of your brain injury plays a huge factor in compensation. So does your evidence.
Bringing It All Together
Claims involving brain injuries are some of the most complicated injury claims you can file.
Why? Everything you submit to the court — medical records, expert witnesses, detailed documentation — helps determine how much you receive as compensation. Without rock-solid evidence, your brain injury can net you far less than you’re owed (even if you’re permanently injured).
Remember:
- Begin meticulous documentation with medical records from day one
- Retain a team of expert witnesses to testify on your behalf
- Leave no stone unturned collecting additional forms of evidence
- Understand what your claim is eligible for in damages
- Hire skilled legal counsel to guide you through the process
