Why You Should Consider a Life-Care Plan After a TBI

By Aghabegian & Associates on January 28, 2021

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most devastating injuries an individual can deal with. Damage to the brain not only requires immediate, and often expensive, medical treatment, but also carries the potential of a lifelong disability. While your immediate concern may be to cover the costs of your emergency room bills and surgery, it is always important to plan for the future. Oftentimes this means developing a life-care plan, which accident victims are allowed to include in a personal injury claim if someone else caused their TBI.

What Is a Life-Care Plan?

When someone suffers a blow to the head, there is always the risk of developing a serious traumatic brain injury. While minor TBIs like concussions can heal with observation, rest, and simple treatments, serious TBIs can result in costly disabilities such as paralysis, mobility issues, memory problems, vision loss, and seizures. Medications, assisted living equipment, and therapy can all help with these issues and ensure that the patient lives a comfortable life, but none of it is cheap. However, if your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence, such as a drunk driver in a car accident, then you may be able to pursue all of these costs in a personal injury claim.

A life-care plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how your TBI has affected your life, spelling out any medical conditions or disabilities you developed because of it, and what treatment you will need to manage it for the rest of your life. A life-care plan can act as medically supported evidence in your personal injury claim that shows just how severely you were injured and why you deserve proper compensation.

These documents are prepared by life-care planners, who are generally medical professionals. Based on their medical background, a life-care planner can evaluate the full extent of your injuries and explain what treatment is necessary for you to live a comfortable life. Life-care planners are typically considered independent third parties in a personal injury claim, meaning they can be called to testify in your case. However, their job is not to testify about the accident itself or explain who is to blame for your injuries. Instead, they can clarify to a judge and jury how serious your brain injury is and the overall costs of your long-term care.

What Should a Life-Care Plan Include?

At the end of the day, a life-care plan’s role is to ensure that everyone understands the difficulties you may face due to your TBI and how your condition should be managed in the years to come. It can help create a guideline on what medical treatment you should receive in the future and how your settlement or jury verdict should be managed when paying for treatment. Given that the lifetime cost of a TBI can range in the millions of dollars, these documents are invaluable in determining what steps you should take after an accident.

To develop a plan, a life-care planner will need to review your medical records, consult with your doctors, speak with you and your family, perform a home assessment, research current medical treatment for TBIs, and speak with financial experts about treatment costs. All of this information can be included in your life-care plan, as well as suggestions about what additional treatment may be necessary over the course of your life.

Developing a life-care plan is just one thing that you should consider after suffering a TBI, however. It is important to discuss all your legal options with an experienced Glendale personal injury attorney who can advocate for the total costs of your injuries after an accident.

At Aghabegian & Associates, PC, we have over 40 years of combined experience representing individuals who suffered TBIs due to someone else’s negligence. You can trust that we will handle your case with professionalism and build a strong case for compensation. To discuss your injury in further detail, feel free to reach out to our office at (818) 507-4311 and schedule a free consultation.