What Is the Average Cost of a Traumatic Brain Injury?

• May 11, 2021
• Attorney Matt Stoddard
• Catastrophic Injury

There’s nothing more devastating than a traumatic brain injury (TBI), whether it’s caused by a car crash, accidental fall or workplace accident. A TBI can mean months of rehabilitation, memory loss, impaired motor function and disability. There are usually significant medical bills and sometimes a lifetime of diminished earnings.

All of this can lead you to ask, “What is the average cost of a traumatic brain injury lawsuit?” The numbers can be staggering. Exactly how much you’ll pay will be dependent on the cause of the accident, the nature of the injuries, and the medical prognosis.

Each year, TBI causes thousands of injuries, and TBIs contribute to about 30% of all injury deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease control and prevention (CDC). CDC statistics show that there were approximately 2.5 million TBI-related emergency department visits annually and roughly 288,000 hospitalizations.

The CDC states that TBIs have a large societal and economic toll as well and estimates that the lifetime economic cost of TBI, including direct and indirect medical costs, is approximately $76.5 billion.

According to the CDC, TBI may lead to a wide range of short- or long-term issues affecting:

• Cognitive Function (attention and memory)
• Motor function (extremity weakness, impaired coordination and balance)
• Sensation (hearing, vision, impaired perception and touch)
• Behavior (emotional regulation, depression, anxiety, aggression, impairments in behavioral control, personality changes).

Costs associated with a brain injury

There are many costs associated with a brain injury. Some are actual out-of-pocket costs, and others are lost-opportunity costs (opportunities missed because of hospitalization or impairment). Following is a list of some, but certainly not all, expenses related to a TBI:

• Doctor and hospital bills
• Nursing home bills (if rehabilitation is required)
• Speech and occupational therapist bills
• Prescription drug costs
• Bills for adaptive equipment, including crutches, wheelchair or other devices
• In-home food preparation, household care, and activities of daily living support
• Costs of home modifications for handicap accessibility
• Lost wages (current and future)
• Loss of consortium (suffered by a spouse or loved one)
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering.

These are just a few of the devastating setbacks a TBI victim can experience, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

It is hard to estimate precisely how much all individuals will suffer in financial and economic losses due to a TBI, because each claim is dependent on the facts in the case. A skilled and experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney can help you calculate your TBI costs and advise you about how much you could be awarded by a court in damages.

The Stoddard Firm has decades of experience in successfully representing clients who have suffered TBIs, spinal cord injuries, electrocutions, burns, car accidents, and other catastrophic injuries.  We are tough and tested trial lawyers who don’t shy away from a fight.  We always put our clients’ welfare first.

Doctor and Hospital Bills

In-hospital costs per TBI patient are generally high and ranged from $2,130 to $401,808 in a recent year, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health.  The hourly salary for a neurosurgeon – the doctor who might be called upon to treat a TBI patient – ranges from $224 to $449 per hour, according to Salary.com.

Nursing Home Bills

Moderate to severely injured TBI patients often require rehabilitation as part of their treatment, which is given during a nursing home stay.  Average daily cost for a private nursing home room in the Atlanta area is $249 per day, according to the American Council on Aging.

Speech and Occupational Therapist Bills

Experts show that the average cost of a speech therapist starts at $100 per hour. The estimated national average for an occupational therapy visit is $173.

Prescription Drug Costs

It’s anybody’s guess how high a person’s prescription drug costs could run after suffering a traumatic brain injury. The sad thing is that in some TBI cases, drugs are not just administered for a short period but could be required for life.

Bills for Adaptive Equipment

A standard, manual wheelchair costs an average of $500, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Costs for a power wheelchair vary tremendously, starting around $1,200-$1,500 and going as high as $30,000.

In-Home Care

The average cost of in-home care is $4,290 a month.  These services include housekeeping, transportation, medication management, meal preparation, grocery shopping, mobility assistance, bathing and dressing.

Costs of Home Modifications

Remodeling your home to make it accessible for persons with disabilities costs $4,679 on average. You’ll typically pay between $820 and $8,538. On the high end, you may pay up to $19,000, according to HomeAdvisor.com.

Contact a Skilled and Experienced Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Today

If you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a car crash, dangerous fall, or workplace accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation. The costs of treating a TBI can range from moderate to astronomical, depending on the severity of the injury. It isn’t just the financial costs, but also the emotional costs that can be crippling. Medical bills, lost wages and loss of future earnings are common costs associated with suffering a TBI. These expenses are made even more tragic if the TBI injury was caused by someone else’s negligence or reckless behavior.

The skilled and experienced traumatic brain injury lawyers at The Stoddard Firm can fight on your behalf to force insurance companies to pay out. You should not be stuck with the exorbitant costs of a TBI caused by someone else. To find out more about how The Stoddard Firm can help, call us for a free initial consultation at (470) 467-2200.