What Are the Medical Expenses Associated With Brain Injuries?

A brain injury can affect every aspect of a victim’s life, from the way he or she thinks and acts to his or her physical capabilities. The medical care associated with a brain injury can be extensive and last for many years. The total cost of required health care surrounding a traumatic brain injury can easily exceed $1 million over a victim’s lifetime, even for a moderate brain injury.

Understanding the common medical expenses associated with a brain injury can help you craft a full list of your losses during a brain injury lawsuit in Florida.

Emergency Care

After the initial head and brain injury, the victim may be rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance. The fee for an ambulance alone can cost around $1,500. An ER visit costs about $8,000, on average, even if the victim does not require a high level of medical care. If a visit to the ER for a brain injury results in emergency surgery or other expensive treatments, the cost can drastically increase.

Intensive Care

Many patients who are diagnosed with brain injuries stay in intensive care units (ICUs), either while they are in medically induced comas (which last two to three weeks, on average) or for just a couple of days under medical supervision or monitoring. The average cost of an ICU stay is around $5,000, but this can change significantly based on how long intensive care is required.

Surgical Intervention

Severe traumatic brain injuries often require surgical procedures, such as opening the skull to relieve pressure against the brain from intracranial swelling or bleeding in the brain. If a patient is not covered by health insurance, neurosurgery or craniotomy can cost $50,000 to $150,000 or more. Even with insurance, there may be deductibles and overages that the patient must pay out of pocket for brain surgery.

Medications

The medications prescribed for a brain injury can include diuretics, sedatives, painkillers, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants and muscle relaxers. Purchasing these prescription drugs can result in thousands of dollars spent on medications over the patient’s lifetime.

Brain Injury Specialists

Many moderate to severe brain injuries require attention from specialists such as neurologists, neurosurgeons, occupational therapists and psychiatrists to help the victim heal and restore neurological function as much as possible. Specialists often cost more than primary physicians. They may also require the brain injury victim to travel far away to where the specialist practices, resulting in additional travel, hotel and transportation costs.

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

Once everything has been done to help the brain heal, a patient will enter into physical therapy and rehabilitation. This stage of recovery can last several months, one year or several years. It can include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, daily lifestyle retraining, cognitive rehabilitation and passive exercise to help a victim restore his or her physical and cognitive function. The price of therapies and rehab for a brain injury survivor can climb into the hundreds of thousands, depending on the case.

Ongoing Care

If a brain injury causes permanent brain damage and disability, the patient may require a lifetime of ongoing care. This can include counseling, assisted living programs, housing, in-home nursing aides, disability accommodations, mobility-assistive devices, suicide intervention and a long-term care team. The costs associated with a permanent disability can be millions or even billions of dollars for a victim with a severe traumatic brain injury.

Collecting Compensation for Medical Care Associated With a Brain Injury

Recovering from a brain injury does not come without steep medical costs. If one or more parties caused or contributed to your traumatic brain injury in Tampa, you may be eligible for financial compensation to pay not only for your past and current medical expenses, but your future foreseeable necessary medical care, as well. Work with an experienced Tampa personal injury attorney at Vanguard Attorneys to fight for the amount of compensation that you need to fully cover your brain injury medical costs. Contact us today to start with a free consultation.