Can You Live a Long Life With a Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have a number of short- and long-term effects. In some cases, damage to the brain can impact life expectancy. If you suffered a TBI due to someone else’s negligence, a traumatic brain injury attorney can help you pursue maximum compensation.

The attorneys at Burg Simpson have an in-depth understanding of brain injuries and how they affect people’s lives. In addition to recovering all of your damages to date, we fight to ensure you are compensated fairly for the losses you and your family will face in the future.

Do not settle for less than you deserve. To speak with a traumatic brain injury attorney in Phoenix, call Burg Simpson at 602-777-7000 today. Your initial case evaluation is FREE and confidential, and you pay no fees unless we obtain a favorable result on your behalf.

How Traumatic Brain Injury Affects Daily Life

Individuals living with traumatic brain injuries may face a host of daily challenges. The nature of these challenges depends on what area of the brain is affected and the severity of the damage. Mild traumatic brain injuries typically improve with time and treatment, while the effects of a more serious TBI may be permanent.

Potential effects of a TBI on day-to-day living include:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Cognitive problems, including confusion, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, impaired judgment, and slower thinking and problem solving
• Sleep disturbances
• Dizziness, vertigo, and loss of balance
• Vision problems, such as blurred vision and light sensitivity
• Behavioral changes, including impulsiveness, loss of inhibitions, aggression, etc.
• Muscle spasms
• Loss of bladder and bowel control
• Seizures
• Muscle weakness and paralysis

TBI effects can profoundly alter your life, including the ability to care for yourself, your capacity for work, and more. In extreme cases, a brain injury may prevent you from walking or feeding yourself. These two factors are strongly correlated with reduced life expectancy in TBI victims.

A traumatic brain injury attorney can calculate the financial cost and non-economic impact of the issues you experience following a TBI. Expert witnesses can help calculate the value of future losses due to long-term or permanent disability.

What Is the Life Expectancy of Someone With TBI?

The life expectancy for someone with a traumatic brain injury depends on several different factors, including age at the time of the injury, gender (men are more likely to die from a TBI than women), and the severity of the TBI. Pre-existing conditions and whether timely medical intervention was sought are also important considerations.

Even with treatment and rehabilitation, moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries are associated with shorter life expectancy. According to the CDC, a moderate or severe TBI reduces life expectancy by 9 years.

The survivors of moderate and severe TBIs face a significantly higher risk of death from:

• Seizures: People with traumatic brain injuries are 50 times more likely to die from a seizure than individuals who have not sustained a TBI. Seizures may be classified as early or late. Early seizures occur within the first week following the brain injury, while late seizures happen more than a week after the fact.
• Drug poisoning: Unintentional poisoning is a major cause of death among people with moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries. Overdoses on prescription drugs and narcotics (including opioids) account for 90% of deaths where unintentional poisoning was a factor.
• Infections: TBI patients are highly susceptible to infections during the acute phase of recovery. Infections that go untreated can lead to septicemia, a serious condition also known as blood poisoning.
• Pneumonia: TBI survivors who are on a ventilator have a high risk of developing pneumonia. Patients may also develop pneumonia if a severe brain injury impacts their ability to swallow, cough, etc.

In the first year following a traumatic brain injury, there is also an increased risk of death due to respiratory conditions other than pneumonia, digestive dysfunction, and secondary injuries. A traumatic brain injury attorney will work with medical professionals involved in your care to understand the prognosis and seek all of the damages you are due.

Nearly one-quarter of TBI victims pass away within 5 years of suffering a traumatic brain injury. If your loved one died as a result of a brain injury caused by the negligence of another, an experienced lawyer can make a wrongful death claim on behalf of your family.

Does TBI Get Worse With Age?

Statistics from the CDC show that 30% of people with a moderate or severe TBI get worse in the first 5 years. More than 20% of victims experience no change in condition 5 years after a traumatic brain injury.

Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation for brain injuries have seen remarkable advances. However, most victims of moderate and severe TBIs who are surveyed after 5 years report a number of adverse outcomes:

• 57% of TBI victims experience moderate or severe disability.
• 55% are unable to return to their previous employment.
• Half require at least one subsequent hospitalization.
• One-third are dependent on others (such as family members, professional caregivers, etc.) for daily activities.
• Nearly 30% report a lack of satisfaction with their lives.

All of the burdens you and your loved ones are forced to endure after a brain injury must be accounted for in your personal injury claim. This includes the cost of medical care, lost income, and other economic losses, as well as pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Contact a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney in Phoenix Today

Traumatic brain injuries are complex, and each case is unique. This can make it difficult to anticipate the long-term effects of a TBI on your life. You need a lawyer well-versed in catastrophic injuries to help you obtain fair compensation for all current and future losses.

A traumatic brain injury attorney at Burg Simpson will collect all available evidence and consult expert witnesses to prepare a strong claim on your behalf. Our firm works with leading experts across many different fields to understand the seriousness of TBIs and aggressively advocate on our clients’ behalf. This enables us to negotiate settlements and, if necessary, represent you at trial with the utmost effectiveness.

Burg Simpson serves clients in Phoenix and all of Arizona. Contact us for a FREE case review.