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Early Treatment Can Help Minimize Long Term Effects of Brain Injury

Posted by: at 1:04 PM on November 8th, 2021

Research reveals early treatment for traumatic brain injury is an important factor in patient recovery.  Unfortunately, our medical and legal systems often delay or prevent victims from quickly obtaining the rehabilitation needed for their recovery. 

What issues can delay or prevent needed rehabilitation? How can a victim’s family and legal counsel help with these issues? Here are three issues which often prevent personal injury victims from obtaining needed TBI care quickly:

  1. Personal Denial. Before an injury, the patient served many important roles; valued employee, devoted parent, loyal spouse. Suddenly, the patient is suffering symptoms of a brain injury that impact all these important roles. Many times, the patient does not even realize or fully understand what is happening. If the patient does understand, he or she may be embarrassed or depressed due to their problems. For many reasons, patients deny TBI injuries issues. Many TBI victims suffer in silence. Family involvement is so important.
  2. Lack of Physician Understanding. We expect our doctors to know everything about medicine. Yet, many do not. When it comes to brain injuries, many doctors really do not understand the symptoms, issues, or problems associated with mild traumatic brain injury. Other doctors simply ignore these problems in the hope they will resolve. I’ve seen too many cases where the treating doctor did not know how to handle these issues and ignored them. TBI patients need to see the proper specialists who can test, treat and rehabilitate the issues related to TBI. When it comes to medical treatment, family members can research the best specialists and advocate on behalf of their loved one with the medical providers.
  3. Insurance Carrier Cost Cutting.  Insurance carriers have a difficult time ignoring injuries that are visible or produce significant physical limitations such as broken bones, torn shoulders, and ruptured discs in the spine. However, brain injuries are a different story. Here, insurance carriers understand that many physicians are unskilled in evaluating these injuries and will ignore them. But, what if one of the physicians does note symptoms common to brain injuries? In the workers’ compensation context, many insurance carriers will still ignore complaints hoping the patient, his family, and his legal counsel will not seek care. If ignoring the problems does not work, some insurance carriers have specific specialists who will see the patient and issue a report claiming the symptoms are due to other issues such as depression, prior mental problems, or simply efforts to malinger. Insurance carriers have become very skilled in saving their money by ignoring needed treatment for brain injuries. While this saves the insurance company money in the short-term, the affected families and communities suffer tremendous costs.

If you or a loved one have suffered a head injury, make sure to see a doctor right away and get a proper check up.  If there is cause to suspect some type of traumatic brain injury, you should speak to an attorney who can help you.   The road to recovery can be long and expensive for an injured party.  At LDM Law, we will make sure you get the support and compensation you deserve on your road to recovery.