Suffering from a traumatic brain injury can certainly change your day-to-day life. You may have sensitivity to lights and sounds, for example, or you may have issues with your memory. Some people have physical symptoms, like the loss of balance or motor skills, while others have more cognitive or emotional symptoms. It all depends on the specific injury.
If you need medical care after the incident, you may be able to seek financial compensation if someone else was responsible. An example of this could be if another driver caused a car accident. But it’s also important to look at how this is going to affect your career and your wages.
Could you lose your job?
Often, lost wages simply start with the time that you miss while you’re getting medical treatment. Say that you spend a week in the hospital and then another week recovering at home. You may deserve lost wages for this time.
But it’s also possible that you could lose your job and see a reduction in future earnings. It depends on the long-term symptoms of the TBI that you have. For instance, memory issues could make it difficult to do your job effectively if you are a schoolteacher, or a loss of motor skills could make it harder to work as a heart surgeon.
These are just two examples, but this type of injury could lead to a reduced earning capacity if you take a lower-paying job or can’t return to the workforce. You may also deserve financial compensation from the person who caused your injuries. Be sure you know exactly what legal options you have at this time.