Car accident injuries vary widely from one wreck to the next, and many have simple, short-term impacts on people’s lives. A broken arm will heal in a matter of months; cuts, bruises and lacerations may take just weeks. A year later, you may be entirely healed and you can move on from the accident easily.
However, many injuries, especially those to the head and the brain, can have serious long-term effects. For business owners and business professionals, these can drastically change their professional and personal lives. It’s crucial to know how these changes may factor into the equation when looking at the compensation to which you’re entitled.
The scope of a brain injury
Though doctors learn more about the brain every day, it’s still one area of the body that is very hard to understand, and changes can be difficult to predict after injury. It depends on the area of the brain that’s damaged, the extent of that damage, how soon the person gets care, how well the injuries heal in the months and even years to come, and much else. Two brain injuries that look similar from the outside could have massively different results for those who have been hurt. It’s critical for family members to understand this, as healing may be all but impossible to predict.
Massive injuries
Of course, the most extensive injuries may make it so that a person can’t function at all in some areas, ending his or her ability to own and run a business. Some people have a serious loss of functionality, such as the loss of the ability to speak. Physical limitations could include reduced or lost motor skills. In the worst cases in which patients survive, they’ll need life-long care.
Relatively minor injuries
Even in cases that are relatively less drastic, though, changes could include:
- Massive mood swings or the onset of depression.
- Difficulty sticking with the task at hand or concentrating on just one thing.
- Both short- and long-term memory issues.
- Aggressive behavior, becoming agitated easily.
- Difficultly with cognitive ability and the loss of problem-solving skills.
- Becoming confused when trying to figure out things that were once second nature.
- Speech problems, such as not always being able to find the right word.
- An inability to plan ahead and keep track of time.
All of these could completely derail a professional career. Even if a brain injury has no impact whatsoever on a person’s motor skills, a business owner who now grows angry easily, is confused over simple tasks, and fails to keep track of time or make future plans is someone who may no longer be able to run the business effectively. This can entirely crush a career, ruining what the person has worked for years to achieve.
Potential compensation
It’s important to keep this in mind because some brain injuries do not ever fully heal, meaning there could be no coming back from these issues – even for a business person who is physically healthy. It could lead to an inability to work and massive loss of current and future wages. This differs for every business and occupation, but it could add up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. In some cases, it is possible to seek compensation for this financial loss on top of the compensation for medical bills, rehab sessions, and the like.