Friday, March 13, 2009

Seeking Brain Injury Compensation

Do you know what you would need to do if a family member had an accident that left them severely debilitated as a result of a brain injury? If you are presently experiencing such a distressing situation, the challenges you and your family will face in the years ahead are unrelenting; however compensation awards from an insurer can do much to improve quality of life for both your family and the victim of the brain injury. What will be important at this stage is to secure all the help and funding you will need as rapidly as possible to make living with a loved one with a brain injury as comfortable as it possibly can be.

The effects that can occur as a result of a serious brain injury are wide ranging. In more extreme cases, a loved one who has experienced a brain injury may be unable to feed, clothe or wash themselves unaided; speech and cognitive thought may be impaired. It is also possible that coordination and the ability to walk or run could be adversely affected by a brain injury. In milder cases a loved one who has experienced a brain injury may lose the ability to remember what happened the day or week before, but could function quite normally in all other respects.

Of all human body systems, a detailed understanding of the brain and its functions is still relatively scant, although leaps forward in knowledge continue to occur on a daily basis. As a result, it is impossible to accurately anticipate the extent and consequences of a serious brain injury in the early stages after an accident; in many cases, the full effects will only become evident with time. Very small improvements and recovery of partial function can be gained as a result of ongoing specialist therapy and treatment for brain injury. However, in the vast majority of cases, a significant degree of recovery from the damage caused by a serious brain injury is unlikely.

However, however severe a brain injury may be, the time will come when recovery from other physical damage caused by a serious accident has been completed, and the victim of a brain injury can be brought home from hospital, At this stage, day-to-day responsibility for care will pass to the family of a patient with a brain injury, with the help of specialist nursing and care staff. This means that practical plans must be made to ensure that homes are adapted and specialist equipment purchased to enable a brain injury victim to return home as rapidly as possible.

Securing Compensation for an Accident Involving a Brain Injury

After diagnosis of a brain injury, the most important step a family can take is to ensure adequate compensation awards are sought from the relevant insurers. This is where specialist advice from a legal firm with considerable experience in handling, managing and executing brain injury claims is essential.

The issues that face a victim of brain injury are many and complex and only one compensation award will be made. If the figures or claim procedures used to pursue a compensation case are inadequate to provide lifelong care, there is no opportunity to go back to the courts to ask for further funds at a later date, even if the initial compensation award for brain injury proves to be insufficient.

A firm of solicitors that specialises in brain injury and serious injury compensation cases will fight your case for you in the courts and provide you with immediate assistance, free of charge. In addition to preparing your compensation case, a speciality firm will also provide a wide range of managed care solutions that include sourcing and managing expert staff and equipment. Additionally, some firms will provide you with the support of a case manager to help you manage the day to day challenges of living with a loved one with a brain injury.

Settlements may take between three and five years to achieve, and in the interim, financial assistance can be gained; families do not have to wait until the brain injury claim process has been completed to get help.

Having to cope with a loved one who has experienced a brain injury is difficult for any family; it is therefore essential that your family receives the full support that you will need for the months and years ahead. For this reason, it is vital that you choose your lawyers wisely.

About the Author

Neil Glover Serious injury lawyers with unrivalled expertise. Specialist services for spine, brain injury, head and amputation clients from the UK's leading specialised brain injury law practice. ng@seriouslaw.co.uk http://www.seriousinjurylaw.co.uk/ www.seriousinjurylaw.co.uk

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