What Is the Average Payout for a Head Injury?

The Average Settlement Amount for Head Injury Litigation

When people ask what they can expect with a head injury recovery, there’s a deeper question involved. It involves an acknowledgement of an injury suffered that is life-changing and may be permanent. It also signifies a concern that if one doesn’t have enough funds available down the road, poverty and dependency may very well be the result with a head injury that prevents one from working and earning their own income as before. So, it’s not just about the numbers; oftentimes, asking about recovery possibilities is really more of a question about one’s future security.

There Is No Textbook Formula

Head injury cases have so many factors involved, it’s generally not possible to use the results from one case as a prediction of the next. These differing elements include the nature of the accident itself, things leading up to the event that could be construed as possible prevention, those involved in the accident and their roles, the extent and type of medical response first applied to the victim, and the nature of the victim’s own ability to recover or not. Finally, there is the severity of the injuries in terms of long-term, permanent effects that produce life changes in how one functions, earns income, can continue to learn and sometimes even just operate basic skills during the day.

The Math Involved

Depending on the factors detailed above as well as parties’ interests in resolving a case or fighting it, the recovery value can easily range from thousands of dollars to millions. Obviously, the more severe a case is in terms of no recovery and permanent loss, the larger the recovery tends to be to provide resources for the person to live, at least with the necessary support needed.

Big Influences on Recovery Values

There are certain aspects of an accident that are going to drive up the value significantly. As mentioned earlier, these generally tend to be aspects that are life-changing, but they also include elements where there was significant fault involved or they triggered substantial medical costs needed for the victim’s medical treatment.

Where the party who caused the accident is proven to be clearly responsible and negligent, especially where their action or omission of an act resulted in a very serious injury, then the court is going to find substantial financial responsibility. Add in the variation where the negligence was extreme, even reckless, and the dollar figure tends to go up noticeably.

The type and seriousness of the medical treatment required to stabilize the injury and allow the victim to recover also plays a big role in the recovery cost figure. Surgery and specialized treatment are not cheap, and brain surgery and after-care are tremendously high tech and involve quite a bit of expert work, all at top-cost billing. The general legal premise is, but for the accident and cause, the victim wouldn’t have had these injuries or their cost, ergo the responsibility should be applied to the party found responsible.

Lost income is another recovery value driver. Where a victim worked and now is unable to do so, the loss of income can be dramatic, producing financial debt, bankruptcy and loss of earning power going forward. Proven conclusively, victims are oftentimes paid for the amount of income they otherwise would have earned in the future but now are unable to earn thanks to the permanent injury.

Pain and suffering is probably the category driver of cost that is the most ambiguous and fluid. However, it is an element of recovery, especially where the loss has been extreme, such as being paralyzed. A primary decider is where the injury has cut into or reduced a victim’s quality of life permanently.

Getting Started with a Recovery Case

The first step in considering any kind of possible legal pursuit of a recovery for a head injury is to hire an experienced attorney specialized in related casework. While technically any licensed attorney can take a case, a victim really is best served by a lawyer with a good amount of depth and understanding specific to litigating head injuries. This saves a lot of time in understanding how to pursue the case, especially where otherwise a rookie attorney may very well be learning for the first time how to deal with a head injury claim. Instead, experienced attorneys draw extensively on cases they’ve handled before, understanding where to push and what to avoid in making the best case possible for the victim. In this regard, a good attorney is going to focus on what is needed for a victim client, not just trying to obtain some kind of average recovery metric.

Lakota R. Denton, PA, knows the intricacies of head injury cases and what it takes to pursue a successful recovery for a client. Having worked years in the field, and specifically with traumatic brain injury recovery, Lakota Denton represents one of the most hands-on attorneys in personal injury and brain injury case work in the greater Asheville, NC, region. Brain trauma and injury can be life-changing and significant. Lakota Denton can help. Don’t be just another accident statistic. Call us at (828) 333-5996 or email to find out more information and how your case can be heard.

Attorney Lakota Denton

Attorney Lakota DentonLakota Denton has been practicing in his own firm since 2013, focusing solely on personal injury. He is a member of the American Association of Justice, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, the North Carolina Bar association, the American Bar Association, the National Trial Lawyers, and was awarded Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers, the 2014 Top 40 Lawyers under 40, and the Avvo clients choice award. [ Attorney Bio ]

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