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Updated May 28, 2019 | Brain Injuries | Social Share
Whether you were in a traffic accident or suffered a bad fall, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have a major impact on your life. Internal bleeding, bruising, or swelling in the brain is a serious injury, and depending on the area of the brain that was affected, you could suffer some form of impairment or disability for months or years after your accident.
Even a minor injury can lead to memory loss, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue that can limit your ability to function in your daily life. Here is what you need to know about traumatic brain injuries and the disabilities they may cause.
When a Brain Injury Prevents You from Working
Severe brain injuries could severely impact abstract thinking skills, the ability to communicate, and motor control as well as cause sleeping problems, headaches, depression, and problems with memory and attention span. These types of impairments can prevent previously dedicated workers from getting up in the morning, and earning an income at all might be out of the question.
Communication problems mean that using phones or talking to coworkers or clients becomes difficult. Mobility problems, paralysis, and numbness can require special accommodations in an office. Physical jobs that require a great deal of lifting, grasping, or moving could become impossible. Office jobs and record-keeping jobs might need to be ruled out for someone with memory loss or concentration problems. Vision problems make detail, maintenance, inspection, and assembly a challenge.
Disability Rating Scale
The disability rating scale (DRS) was developed and tested for adult and older juvenile patients with TBIs in an inpatient rehabilitation setting. This scale is used to track individual progress as well as give a numerical score suggesting a level of impairment. The test can be self-administered or scored through an interview to gauge functional changes for patients on the scale from coma to full functionality. It uses the World Health Organization’s categories of impairment, disability, and handicap to gauge cognitive and physical functionality.
Social Security and Disability
For the purposes of Social Security, a TBI is considered brain damage caused by a closed head injury but can also be classified as a skull fracture or penetration of the brain tissue by a foreign object. Qualifying for Social Security benefits requires medical records that document either of these limitations:
- An inability to control the movement of at least two limbs for three consecutive months after injury, which can cause problems in balance, standing, or using the arms
- Having marked physical and cognitive limitations for at least three months after your injury. These limitations can involve thinking, focusing on tasks, regulating emotions, controlling behavior, and interacting with other people
This requirement is where documents are important for you and your personal injury attorney. Keep copies of your emergency room records, clinic notes, counselor or caseworker notes, test results, documentation of impairments beyond your TBI, and even written statements from friends, family, and coworkers or employers.
Contact a Brain Injury Attorney Today
It can be difficult to know what to do after a traumatic brain injury. If you have a temporary or permanent disability as a result of your injury, your life has been drastically changed. You do not have to face your fight for justice alone.
Contact the Indianapolis Brain Injury Attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. The lawyers at WKW can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
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