How to Document “Invisible” Brain Injuries in North Carolina Personal Injury Claims

According to the Brain Injury Association, nearly 80,000 people suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) across our state every year. While some of these injuries are catastrophic and apparent immediately, others are more insidious and make their presence known over time.

When brain injuries occur as the result of another person’s actions, victims often try to recover compensation from the at-fault party to help them meet their personal and financial needs. But for victims with delayed or “invisible” symptoms, these claims can pose some unique challenges both inside and outside of the courtroom. Let’s take a closer look at how invisible brain injuries can impact personal injury claims and explore the steps you can take to effectively document your TBI while building a strong legal case.

What is a traumatic brain injury?

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is “a brain injury that is caused by an outside force.” Blows to the head, falls or sudden head movements (like whiplash) can all cause changes to the form or function of the brain, thus constituting a brain injury.

Some TBIs are relatively minor and resolve with time and minimal medical intervention. Concussions are an extremely common type of TBI with over 1.5 million cases reported every year. These effects of concussions are typically time-limited and tend to resolve with the right combination of time, rest and medical oversight.

Other injuries, however, cause long-term damage that can seep into all areas of a TBI survivor’s life. Some common long-term effects of traumatic brain injuries include:

• Headaches
• Memory loss
• Seizures
• Dizziness
• Changes in vision, hearing or speech
• Fatigue
• Paralysis
• Weakness
• Fainting
• Problems with balance or mobility
• Mood swings
• Emotional distress/psychological symptoms

These symptoms can range in both severity and duration and may ebb and flow during recovery and beyond. In cases where damage to the brain is more catastrophic, however, survivors can be left permanently disabled and may even go on to require long-term home care or permanent placement in a nursing facility.

What are invisible brain injuries?

Unlike broken bones, cuts or bruises, some mild and moderate brain injuries aren’t immediately obvious to victims of traumatic accidents. Sometimes, delayed symptom onset coupled with shock can lead survivors to postpone medical care because they feel “fine” immediately after an accident. Feeling fine and being fine aren’t necessarily the same thing, though.

Many concussion and TBI symptoms develop or worsen over time and certain injuries might not even show up on standard imaging tests like X-rays or CT scans. As a result, some accident victims go home thinking they’re in the clear only to suffer serious and even life-threatening medical complications later on. When this happens, victims may be left with serious and long-term symptoms that come with astronomical price tags attached.

In addition to complicating a survivor’s health outcomes, invisible brain injuries can seriously affect a TBI patient’s legal and financial situations. That’s because insurance companies often argue that patients who delayed treatment must not have been seriously injured to begin with. Or they will argue that it was a patient’s delayed care – not their accident in and of itself – that actually caused their medical complications.

How documentation helps in invisible injury cases

If an insurer, at-fault party or member of opposing counsel can find a way to make your injuries look like they were overblown or the result of your own negligence, they’re going to take that road in order to avoid paying you what you’re owed. That’s where comprehensive documentation comes in.

Accurate and compelling evidence that supports the severity of your injuries and its projected impact on your life can help you build a convincing claim for compensation while defending yourself against common insurance and legal tactics. Here is a step-by-step overview of the steps you should follow to build an effective paper trail while fighting for compensation in a personal injury claim:

Step 1: Get medical attention

Even if you didn’t pass out after your accident or blow to the head, you should still see a doctor as soon as possible. You might think you’re okay, but you should never gamble with your health and safety. See a healthcare provider, tell them what happened to you and follow any medical advice they provide.

Early evaluation can not only protect you from unwanted medical complications but it can also provide you with critical medical documentation to support your version of events should you choose to file a personal injury claim. Seeking prompt medical treatment can also send a clear message to insurers about how seriously you took your symptoms and how concerned you were about their potential consequences.

Step 2: Request your records

Your medical records won’t do you any good if you don’t have access to them. After seeking medical care, you should request copies of all diagnostic tests, imaging results and physician notes related to your injury and its effects. You should also keep a running tab of all your medical bills and other accident-related expenses. Even money spent on over-the-counter medications could count in your case, so you hold onto all receipts, credit card statements and invoices in the weeks and months after your accident.

Step 3: Pursue neuropsychological testing

Neuropsychological evaluations are formal assessments that measure how your brain functions before and after an injury. These tests are often critical in “invisible injury” cases because they provide objective data that speaks to the real-world impact of your TBI.

Neuropsychological tests allow experts to compare your current cognitive performance against established baselines (or your own previous results if you’ve been tested previously) in order to clearly convey where your deficits are and how they relate to the trauma you suffered. These test results can demonstrate how your brain changed post-accident, making them a powerful part of your case.

Step 4: Keep a symptom journal

Yes, objective medical documentation is crucial in any personal injury case. No, that’s not the only kind of documentation that matters. Remember: YOU are also an expert on your own body, and you might notice things even the experts would miss. Keeping a written or digital log of your TBI symptoms can help you keep track of these more nuanced changes and provide even more context to your future claim.

Mobile applications and even handwritten journals can help you keep a running log of any of the symptoms we outlined earlier, as well as any other noticeable effects of your TBI upon your daily routine or quality of life. While these records aren’t as clinical as your medical tests, they help jurors understand the real-world impact of your brain injury in a way your medical records can’t. Judges and juries are people, after all, and they want to understand your experience on a human level.

Step 5: Involve witnesses

Brain injury lawyers often leverage witness testimony in personal injury cases because more voices provide more credibility. Witness testimony can be useful for giving jurors more context and for clarifying potentially confusing aspects of a case. Some of the witnesses commonly called in brain injury cases include:

• Eyewitnesses: This includes anyone who might have witnessed the accident or incident that caused your injury. These witnesses can speak to the actions of the other party or party involved in the incident and clarify who was most likely at fault.
• Friends and family: These witnesses can speak to the impact your TBI has had across multiple areas of your life. Friends, family members and even co-workers may be called to share testimony that highlights how your injury has affected your personal relationships, professional capabilities or overall quality of life.
• Experts: Expert testimony can be a game-changer in many TBI cases because these injuries can be medically complex and hard for some jurors to understand without a little extra support. Brain injury attorneys often lean on accident reconstructionists, neurologists, economists and life care planners because they can clarify and verify details of your case in accordance with their professional experience.

Some plaintiffs in brain injury cases will also take the stand to advocate for themselves. When they take the stand, TBI survivors can share personal details about how their accident unfolded and how their injury has impacted their health, happiness and earning capabilities. Well-supported testimony from credible lay and expert witnesses can significantly strengthen a case.

Judges and juries want to get a clear and detailed picture of your injury and its impact, and combining multiple forms of documentation and testimony can create an airtight argument for why you deserve compensation for your suffering.

Final thoughts

Between medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress and other losses, managing the fallout of a traumatic brain injury can single-handedly alter the trajectory of a survivor’s life. When these injuries are invisible or delayed, however, they can pose even more challenges physically, legally and financially.

If you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury in the state of North Carolina, thorough documentation, detailed testimony and hands-on legal support may be cornerstones of your case. By providing a wealth of supporting evidence throughout your claim, you can significantly enhance your credibility and improve the likelihood of a successful case outcome.

At Price, Petho & Associates, we are committed to helping brain injury survivors fight for their rights and pursue the compensation they need to thrive. Whether you received an immediate TBI diagnosis or didn’t discover your injury until further down the line, our team is willing and able to help you understand your legal options.

Give us a call today or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free case consultation and speak to a member of our team about your TBI. We’re standing by to offer the compassionate care you deserve and the legal guidance you need to make informed decisions throughout every step of your claim.