Traumatic brain injury settlements are calculated based on a thorough evaluation of financial, physical, and personal losses. The total value reflects not just immediate costs, but the long-term consequences of the injury.
If a traumatic brain injury has harmed you or a loved one in Bakersfield, our Bakersfield traumatic injury lawyer can help account for these losses. For a free, no-obligation consultation, call us at (661) 333-3333 today.
There Is No “Average” TBI Settlement, Only Your Specific Damages
Many people search for the “average TBI settlement,” but no such number can accurately reflect your situation. TBI cases in California can range from tens of thousands to millions of dollars. The value of your claim is not based on an average; it is built by meticulously documenting your specific losses. This process is governed by California law, which allows for the recovery of damages for all the harm caused by another’s negligence.
The final settlement value is a direct result of adding up these documented losses, which are separated into two main categories: economic and non-economic damages.
The Foundation of Your Claim: Calculating Economic Damages
Economic damages are the cornerstone of a TBI settlement because they represent all the measurable financial losses you have incurred and will incur due to the injury. Think of these as the verifiable, billable costs.
What are Economic Damages?
In simple terms, these are the direct financial costs resulting from your injury. Our team works to gather every bill, receipt, and financial statement to build a precise calculation of these losses.
Past and Future Medical Expenses: This is frequently the largest component of a TBI claim. It includes every aspect of your medical care, such as:
- Emergency room treatment and hospitalization.
- Surgeries and neurosurgeries.
- Medications and prescription drugs.
- Rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
- Psychological counseling and neuropsychological support.
- Assistive devices like wheelchairs or specialized equipment.
- The potential cost of future care, which can be significant in severe TBI cases.
Lost Wages and Loss of Earning Capacity: This covers more than just the paychecks you missed during your recovery.
- Lost Income: We document the income you lost while unable to work.
- Diminished Earning Capacity: More importantly, we assess how the TBI affects your ability to earn an income in the future. If your cognitive or physical impairments prevent you from returning to your previous job or working at all, we calculate the lifetime value of this lost capacity. This is especially critical for younger individuals whose entire careers are impacted.
Other Out-of-Pocket Costs: These are additional expenses tied directly to your injury.
- Costs for home modifications, like installing ramps or grab bars, to accommodate a disability.
- Travel expenses for medical appointments.
- The cost of in-home care or assistance with daily activities.
Quantifying the Unquantifiable: Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for the intangible, personal, and profound ways the TBI has affected your life. While these losses don’t come with a price tag, California law recognizes they are very real and deserve compensation.
What are Non-Economic Damages?
These damages address the physical and emotional toll of the injury.
- Pain and Suffering: This compensates for the physical pain, discomfort, and general suffering you have endured due to the TBI, including headaches, chronic pain, and other physical symptoms.
- Emotional Distress and Mental Anguish: This category addresses the psychological impact of the injury, which can include anxiety, depression, fear, and personality changes.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: A TBI can prevent you from participating in hobbies, activities, and relationships that once brought you joy. This damage category assigns a value to that loss.
- Loss of Consortium: Your spouse may also have a claim for the loss of companionship, support, and intimacy resulting from your injuries.
How Are These Abstract Losses Calculated?
Unlike economic damages, there is no invoice for pain and suffering. Attorneys and insurance companies frequently use two methods to assign a monetary value to these losses.
The Multiplier Method: This is a common approach where total economic damages are multiplied by a number between 1.5 and 5.
- Analogy: Think of the multiplier as a difficulty rating. A mild concussion with a short recovery might use a multiplier of 1.5 or 2. A severe TBI causing permanent disability and requiring lifelong care could justify a multiplier of 4, 5, or even higher in catastrophic cases.
The “Per Diem” Method: This technique assigns a daily dollar amount to your suffering, multiplied by the number of days you are expected to experience the effects of the injury. This is sometimes used for shorter-term injuries but can also be applied to lifetime suffering based on life expectancy tables.
Factors That Affect Your Settlement Amount
Beyond the core calculations of damages, several other factors play a significant role in determining the final settlement value.
How Does California’s “Pure Comparative Negligence” Law Affect My Claim?
California follows a “pure comparative negligence” rule. In simple terms: this means your final compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault in the accident.
For example, if you are found to be 10% responsible for the accident that caused your TBI, your total settlement award will be reduced by 10%. Insurance companies frequently try to assign blame to the victim to reduce their payout. We work to counter these tactics with strong evidence.
Medical Complexity and Severity Assessment Gaps
Not all brain injuries are created equal. The medical world uses specific scales and classifications that directly translate into settlement dollars.
Glasgow Coma Scale: Your First Settlement Indicator
When paramedics arrive at your accident scene, one of the first things they assess is your Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. This 15-point scale measures consciousness level:
- GCS 13-15 (Mild TBI): Often called a concussion.
- GCS 9-12 (Moderate TBI): More serious cognitive impacts.
- GCS 3-8 (Severe TBI): Life-altering injuries.
But here’s the catch: your initial GCS score isn’t everything. Some people with “mild” scores develop severe, lasting problems. Others with worse initial scores recover remarkably well. This is why settling too early is dangerous.
Focal vs. Diffuse Brain Injuries: Why Location Matters
Your brain isn’t just one big thinking organ. Different areas control different functions. Where your injury occurs affects both your symptoms and your settlement value.
Focal injuries hit specific brain areas. A focal injury to your memory center might leave you unable to form new memories. Devastating? Absolutely. But the damage is contained to specific functions.
Diffuse injuries scatter throughout your brain. These often result from the brain bouncing around inside your skull during impact. Diffuse injuries can affect multiple brain functions simultaneously. They’re typically more severe and command higher settlements.
Complications That Skyrocket Settlement Values
Certain TBI complications dramatically increase settlement value because they require lifelong management:
- Seizures: Post-traumatic epilepsy affects about 5% of TBI patients. But it means lifetime medication, driving restrictions, and constant medical monitoring.
- Cognitive deficits: Problems with memory, attention, or problem-solving that prevent you from working.
- Personality changes: When the “you” that your family knows disappears. These changes devastate families and require extensive therapy.
- Sleep disorders: Chronic insomnia or sleep disruption from brain injury affects every aspect of life.
Each complication adds layers of future medical costs and life impact that must be calculated into your settlement.
Neurological Testing and Documentation
Why Neuropsychological Testing Is Settlement Gold
Your brain injury might be invisible on a CT scan, but neuropsychological testing makes it visible to a jury. These detailed tests measure specific cognitive functions before and after your injury.
The testing typically takes 4-6 hours spread over multiple sessions. A neuropsychologist measures:
- Memory (both short-term and long-term)
- Attention and concentration
- Processing speed
- Problem-solving abilities
- Language skills
The results create a cognitive “fingerprint” of your injury. When testing shows you now perform at the 15th percentile in memory when you should be at the 60th percentile, your invisible injury becomes very visible—and very measurable.
Baseline Testing: The Holy Grail of TBI Cases
If you’re lucky enough to have cognitive testing from before your accident—maybe for work, school, or military service—you’ve struck gold. This baseline testing proves exactly how much your brain function declined.
Don’t worry if you don’t have this; experts can estimate your pre-injury abilities based on education, job history, and other factors.
What Could Future Costs Look Like?
When you’re 30 years old with a brain injury requiring lifetime care, we’re not just calculating 50 years of future medical bills. We’re calculating what those future dollars are worth today. This is called “present value.”
Think of it like this: $100 today is worth more than $100 in 10 years because of inflation and investment returns. An economist takes your projected lifetime medical costs—maybe $2 million over 50 years—and calculates what that’s worth in today’s dollars. That present value becomes your settlement demand.
The calculation considers:
- Medical inflation rates (typically higher than general inflation)
- Investment return assumptions
- Your life expectancy
- When specific expenses will occur
Hidden Costs
Family Impact
Your TBI doesn’t just affect you. It affects everyone who cares about you. These impacts have real economic value that belongs in your settlement calculation.
- Family member lost wages: When your spouse takes time off work to care for you, those lost wages are part of your damages. This includes:
- Time off for medical appointments
- Reduced work hours for caregiving
- Career limitations due to caregiving responsibilities
- Lost promotion opportunities
- Transportation costs: Brain injury often means you can’t drive. Someone has to take you to medical appointments, therapy, and errands. At current mileage rates, this adds up quickly over a lifetime.
- Home and yard maintenance: If your TBI prevents you from maintaining your home and yard, someone else must do it. Whether you hire help or family members pick up the slack, it’s a real economic loss.
- Technology costs: Assistive technology becomes obsolete. That $3,000 communication device might need replacement every 5 years. Computers, tablets, and specialized software require regular updates.
The TBI Settlement Timeline: Why Patience is Necessary
TBI cases are among the longest to resolve in personal injury law. Think in terms of years, not months.
Why does it take so long?
- Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI): It is unwise to settle a claim until you have reached what is known as “Maximum Medical Improvement.” This is the point where doctors have a clear understanding of the long-term prognosis and what future care will be needed. Settling too early means you risk not having compensation for future complications.
- Complexity and Investigation: These cases require extensive investigation, evidence gathering, and consultation with multiple experts.
- Negotiation and Litigation: Insurance companies may dispute the severity of the injury or liability, leading to prolonged negotiations or the need to file a lawsuit and proceed toward trial.
FAQ for TBI Settlement Calculations
Why are TBI settlements often higher in California?
Settlement values are typically higher in California due to several factors, including the higher cost of medical care in the state, local legal standards, and regional jury verdict trends that recognize the severe impact of these injuries.
Do I have to go to court to get a settlement?
Most personal injury claims, including TBI cases, are resolved through a negotiated settlement without ever going to trial. However, our firm prepares every case as if it will go to court, which gives us a stronger position during negotiations.
How soon do I have to file a TBI claim in California?
In most cases, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim in California is two years from the date of the injury. If the claim is against a government entity, the deadline is much shorter—typically just six months. It is important to act quickly to protect your rights.
What if the TBI was sustained at work?
If you sustained a TBI at work, you are likely entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. In some situations, you may also have a personal injury claim against a third party (someone other than your employer) who was responsible for the accident. We can help evaluate all potential sources of recovery.
Secure a Comprehensive Evaluation of Your TBI Claim
Calculating the full value of a TBI settlement requires a thorough and methodical approach. It demands a deep familiarity with the medical, financial, and personal impact of the injury. As an experienced personal injury lawyer in Bakersfield, we leave no stone unturned in documenting the harm you have suffered to pursue the full compensation you are owed.
Don’t leave your future to chance or accept an insurance company’s lowball offer. Contact the Law Offices of Mickey Fine today at (661) 333-3333 for a free, confidential consultation about your case. Let us handle the complexities so you can focus on your recovery.