The TBI rehab cost varies significantly depending on the severity of your injuries, the types of treatments you require, and your compliance level with those protocols. Further, the overall impact of the injury on your life and ability to function also impacts the cost of the TBI. For example, if you cannot work because of the TBI, the consequences of the injury are compounded because you may struggle more to keep up with the costs. But if someone else caused your TBI, you may be able to recover compensation to help you stay afloat financially.
Broad estimates show how much these costs can vary. A mild traumatic brain injury, such as a concussion, may lead to lifetime costs of about $85,000, while moderate brain injuries can approach $950,000. Severe TBIs can exceed $3 million over a lifetime, and in some cases involving younger survivors who need decades of care, the lifetime cost may climb far higher.
GJEL Accident Attorneys provide comprehensive, personalized legal representation to California residents. We understand how important it is for you to get the medical and legal help you need after a brain injury. In addition to handling the legal paperwork, we also help clients gain access to the medical care they need to treat their injuries effectively.
What Goes Into the Cost of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Common expenses that go into the financial impact of a TBI include medical care, transportation costs, and lost wages or earning potential. However, many components interact to impact the overall cost of a traumatic brain injury. And since everyone is different, the unique circumstances of the accident and the person’s physiology play considerable roles in how the TBI presents itself. This variability results in cost fluctuations from person to person.
The total financial burden often includes both direct medical expenses and indirect losses. That means the true cost of a TBI may include emergency treatment, hospitalization, rehabilitation, follow-up care, lost income, in-home assistance, and even changes to the injured person’s living environment.
Medical Care
The cost of receiving medical care to treat and manage a traumatic brain injury is often high, regardless of whether you have insurance. According to a 2021 study published in the National Library of Medicine, the annual healthcare costs for people with a nonfatal TBI in 2016 soared to $40.6 billion. The study included costs for people who had private health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare. It did not include those who do not have insurance. The per-patient annual cost with insurance ranged from $4,196 to $53,318.
The medical treatment to address a TBI can vary significantly from patient to patient. Common medical expenses include the initial emergency room or urgent care visit, prescription medications, brain imaging scans, rehabilitation costs, and ongoing healthcare visits. Patients may also need to undergo one or more surgeries to address the TBI, such as surgery to reduce brain swelling.
Emergency care alone can be expensive. Initial ER treatment may cost a few thousand dollars in a milder case, while severe cases can lead to bills of $50,000 or more. Hospitalization can add substantially more, especially when a patient needs intensive care or specialized neurocritical monitoring. Daily ICU care may cost thousands of dollars per day, and inpatient rehabilitation programs often charge by the day as well.
Diagnostic testing also adds to the total. MRI and CT scans are commonly used after a brain injury, and the cost of each scan can range widely depending on the provider, location, and insurance coverage.
Transportation Costs
TBIs can cause a range of decreased functions, including the inability to handle the physical or mental coordination involved in operating a vehicle. If this is the case, you may incur transportation costs to travel to and from medical appointments, errands, or other tasks. If a family member assumes this role, that family member might benefit from tracking the miles they drive. If you subsequently file a personal injury lawsuit, your family member may be able to receive reimbursement for the gas and toll it takes on their vehicle to take these extra trips.
Other Hidden Costs of a Traumatic Brain Injury
Many families are surprised by the number of non-medical costs that follow a serious brain injury. Some people need paid caregiving or attendant care at home, which can become a major long-term expense. Others need ramps, bathroom safety upgrades, or other home modifications to make daily life safer and more manageable.
Some TBI survivors also need vocational rehabilitation or job retraining if they cannot return to the same line of work. These services can add another layer of expense, especially when the injury affects memory, concentration, communication, or physical coordination.
Lost Wages or Lost Earning Potential
Another high cost of a TBI is the loss of wages or earning potential. People often must miss work to attend medical appointments or stay home and rest after the injury. In some cases, you may experience a long-term reduction in your ability to function, such as decreased memory, coordination, thought, or other symptoms. The result may be that you cannot earn the same amount of money you did before the injury. While this is not an added cost, it compounds the impact of your condition and the economic expense of the TBI.
Lost income can become one of the largest parts of a TBI claim. Many people with moderate or severe brain injuries experience reduced earning capacity, and some are never able to return to their previous jobs. Even when a person can still work, a decline in memory, focus, reaction time, or emotional regulation may reduce hours, advancement opportunities, or overall pay.
What Is the Cost of Brain Injury Rehabilitation?
The cost of undergoing rehabilitation after a brain injury varies substantially from person to person. Someone who experiences a minor, closed head injury may have less impactful symptoms than someone with an open head wound after a severe car accident. The symptoms people can experience after a brain injury include the following:
- Loss of consciousness,
- Headache,
- Nausea,
- Speech problems,
- Coordination difficulties,
- Sleep disturbances,
- Mood changes,
- Personality changes,
- Sensitivity to light or sound,
- Coma, and
- Weakness or numbness.
These symptoms can last a few hours to days or even months. In severe cases, patients fall into a coma and never fully awaken. For those cases where rehabilitation is possible, the road to recovery may be challenging and expensive. Those concerned about the overall costs may be able to pursue compensation from the person responsible for their TBI, and an experienced brain injury lawyer can help you understand your legal options.
Rehabilitation costs also tend to increase with the severity of the injury. Someone with a mild TBI may face shorter-term therapy and monitoring, while a person with a moderate or severe TBI may need inpatient rehabilitation, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, cognitive therapy, and long-term follow-up care. Inpatient rehabilitation alone can cost thousands of dollars per week, and many patients need more than one phase of treatment.
In practical terms, a concussion may lead to tens of thousands of dollars in medical and related costs over time, while a severe brain injury can create a need for lifelong therapy, supervision, and supportive care. That is one reason severe TBI cases often involve much larger financial losses than families first expect.
What Is a Brain MRI Cost With Insurance?
The cost of an MRI with insurance varies greatly from case to case. The price depends on the type of insurance plan you have, the reason for the MRI, the hospital performing the MRI, and other factors. For example, some insurance companies may cover the MRI cost outright, while others require you to cover a portion of the expense as a co-payment. Further, each medical provider bills differently for their services, which may impact the cost of the MRI.
Brain imaging costs can vary widely, and the total may depend on whether the scan is performed in an emergency room, hospital, or outpatient imaging center. In general, MRI and CT imaging after a head injury can cost anywhere from about $1,000 to $5,000 per scan before insurance adjustments.
How Can I Get Reimbursed for the TBI Rehab Cost?
If you experienced a TBI because of someone else’s conduct, you might be eligible to receive compensation for your expenses. California law allows injury victims to file claims against the party or parties responsible for harming them. A party might be liable even if they did not directly cause the injury. For example, if a property owner did not warn a guest about the broken porch stairs and the guest fell and suffered a head wound, the property owner may be liable, even though they did not directly cause the accident.
A successful claim may cover more than current hospital bills. Depending on the facts of the case, compensation may include rehabilitation expenses, future medical treatment, lost income, reduced earning ability, transportation costs, home modification expenses, and the cost of in-home care or assistance.
GJEL Accident Attorneys: Helping Californians Receive Compensation for Their Injuries
Brain injuries can be immensely challenging because of the profound changes they can cause to someone’s personality and ability to function. But people with an acquired TBI may be able to find relief by filing a legal claim against the person or business who injured them.
The economic impact of traumatic brain injuries reaches far beyond one household. Public health data has estimated that the annual cost of TBI in the United States exceeds tens of billions of dollars when medical care, rehabilitation, and lost productivity are combined. That larger picture helps explain why an individual brain injury claim can involve substantial short-term and long-term losses.
GJEL Accident Attorneys has helped hundreds of clients rebuild their lives after an accident by bringing a lawsuit against the responsible parties. Since 1972, we have had over a 99% success rate in helping personal injury victims.
If you experienced a TBI because of someone else’s conduct, contact our team today to schedule a consultation.
Nearby Locations
Visit our office nearest to you.
