What are common emotional and psychological effects of traumatic brain injury?

When people consider the expenses of brain injuries, they often only consider the physical effects and the costs of medical treatment. However, the emotional and psychological effects of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be even further-reaching. Below, we detail common psychological and emotional effects of TBI and how you can recover compensation for them.

Lost Quality of Life

After a traumatic brain injury, many people find it too difficult to return to work, complete school, or engage in activities they love. This is because TBIs can affect all of the following:

• Motor function: The ability to walk and talk and move the arms and legs at will.
• Sensory function: Things may no longer taste or smell the way they used to. A person may be oversensitive or under-sensitive to visual stimuli, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and touch.
• Cognitive function: Memory, organizing one’s thoughts, following multi-step commands.
• Behavioral function: Impulse control, irritability, interpersonal relationships.

Pain and Suffering

An injury that is significant enough to cause a TBI will likely result in additional injuries. A patient with a TBI may have multiple severe injuries, all of which can cause the patient to endure prolonged pain.

Many debilitating injuries, including TBIs, can cause lingering pain. Brain injuries are known for causing excruciatingly painful headaches, which can be accompanied by nausea and dizziness.

Emotional Problems: Depression, Anxiety, and Anger

Both the physical changes to the brain and the person’s emotional response to the injury can cause depression after a TBI.

TBI survivors can also develop anxiety related to tasks the person did before the injury, or even about spending time with friends and family. Post-traumatic stress disorder is also common after a TBI.

A traumatic brain injury can also cause massive medical expenses — and undue stress — for a person who might not be able to work again. This can be especially problematic for TBI survivors who may not be able to handle stress.

TBI survivors can also have mood swings and find it difficult to reintegrate into social life or even spend time with family. Family members may report being nervous about “setting the person off” as TBI survivors can become irritated, angry, and even violent quite unexpectedly. 

How can I recover compensation for psychological effect of a TBI?

If you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury due to another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for both economic and noneconomic damages.

Noneconomic damages, i.e., the psychological effects of your TBI, can be more difficult to calculate, but there are things you can do to prove your entitlement to compensation.

Because psychological effects are more subjective, we will need to use things like testimony from your friends and family, notes from a therapist, and even a journal that shows how your TBI limits your ability do things you love and go back to the life you led before.

Call Bressman Law at 877-538-1116 for an evaluation of your claim at no charge.