Average settlement range: $100,000 – $5,000,000+. With surgery: $250,000 – $10,000,000+.
Get My Free Estimate →Traumatic brain injury encompasses the full spectrum from mild concussions to severe, life-altering brain damage. Moderate and severe TBIs cause lasting cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical impairments that fundamentally change the victim's life. The brain may suffer contusions (bruising), hemorrhage (bleeding), diffuse axonal injury (shearing of nerve fibers), or edema (swelling) — each with different prognosis and treatment implications.
Symptoms of moderate-to-severe TBI include persistent memory loss, personality and behavioral changes, difficulty with executive function (planning, organizing, decision-making), impaired judgment, speech and language difficulties, motor function deficits, seizures, and emotional dysregulation. Diagnosis involves CT scans (for acute bleeding and swelling), MRI (for detailed brain structure), Glasgow Coma Scale assessment, neuropsychological testing, and ongoing monitoring.
TBI is classified by severity: mild (GCS 13-15, brief or no loss of consciousness), moderate (GCS 9-12, loss of consciousness 30 minutes to 24 hours), and severe (GCS 3-8, loss of consciousness exceeding 24 hours). The lower the initial GCS score, the higher the likelihood of permanent impairment. Many moderate-to-severe TBI survivors require lifelong care and can never return to their pre-injury level of function.
Emergency treatment for severe TBI may include surgery to relieve intracranial pressure (craniotomy, decompressive craniectomy), remove blood clots (hematoma evacuation), and repair skull fractures. ICU monitoring for brain pressure, oxygenation, and seizures is critical in the acute phase.
Rehabilitation involves cognitive therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, behavioral therapy, and neuropsychiatric medication management. Severe TBI patients may require inpatient rehabilitation for weeks or months, followed by years of outpatient therapy. Some patients require 24-hour care for life. Seizure medication may be needed long-term. The total cost of lifetime care for a severe TBI can exceed $5 million to $10 million.
Settlement Range
$100,000 – $5,000,000+
With Surgery
$250,000 – $10,000,000+
Average Settlement
$500,000
TBI cases produce some of the highest settlements and verdicts in personal injury law because of the catastrophic, permanent nature of the injury. Case value is driven by severity (GCS score, duration of consciousness loss), objective imaging findings, documented cognitive and behavioral deficits, impact on employment and earning capacity, the need for future medical care and assistance, and the victim's age (younger victims have more years of impairment and higher lifetime costs). Life care plans prepared by expert economists and rehabilitation specialists quantify future damages.
$15,000 – $30,000 – $100,000 – $500,000+
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$25,000 – $75,000 – $500,000 – $5,000,000+
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$20,000 – $50,000 – $200,000 – $1,000,000+
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$20,000 – $50,000 – $250,000 – $1,000,000+
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$10,000 – $25,000 – $100,000 – $500,000+
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$25,000 – $75,000 – $500,000 – $3,000,000+
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