Brain injuries can occur in many different ways, including automobile accidents and slip and falls.  Whenever a brain injury occurs, it is important to understand the full extent of the damages and the costs and time associated with recovery. Recovering from a brain injury is often a long and arduous process that can be very expensive. New York City traumatic brain injury attorneys can provide insight into how you can pursue a claim for compensation for losses and damages if someone was responsible for causing your brain injury.

A recent article in The Journal News highlighted some of the struggles brain injury patients go through as they try to recover. The story shared by the Journal News was about a 22-year-old who suffered traumatic brain injuries in a motor vehicle accident in New Rochelle. The young man was given just a three percent chance of surviving and a 10 percent chance of waking up from a coma. He did manage to survive the injuries, but his mother describes him as being “basically a newborn” as he must relearn everything he ever knew.

The Long Road to Recovery After a Brain Injury

According to the Journal News, when the young man suffered the brain injury, he was first transferred to a rehabilitation hospital and was then transferred to a rehabilitation and brain injury center before finally returning to his apartment.

He had to undergo physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy three days per week at the rehabilitation hospital, even as his family members fought with insurance companies to cover treatments that totaled many thousands of dollars.  The hospital bed necessary for him to come home, for example, totaled more than $65,000 and insurance did not want to cover the costs.

His rehabilitation has been a painful and difficult process, including overcoming spasticity in the legs caused by a muscular control disorder that results in muscle stiffness and difficulty controlling muscles.  He suffers from dry eye because his injuries have prevented his eye from producing enough tears, and he has struggled to do basic tasks like sitting up by himself, blowing his nose, releasing his knuckles, and controlling his breathing so he becomes able to say short words and short phrases.

The long-term goal is for the young man to be able to stand up by himself. He is currently using a wheel chair, but it is also painful for him because his spine is now shaped like a “C” due to the crash while the wheel chair is in the traditional “L” shape.  He has had improvements, including regaining mobility in the arms and partial vision in his left eye, but there is still a long way to go.

This is just one of many stories of victims of auto accidents left coping with the challenges of traumatic brain injury. New York City traumatic brain injury attorneys can provide assistance to victims and their families in fighting for compensation from those responsible for causing brain injury so there will be money available to pay for the needs of the victim during recovery and rehabilitation.