Can I get a permanent disability for traumatic brain injury (TBI)? The simple answer is yes.
A TBI results when your head is suddenly hit, and the impact injures the brain. This can result in physical and cognitive health problems that require intensive treatment.
Even with rehabilitative care, a TBI may have severe residual symptoms that can cause a long-term disability.
If you suffer a TBI from a car accident, your condition may make it challenging to keep working. You may need to file a disability claim with your insurer to seek compensation.
But before you do, it is crucial to know the steps to take to increase the chances of your disability claim being approved. Here are the tips!
What Disabilities Does Traumatic Brain Injury Cause?
Even with proper treatment, the impacts of a TBI may linger for years or even be permanent. Understanding how TBI affects your capacity to work can help you build a strong claim for disability for traumatic brain injury. TBIs can result in both cognitive and physical disabling symptoms:
Physical symptoms
These may range from:
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Convulsions/seizures
- Blurred vision
- Lack of balance and coordination
- Abnormal sleep patterns
- Ringing in ears
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
Cognitive symptoms
These include:
- Memory loss
- Uncontrollable mood swings
- Anxiety and depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Lack of impulse control
- Difficulty with focus, attention, or thinking
These physical and cognitive symptoms can cause disability if severe enough. TBI victims commonly suffer long-term disability based on the extent of the brain injury.
Proving Traumatic Brain Injury as a Disability
Even though TBIs are severe, your insurance provider will not approve your disability claim until you provide evidence of your diagnosis, incapacitating symptoms, and proper medical treatment.
Without supporting evidence, don’t assume your insurer will understand how your health affects your capacity to work.
Diagnostic testing results
The insurer will scrutinize your medical records for diagnostic evidence of your TBI and residual symptoms. Usually, the insurance provider will request a brain MRI or CT scan test results. They may also review neuropsychological testing results if you continue having mental or cognitive symptoms.
Medical evidence is crucial
Objective medical proof is the most critical documentation to send to your insurer when filing a disability claim. Your insurance provider will need more than a CT scan and a doctor’s note validating your disability for traumatic brain injury.
They could also request the following medical reports:
- Hospital recordsrelated to your TBI
- Unusual findings from diagnostic testing (such as a brain MRI or CT scan)
- The doctors’ follow-up reports
- Your prescriptions or drugs
- Records of any rehabilitation therapy received.
Your insurer will need your doctor’s opinion on whether you meet the disability criteria. Unfortunately, sending a note saying you are “disabled” is insufficient.
Instead, your insurer wants an exhaustive report from your healthcare provider detailing your symptoms’ severity and any associated limitations regarding your ability to work.
Your insurer may have an independent medical examiner observe you if your doctor fails to provide an extensive assessment. Alternatively, they could hire an independent expert practitioner to review your case.
However, these physicians are not independent at all. They have a grave conflict of interest since they serve the insurance provider. So, avoid being taken to them.
Avail Proof of Your Disabling Symptoms
Your insurer will look into the collective effects of your cognitive and physical symptoms. It is crucial to inform your treating physician(s) of your physical and mental symptoms so they can be fully documented.
Many individuals experience both cognitive and physical symptoms after a TBI. Others may even be impaired due to only physical or cognitive symptoms alone.
Thankfully, most insurers know the wide range of symptoms associated with TBIs. For this reason, they frequently assess each claim individually to account for the overall effect of symptoms.
Your insurance provider may not consider a specific symptom if it is not adequately documented. Therefore, an accurate record of all symptoms, including their occurrence rate and severity, is required for the insurer to evaluate the claim entirely.
It is crucial to provide evidence of your symptoms and unusual objective findings. Your insurer will scrutinize your health documents for solid proof of the symptoms you experienced after your TBI.
They will also determine whether your symptoms can be verified through well-documented clinical results.
Demonstrate That You Are Getting Proper Care
Your insurance provider will carefully examine your medical records to see if you received appropriate treatment. If they determine that you did not receive proper care, they could deny your disability claim.
TBIs are exceptionally complicated injuries, and their symptoms depend significantly on the type and extent of the injury. As a result, figuring out if a claimant is receiving appropriate treatment is challenging.
Proper care generally involves consulting with qualified professionals (such as neurologists, rehabilitative doctors, etc.) and complying with your treatment regimen.
For instance, your insurer may refuse to compensate you if your rehabilitative doctor recommended that you attend a physical or cognitive behavioral therapy program, but you did not oblige.
Your insurer may even accuse you of non-compliance. Be sure to adhere to your doctor’s advice and show that you are trying to improve.
Your Insurance Provider Wants Constant Proof
Even if the insurance provider approves your claim, they require proof. It is well known that TBI symptoms change with time and last long.
The symptoms may improve or fade away with treatment and rehabilitation, but at other times they deteriorate. Some people manifest new symptoms altogether.
For this reason, your insurance provider will often ask for proof of a present disability- even years after approving your claim.
Up-to-date medical documents or paperwork from your physicians may be helpful if they support your condition. So, it is generally advisable to continue with your treatment even after approval.
Your insurance provider may have you see one of their independent physicians or terminate your coverage altogether if you fail to produce ongoing proof.
Get Help with Your Disability for Traumatic Brain Injury Claim
TBIs commonly result in complex disability claims. It might be tedious and emotionally taxing to fill out several forms and carefully detail your injury and ongoing symptoms for your insurer to review.
An experienced lawyer can guide you through the complex procedure of filing a disability for traumatic brain injury claim. Work with Legal Giant’s partner disability lawyers to increase your claim’s chances of approval.
Our partner attorneys will do everything, from gathering the evidence to filing a claim and negotiating a fair settlement as you focus on your recovery.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
