What is the Average Payout for a Head Injury?

January 29, 2021

If you’ve been in a serious accident you may wonder, what is the average payout for a head injury? Because there is no average head injury, it’s hard to say; but there are common factors that affect the payout amount. Each head injury is unique, but those who are injured in an accident have a shared next step. Everyone who suffers a severe head injury should get legal help so their rights to compensation are protected.

If you or a loved one suffered a severe head injury in an accident, contact Wapner Newman. The injury may have a serious and long-term impact on your life. Medical care and rehabilitation may be needed for months or years. Your ability to earn a living may be sharply cut in the near or long-term. Without the help of an attorney, you may settle your case for far less than it’s worth.

Many factors go into determining a payout amount for a head injury. Some important ones are:

Kind of injury
How severely it affects you
How long it affects you.

It’s not uncommon for a head injury to be severe and long-lasting. That drives up the average payout. A severely injured brain will impact your life far more than a severely injured knee or hand.

The Average Settlement Amount for a Head Injury Varies, Depending on the Type of Accident

Many accidents can cause a head or traumatic brain injury (TBI). They may or may not cause an open head wound or leave the victim unconscious. They include:

Motor vehicle crashes
Motorcycle accidents
ATV accidents
Bicycle and pedestrian accidents with vehicles
Falls
Workplace injuries.

Head injuries aren’t just caused by blunt force. They can also be the result of medical malpractice or negligence by healthcare professionals. A stroke or a lack of oxygen during an operation or birth can leave the victim with brain damage and severe disabilities. The average settlement amount for head injury involving that level of negligence and injury can be very high.

Staying Awake After Suffering a Head Injury Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Serious

Your head injury may be obvious. It’s so severe it knocks you unconscious. How you speak or act may show that your brain is clearly impacted. But that’s not always the case. After your accident, you may not realize you suffered a head injury. You may feel OK for a while, but symptoms will start to affect you. They include:

Headaches
Losing balance
Difficulty seeing correctly
Seizures
Changes in sensory perception
Difficulty talking and swallowing
Personality changes
Difficulty choosing words, forming sentences, and communicating
Confusion
Difficulty with reason, focus, and logic
Memory problems.

If you suffer any of these symptoms after an accident, it’s essential to seek medical help, even if you feel the symptoms aren’t that severe. That could change over time. Having medical records to document your injuries can be essential to proving your claim.

The Payout for Head Injury is Based Partially on How Severe It Is

A critical issue in determining the value of your case is the severity of your injury. If something struck your head and impacted a particular area, that area may suffer severely. But the rest of your brain may be much less impaired.

Brain injuries are often caused by the initial force (the primary injuries), then secondary injuries happen to other parts of the brain.

If your head hits the pavement after a bicycle accident, the fall may injure the part of the brain at the point of impact and the opposite side of the brain, too. This is common in vehicle accidents when the victim’s head snaps back and forth. The brain hits the inside of the skull on opposite sides.
You may suffer a skull fracture, which could lead to an infection.
Violent stopping may force your neck to twist, tearing connections in the brain tissue.
The entire brain could also be harmed because of all the force moving inside the skull. It could become bruised and swollen. Brain tissue could be torn. Blood vessels could burst, causing brain damage due to a lack of blood and oxygen.

The average payout for a head injury relates to the type and severity of the injury. Depending on which category your injury falls into, the average amount for a head injury settlement will vary.

The Glasgow Coma Scale Measures Brain Injury Severity

Most head injury victims lose consciousness. The length and depth of this unconsciousness is an important sign of the seriousness of the injury. Medical professionals measure brain injury severity by using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS).

It assigns numbers to eye, verbal, and motor responses. It also adds the numbers for a total GCS score from one to fifteen. An 8 or lower means the victim is at the greatest risk for serious, long-term disability or death. The degree of injury falls into three categories:

Mild TBI: The person stayed conscious or lost it but recovered within 30 minutes. For up to a year, the person may be dizzy, unbalanced, confused, have disturbed sleep patterns, suffer mood swings and depression. The CGS score would be 13-15.
Moderate TBI: The victim is unconscious for 30 minutes to 24 hours. The person may not be able to communicate, suffer partial paralysis, and have a reduced ability to think. The score would be 9-12.
Serious TBI: The person is in a coma for more than 24 hours. He or she has a very high risk of permanent disabilities, living in a vegetative state, or dying. The victim’s family is very likely to also suffer difficult physical, emotional, and financial hardships. The CGS score would be 8 or less.

The more severe the category of head injury, the higher the average payout. But a really high average payout for a head injury usually goes to severely injured people. More money is necessary in a settlement for severe head injuries because the costs for treatment are very high.

The Payout for Head Injury Cases Has Many Elements

In addition to the length and severity of the injury, the payout for a head injury is based on:

Past and expected future bills for medical care, rehabilitation, and related costs
Out of pocket losses and bills because of the accident and injuries
Past lost wages and reduced income expected in the future
Pain, suffering, and mental anguish
Impact on relationships
The strength of the evidence supporting the case
The limits and exclusions on the insurance policy or policies used.

Depending on these factors, the average payout in a head injury case could be substantial. While many less severe injuries settle, the high value of the most serious cases brings up the overall average.

Take the Next Step. Contact Wapner Newman.

If you’ve been in an accident, you may wonder what kind of settlement for a head injury you may receive. Please contact Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 today to schedule your initial consultation with a head injury attorney. We can talk about the law, the accident, your injuries, and the types of damages in a brain injury lawsuit. Call us so we can discuss your best options to get the most compensation possible.