How Can I Help a Family Member With a Brain Injury?
Sometimes, the unexpected happens. An accident occurs at work, a vehicle crosses the median, or a sports play goes wrong. Traumatic brain injuries happen for all kinds of reasons. Still, despite thousands of people suffering from them, it can be easy for someone with a TBI to feel alone like a brain injury lawyer, can explain. If someone you love has a TBI, there are things you can do to help him or her.
For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100
Help TBI Survivors Discover Their Deficits and Limits
Many TBI survivors are not aware of the ways that their traumatic brain injury impacts their lives. They may not know, for example, that they have memory issues where they repeatedly ask the same question, over and over again. They may not realize that they grow irritated much quicker or for things that never would have bothered them before. They may not recognize that they are constantly fatigued and that normal activities that used to be simple to complete now leave them depleted and exhausted. They may not have noticed that loud noises from crowds are bothersome, where the survivor used the be the life of the party.
As a family member, you may notice these changes constantly. Your family member who survived a traumatic brain injury event and is still dealing with the consequences may not.
We make it a point not to completely rely on our clients to tell us how their lives have changed as a result of a traumatic brain injury. They oftentimes do not know. They cannot see the changes and may just think that things are the same as they have always been. That makes sense: after all, a TBI impacts how we think, how we sense things, and how we process information, so it is understandable that a TBI survivor may not notice all of the changes that have occurred.
Family members cannot only help identify some of these deficits, they can help develop what are called compensatory strategies for dealing with them. So, if your family member is having memory deficits and is failing to complete tasks and make appointments that are required, you may need to bring this to their attention. You can also develop lists, reminders, alarms, and other techniques to help them deal with these memory issues.
Similarly, if your loved one with a TBI has trouble attending loud and boisterous events, you might offer to help by avoiding those types of environments. While that type of compensatory strategy can be disruptive to a social calendar, it could help your family member deal with their deficits and allow them to preserve energy for more personal settings.
Help With the Chores
People who suffer minor TBIs may need help for a few days after they are injured, and someone with a serious traumatic brain injury may need help indefinitely. Consider what kind of errands and household chores the person did before and help where you can. Does he or she need help managing finances or need to be driven to the doctor? Perhaps your family member or friend has pets or small children that need to be taken care of. Cleaning, mowing lawns, cooking, and doing laundry are all helpful as well.
Create Routines and Stick To Them
If you will be taking over long-term care of someone who suffered a traumatic brain injury, it is important to prepare yourself by understanding that confusion and personality changes are common. You can alleviate some of the stress for you both by establishing a consistent routine for activities like mealtimes, going to bed, and watching favorite TV programs. However, do still allow the injured person to make his or her own choices as much as possible. Spend time with your loved one by playing games, reading together, or just having a conversation. They’ll want to know that you still enjoy their company.
Consider Pursuing a Civil Claim
Sometimes, a traumatic brain injury is something that occurs simply because of an event for which no one bears any blame. The unfortunate reality, however, is that, more often than not, a person receives a TBI because of someone else’s negligent actions. The types of negligence that is known to cause traumatic brain injuries can include not paying attention while driving, not enforcing codes on construction jobs, or not keeping the floors of commercial locations safe and dry to prevent injuries from slips, trips, or falls.
Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by a number of different actions that are negligent, and you and your family might be left to try to recover. That can be especially difficult to do if you lack resources and health insurance for adequate medical care, you do not have someone who can provide information about what steps you can take to reduce or alleviate symptoms, and your household is struggling to make ends meet due to lost income from the TBI.
If your loved one suffers from a TBI due to someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation that helps with medical costs, long-term care, and lost wages for the TBI victim. The brain injury lawyers at MartinWren, P.C. have a long history of helping people with civil claims after suffering from an event that caused a traumatic brain injury. Our clients have found that civil representation from a skilled and experienced legal team not only helps provide resources necessary to make up for what was wrongfully taken, but the process can help educate them on things they can do to navigate the new life they are living following the injury that occurred.
If you believe that your loved one received a traumatic brain injury from negligence of another party, please consider contacting one of our knowledgeable and skilled lawyers. Our experienced brain injury lawyers can help you determine if you have a case for which you can receive compensation, and we can help you build the strongest case possible.
Please contact us today to set up a free consultation with MartinWren’s brain injury legal team.
Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form
