A dangerous car crash on a California boulevard can leave you with a head injury and in need of weeks of cognitive rehabilitation therapy to get back to normal.
These sessions will be expensive, but those costs should never be left in your lap after another driver’s mistake. The driver’s car insurance provider should be front and center to pay for these critical sessions for as long as they are required.
A skilled attorney can help brain injury patients earn what they need to recover. A lawyer can also assist you in finding a therapist who will put off billing until a settlement is reached.
When Cognitive Therapy Is Critical to Recovery
A head-on collision or a T-Bone crash can expose victims’ brains to extreme harm. The resulting blow can cause a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), skull fractures, and brain bleeding. The physical wounds and bruises may heal, but the effect on brain function may go on for months or even years.
Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT) refers to treatment to help victims of accidents retrain the brain to process, retrieve, and store information so patients can interact with the physical world. That’s according to the National Library of Medicine.
The goal is to help accident victims return to their everyday lives with as much control and freedom as possible.
That can be difficult to achieve, at least right away, after a Traumatic Brain Injury. This is an injury caused by a blow to the head that affects the brain’s function.
This and other care are included with CRT:
- Memory and learning skills
- Decision-making and judgment
- Problem-solving
- Communication and swallowing skills (with help from a speech-language pathologist)
- Remapping the brain to help with daily life skills and work skills (with the help of an occupational therapist)
- Interpersonal relationship skills
These basic skills and others can all disappear when patients hit their heads on a steering wheel, a dash, or a metal and glass door. That changes a victim’s life, sometimes permanently.
It creates hardships that car insurance companies need to be financially responsible for. Patients should never sign off on a “low-ball” settlement offer that covers a single trip to the emergency room and doesn’t address the care a TBI patient will need in the years to come.
The Frustrating Wait for Settlement Money
Perhaps a car insurance company accepts blame without a hassle for your car crash, but a settlement check can still come months after a frightening crash and brain injury. The costs for an ambulance, a hospital stay, and CRT care can come due in a matter of weeks.
During that wait for financial help, you can schedule the care you need and still avoid bankruptcy. An experienced California Car Accident Attorney can help seek out doctors and therapists who will work with you.
Some providers will delay billing and work under a medical lien. It’s a legal agreement that means you’ll pay them out of the accident settlement you are expecting. Your attorney can help you negotiate this helpful benefit.
You should also know that even if your health insurance provider covers all hospital bills, if you receive a settlement, your provider will still want to be repaid. They can secure this money through a process known as subrogation.
The Cost of Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy
A survey of the many providers online that post prices indicates that patients often pay anywhere from $100 to $200 an hour for CRT sessions. Health insurance may pay for most of this, leaving you with a smaller co-pay, but that’s only after victims have met their annual deductible.
These sessions might be weekly and could be enough to damage the financial future of a patient and any family members who try to help pay the costs. Maison Law never wants to see families stuck with these bills when there’s a careless driver out there who should be held responsible.
Support for Brain Injury Victims
Car insurance companies may agree to settle with you, but the amount they’ll send you will still be in question. A skilled attorney would consult with your doctors about how long you’ll require care. Your lawyer would total all of your economic damages. Your lawyer would also refer to past cases to see what types of pain and suffering support victims earned.
These would all factor into what your attorney demanded on your behalf. If a settlement left you paying for care in the future, it would be rejected, and your attorney would negotiate for more.
A settlement check must completely cover these hardships and more:
- All medical bills for as long as necessary
- All therapy costs (e.g., physical therapy, occupational therapy, and cognitive therapy)
- Replacement of all paychecks lost
- Travel costs for going to see out-of-town specialists
- Support for the physical pain victims endure
- Support for the emotional toll a traumatic injury will take
- Support for the loss of enjoyment of life victims may experience
Contact a California Car Accident Attorney
We offer free case reviews to all injured car accident victims and their families. It’s a chance to figure out the best path to getting complete support as soon as possible.
There’s no obligation to chat with a real lawyer, but if you need us, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay an attorney. We work on behalf of clients with no upfront costs. We are only paid if your case is won. Then our fee comes out of a settlement check the car insurance company must write.
