Traumatic brain injury care often requires a team approach

After suffering vehicle accident injuries like a broken bone or sprained neck, your family doctor can probably treat you without assistance. However, severe and catastrophic injuries usually need a team of professionals to maximize your physical recovery odds.

For example, after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), your doctor will probably need to invite other professionals to join your treatment team. Most family medicine practitioners lack the specialized training necessary to treat TBI adequately.

Professional team members you may need

While your first stop after an accident-related TBI is likely an emergency room, the personnel on staff there may call your doctor. After your physician examines you and consults with department staff, you may begin seeing other treatment providers. Examples include:

• Neurosurgeon. They perform necessary surgical procedures and contribute to establishing diagnostic and treatment plans for head injuries.
• Neuroradiologist. They take charge of the imaging (MRIs, X-rays, CT scans, etc.) required to identify and treat brain injuries.
• Neuropsychologist. They aid in determining the full scope of damage (cognitive impairment, depression, etc.) and help patients cope in the aftermath.
• Other professionals. Examples include physical therapists, vocational counselors, speech and language therapists, nursing specialists, and many others.

As you probably expect, having these professionals on your TBI treatment team is prohibitively expensive. However, getting them onboard can improve your odds of recovery substantially.

To meet these costs, delay filing your accident claim until your team conducts a full assessment of your injuries. A complete picture of the harm you suffered ensures you obtain sufficient compensation to cover your required medical care needs.

It is also wise to learn more about Louisiana accident and injury compensation laws to avoid making errors that might derail your claim.