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Work loss or lost wage claims are common in serious brain-head injury accident cases in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This is usually due to the injured individual’s inability to either return to work full time or in severe cases, the inability to return to work at all.
It is important to note that work loss claims are just one of the different types of damages available in a brain-head injury lawsuit. In fact, plaintiffs in brain-head injury cases in PA or NJ may make claims for medical bills, other economic expenses and pain and suffering. Click here to read about medical bill claims in brain-head injury cases.
Lost Wage Claims in Brain-Head Injury Accident Cases in PA & NJ
Generally speaking, brain-head injury accident victims often have difficulty resuming their usual work routines. Some may miss days or weeks from work while others may miss extended periods of time. In some cases, the brain injury will be so severe that the individual can only work part-time or cannot return to work at all.
The nature and extent of the wage loss claim in a given brain-head injury case will depend on the severity of the injury as well as the individual’s unique work situation.
Work related disability due to brain-head injuries is very common. After all, brain injuries can take several weeks, if not months to resolve, and in some situations, will never resolve.
How Brain-Head Injuries Affect Work
Individuals often report multiple symptoms which can temporarily or permanently interfere with work duties, such as:
- short and long term memory loss (sequential thinking),
- personality changes (increased depression, anxiety, aggression, etc.), and
- abnormal responses to usual work stimuli.
Memory Loss and Related Issues
In a work setting, short and long term memory is critical to being able to perform sequential thinking, or understanding and processing the sequence of work tasks. In most brain-head injury cases, memory loss is often temporary. However, memory issues may be permanent.
Brain and head injury victims may be unable to process normal work tasks due to memory problems. They can literally forget to perform specific work tasks and will not remember to perform them. This is often due to an inability to perform sequential thinking, and is a classic characteristic of a brain or head injury.
Personality Changes
Personality changes can also affect job performance, especially when multi-tasking is necessary to perform a specific task. Whether it’s due to depression, anxiety or frustration, an individual who was previously able to perform a stressful job with ease and grace, may after the head injury, find themselves shouting, yelling and upset. For example, a front desk office clerk who handles multiple phone calls and deals with clients may become stressed when mistakes are made and calls are dropped or transferred to the wrong person. This in turn leads to more stress and increased depression, anxiety and frustration.
Abnormal Responses to Usual Work Stimuli
Individuals with brain-head injuries may react in odd ways to their usual work stimuli. A seemingly usual task, something the individual has performed dozens of times before, suddenly is done incorrectly.
For example, a carpenter with a brain injury, instead of using the right nails for a wood framing job, tries to use drywall screws. When confronted, the carpenter has literally no idea that he was even using drywall screws.
More: Brain & Head Injuries in Accident, Injury Lawsuits in Pennsylvania
Brain-Head Injury Lawyers
Our accident & injury lawyers handle brain injury cases. If you or a loved one suffered a brain or head injury and would like to learn about your legal rights to compensation, please call Click To Call. FREE CONSULTATIONS
DISCLAIMER: This website does not create any attorney-client relationship or provide legal advice. It is crucial to speak to a qualified lawyer prior to making any decision about your case. Read full disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
