California Brain Damage Lawyer

Living With Brain Damage

The level of supervision and continuing medical care required to allow people with brain damage to live the optimum lives varies widely. Brain-injured people are all different, as are people in general, and no one living situation will work for all of them. Some possibilities that may be considered are:

• Continuing hospitalization - The most severely injured brain damage sufferers may need to remain in the hospital for a long period, or even indefinitely.

• Nursing home - The person with brain damage who needs continuing medical care and/or remains unable to care for himself may need a fully-supported living situation.

• Home health care - Home health care may be advisable around-the-clock or for a few hours per day or week, depending on the brain injury victim's needs.

• Semi-independent living - The brain damage sufferer who can do some things on his own but not all may be a candidate for a semi-independent living situation, in which he lives with a family member or in a paid facility where he cares for himself as much as possible. The brain-damage sufferer who lives in a paid semi-independent living situation may find himself in anything from an institutional-style building to a house tucked into a suburban neighborhood, where he has his own room but gets help where needed from on-site aids. Depending on the home's particular services, the person recovering from or living with brain damage might receive some medical care and rehabilitative services there, as well as help with performing daily activities.

• Fully independent living - Some brain damage sufferers will be able to remain in their own homes and take care of themselves with little or no daily assistance. Although these head injury victims may find some things harder to do than they once were - or even impossible - the extent of their injuries will not have rendered them incapable of handling the necessary everyday tasks of life. Where required, these brain injury sufferers can receive their medical and rehabilitative services on an outpatient basis.

Living situations may need to be re-evaluated periodically. A person with a head injury who is just coming out of the hospital may be weaker and less capable than he will be in three months, or in a year. The passage of time may allow a head injury sufferer to recover many functions or learn to work around lost capabilities, often after much hard labor with various therapists. Therefore, a periodic re-evaluation of the brain damage victim's living situation needs should be considered.

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