Mild TBI vs. Severe TBI: How New Jersey Courts Value Different Brain Injury Cases

After a traumatic brain injury, the medical terms thrown around, like “mild” TBI or “concussion,” probably feel disconnected from the daily struggles you now face. You’re likely worried that if your injury is labeled “mild,” you won’t get the financial support needed for your medical bills, lost wages, and the changes to your life.

In a legal setting, the distinction between a mild TBI vs. severe TBI is a central point of contention. Insurance companies may use the term “mild” to argue that your injuries are not serious and therefore require less compensation. The reality is that even a “mild” TBI causes persistent headaches, memory problems, and personality changes, while the costs of a severe TBI last a lifetime.

New Jersey courts determine the value of a brain injury case based on one thing: provable evidence of how the injury has impacted your life.

The final compensation reflects the full scope of your losses, including future medical needs, your ability to earn a living, and your pain and suffering. If you have questions about your situation after a brain injury, call us at (201) 585-9111.

Key Takeaways for New Jersey Brain Injury Claims

The “mild” TBI label is misleading in a legal context. An insurance company may use this term to downplay your claim, but your compensation is based on the injury’s proven impact on your life, not its medical name.
Compensation includes both economic and non-economic damages. This covers all tangible financial losses, like medical bills and lost wages, as well as the intangible human cost, such as pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.
New Jersey’s comparative negligence rule affects your claim’s value. If you are found to be 51% or more at fault for the accident, you cannot recover any compensation, making it essential to counter any attempts to shift blame onto you.

How Do New Jersey Courts Calculate the Value of a Brain Injury Claim?

The value of a TBI claim is not decided by a simple formula. Instead, it’s built by calculating and proving two distinct types of damages.

These are known as economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages: The Tangible Financial Losses

This is the straightforward math of your injury. It’s a legal concept that simply means we add up every dollar you have lost and will lose because of the injury.

Examples Include:

Medical Bills: Ambulance rides, hospital stays, surgeries, medication, and rehabilitation therapy.
Future Medical Care: This includes ongoing cognitive therapy, in-home nursing care, or assistive medical devices. For a severe TBI, this is typically the largest component, sometimes requiring a life care plan created by a medical expert.
Lost Wages: The income you have already lost from being unable to work.
Loss of Future Earning Capacity: If the TBI prevents you from returning to your previous job or working at all, an economist helps us calculate the income you will lose over the course of your working life.

Non-Economic Damages: The Intangible Human Cost

This addresses the personal, non-financial ways the injury has rewritten every aspect of your life. Under New Jersey law, this is also called “pain and suffering.”

This category includes compensation for:

Chronic physical pain and headaches.
Emotional distress, anxiety, and depression.
Cognitive difficulties, like memory loss or trouble concentrating.
Loss of enjoyment of life, such as the inability to participate in hobbies, relationships, and activities you once valued.

The difference in valuation between cases is significant. A New Jersey case involving a mild TBI might result in a substantial settlement, while jury verdicts for severe TBIs requiring lifelong care have reached multi-million dollar figures.

The key to securing fair compensation is meticulously documenting every loss. Our firm has years of experience in this area; we handle the process of gathering the necessary records and retaining the right experts to build a clear picture of your damages.

What Does “Mild” vs. “Severe” TBI Mean in a Legal Context?

A doctor’s diagnosis is the starting point, but in a courtroom, these terms take on a different meaning. The focus shifts from the initial injury to the long-term consequences.

Why a “Mild” TBI Isn’t Minor in a Lawsuit

As we’ve alluded to already, the term “mild” is misleading. It typically refers to the fact that the person did not lose consciousness for a long period, if at all.

It does not mean the symptoms are insignificant. Many people with “mild” TBIs or post-concussion syndrome suffer from debilitating long-term effects.

Proving the Impact

We demonstrate the full extent of a “mild” TBI by showing evidence of:

Persistent Symptoms: Headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light, and sleep disturbances.
Cognitive Deficits: Documented issues with memory, focus, and executive function, confirmed through neuropsychological testing.
Emotional and Behavioral Changes: Testimony from family and coworkers about irritability, depression, or personality shifts.

How a “Severe” TBI is Valued Based on Lifelong Needs

A severe TBI involves a prolonged loss of consciousness or significant structural brain damage visible on imaging scans. The legal case for a severe TBI focuses on establishing the need for permanent support.

Proving the Impact

The evidence here is centered on catastrophic, long-term harm:

Permanent Disability: The inability to work or perform daily life activities independently.
Need for Lifelong Care: We work with life care planning experts to create a detailed, evidence-based report outlining every future medical need, from in-home care to therapies and medical equipment.
Loss of Function: This includes impaired speech, loss of motor control, and significant cognitive impairments that change a person’s life forever.

How Does New Jersey’s Comparative Negligence Law Affect My TBI Case?

In any personal injury case in New Jersey, the defendant will try to argue that you were partially, or entirely, to blame for the accident. The state’s law on this issue has a major effect on your compensation.

What is the 51% Bar Rule?

New Jersey uses a legal concept called “modified comparative negligence.”

Think of it like this: A jury assigns a percentage of fault to everyone involved in the accident. If your case goes to trial and the jury finds you were 20% at fault, your final compensation award would be reduced by that 20%.

However, if the jury decides you are 51% or more at fault for the incident, you are barred from recovering any compensation at all.

How Insurance Companies Use This

Because of this law, the at-fault party’s insurance provider will conduct a thorough investigation, looking for any evidence to argue you were at fault. Their business must balance paying claims with making a profit, so shifting blame is a common tactic.

They might argue you were speeding, distracted, or failed to take some action that could have prevented the accident. Our role is to build a strong case from the outset, using accident reconstruction, witness statements, and other evidence to protect you from being assigned an unfair share of the blame.

What Kind of Evidence Is Needed to Prove the Full Value of a TBI?

Securing fair compensation for a brain injury requires building a comprehensive file that tells the complete story of your life before and after the injury.

The strength of your case depends on the quality and depth of the evidence. We focus on gathering several types of proof:

Complete Medical Documentation: This goes beyond the first diagnosis. It includes ongoing reports from neurologists, neuropsychologists, physical therapists, and any other specialists involved in your care to show the duration and severity of your condition.
Expert Witness Testimony: This is frequently the most important element in a difficult TBI case.

Life Care Planners: Medical experts who create a detailed report outlining all of your future medical and personal care needs and their associated costs.
Vocational Experts: Professionals who assess how the TBI has impacted your ability to work and earn an income, providing testimony on your lost earning capacity.
Economists: They take the findings from medical and vocational experts and calculate the total financial loss over your lifetime.

Testimony from People in Your Life: The most powerful way to show how a TBI has changed you is through the words of others. Friends, family members, and colleagues provide testimony about the changes they have witnessed in your personality, memory, and abilities.
Your Own Documentation: A personal journal where you document your daily pain levels, cognitive struggles, and emotional challenges is a simple but effective piece of evidence.

Start today by keeping notes on how you feel and the ways your injury affects your daily routine. Our firm handles the cumbersome process of retaining and coordinating with the nation’s leading medical and financial experts to scientifically establish the full value of your claim.

Are There Other Resources for TBI Survivors in New Jersey?

While pursuing a legal claim is one path, New Jersey provides other forms of support.

The New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury Fund

This state program offers financial assistance to New Jersey residents who have survived a TBI. It is intended to be a “payer of last resort,” which means it helps cover costs for services and equipment not covered by health insurance or other sources. Access to the fund is subject to specific clinical and financial eligibility requirements laid out in state regulations (N.J.A.C. 10:141).

Brain Injury Association of New Jersey

This non-profit organization provides support, education, and advocacy for TBI survivors and their families across the state.

Frequently Asked Questions about TBI Claims in New Jersey

How long do I have to file a TBI lawsuit in New Jersey?

In most cases, the Statute of Limitations for a personal injury action in New Jersey is two years from the date of the injury. If you miss this deadline, you will likely lose your right to recover compensation forever.

What if my TBI symptoms didn’t show up until days or weeks after the accident?

This is very common with brain injuries. Symptoms are sometimes delayed as swelling or other issues develop. Seek medical attention as soon as any symptom appears and document everything. The delay does not prevent you from filing a claim.

Can I still have a case if I had a pre-existing condition?

Yes. In many TBI cases, defense attorneys will argue that a plaintiff’s symptoms are the result of a pre-existing psychological or medical condition. However, the law allows you to recover damages if the accident made a pre-existing condition worse. We work to prove how the trauma aggravated your underlying health.

How much does it cost to hire a brain injury lawyer?

We handle brain injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay us nothing upfront. We only receive a fee if we successfully recover compensation for you through a settlement or a jury verdict.

Will I have to go to court?

Most personal injury cases are settled out of court. However, we prepare every case as if it is going to trial. If the insurance company is not willing to offer fair compensation that covers the full extent of your losses, we are fully prepared to present your case to a jury.

Your Injury’s Label Doesn’t Define Your Right to Recovery

Don’t let an insurance company use the word “mild” to dismiss what you are going through.

Your headaches, your memory lapses, and your struggles with daily tasks are real, and they have value under the law.

To understand how New Jersey law applies to your specific injury and situation, call our office for a free, no-obligation conversation. Contact Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi, P.C. at (201) 585-9111 today.