New Jersey workers’ compensation for traumatic brain injuries

A traumatic injury to the brain can have a number of causes. It can occur as the result of a New Jersey resident’s head striking a solid surface or being hit by a solid object or by something that penetrates the skull. A traumatic brain injury can happen as the result of a car accident, a sports injury or a fall at home.

Many times, traumatic brain injury can also occur on the job or in the workplace. These cases of workplace injury may qualify the victim to receive New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits.

In determining whether a traumatic brain injury has occurred, medical professionals will consider symptoms that can include confusion, dizziness, nausea and vision problems. The victim may also report a temporary loss of consciousness and a headache that doesn’t go away. Ringing in the ears and changes in mood or behavior are also common.

In the majority of cases, victims of a traumatic brain injury require medical care as soon as possible.

Efforts to stabilize the victim may include ensuring a good blood supply to the head. Doctors may also order an X-ray or CT scan of the brain along with the neck in order to identify the extent of the damage. In some cases, victims have needed surgery to repair ruptured blood vessels in the head.

Once the healing begins, New Jersey residents with traumatic brain injury may find it difficult to think or reason. Memory may be affected as well. Some experience difficulty with the senses including hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell. Some victims have reported being depressed and anxious after the incident.

If a worker’s brain injuries symptoms are so severe that the worker can no longer work, then the worker is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are available to New Jersey workers who are injured on the job and can help pay for medical expenses associated with a brain injury.

Source: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “Traumatic brain injury.”