Suffering an injury on the job can be a scary thing to some people because, depending on the severity of the injury, it’s often difficult to tell how long a person will experience the symptoms of their injury or whether they will need to miss work as a result. This is especially true with traumatic brain injuries because a) you can’t see whether the injury is healing, and b) it’s difficult to gauge whether there will be any long-term effects.
When it comes to traumatic brain injuries, some of our Colorado readers may be wondering if they could miss work because of their injury or worse, forced out of their job entirely. The answer to this question relies on the severity of the injury and how many similar injuries a person has suffered in their lifetime.
The severity of a brain injury can range from mild to severe and can affect everything from consciousness to language skills. Less severe injuries may cause you to lose consciousness while more severe ones can have long-term effects on thinking and even your senses. As we’re sure some of our readers have heard in the news, researchers are starting to see the link between repeated traumatic brain injuries and degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
So the question still remains: can a brain injury suffered on the job cause a person to miss work?
Even a mild trauma can cause a person to miss days or even weeks of work. More severe traumas or repeated injuries can even result in permanent impairments that can force a person out of work. Although this can create a huge financial strain on an individual, if the injury was suffered on the job, that worker may be able to file for workers’ compensation benefits. Money received in this manner can then be used to offset medical bills and some lost wages as well.
Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Injury Prevention & Control: Traumatic Brain Injury”
