Rehabilitation at TIRR After a Serious Injury

Significant injuries often require extensive rehabilitation. The caliber of the rehabilitation services can have a tremendous impact on your functional abilities and quality of life after discharge, so it is important to choose a rehabilitation facility wisely.

Severe injuries are often life changing. Rehabilitation at the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) after a serious injury can provide a range of services that will help you and your family adapt physically, psychologically, socially, and even financially to your new normal. It is also important to know you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the facility or a specific medical professional if they were negligent in your care or treatment.

Many Severe Injuries Require Significant Rehabilitation

An acute care hospital can treat a patient until they are medically stable and ready for discharge. However, someone with a severe injury might not be ready to go home because their injury has left them unable to care for themselves or manage daily tasks.

A rehabilitation hospital like TIRR Memorial Hermann is staffed with doctors who specialize in rehabilitative medicine, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and others. Each program is tailored to achieve the best quality of life for the injured person.

Amputation

Whether an amputation is necessary because of a traumatic injury, a burn, or another cause, adjustment can be challenging. TIRR offers skilled professional assistance to choose and fit the proper prosthetic for the patient’s lifestyle and help the patient adjust to using it. Patients and their families learn how to care for the stump and ensure proper biomechanics to increase abilities and lessen the possibility of injury.

Traumatic Brain Injury

A moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can leave the injured person with cognitive impairments, mobility issues, speech problems, and make activities of daily living a challenge. Patients receive intensive help to regain functioning, and their families learn how to best support the patient’s recovery.

Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries trigger a host of other potential medical problems. Early and effective rehabilitation services can limit the severity of secondary medical issues and give the patient the best chance of recovering as much functioning as possible.  Advances in neuro-recovery treatments often allow patients to create new neuropathways to replace those damaged by the injury, often resulting in functional improvements.

Psychological Support for Patients and Their Families

Patients facing permanent, life-altering injuries also must cope with potentially debilitating stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. Family members and loved ones are also affected. TIRR’s family support programs teach patients and their loved ones how to develop reasonable expectations, implement effective coping techniques, and create a reliable support system.

Returning to Real Life After a Significant Injury

A patient with a life-altering injury might spend many weeks or months in a rehabilitation center before they are ready to go home. TIRR provides outpatient and ongoing support for patients and their families, but dealing with the practical realities of a severe injury often requires help from a legal professional.

When an injury resulted from an accident, any person, company, or government that contributed to it could be responsible for paying compensation to the injured person. As even the best insurance rarely pays 100 percent of hospital and rehabilitation costs, the funds an injured person receives from the liable party could get them out from under punishing medical debt.

Compensation from a personal injury lawsuit includes medical and rehabilitation costs as well as the incidental expenses a family incurs when someone is recovering from a serious injury. If accommodating the injury requires home renovations or an adapted vehicle, the party responsible for the accident should pay for them. An injured person also could expect compensation for their lost income, diminished earning capacity, physical pain, disability, disfigurement, emotional anguish, and other impacts of the accident.

Reach Out for Legal Help Soon After the Accident

Anyone who suffered a severe injury in an accident should have legal representation. Even if the family is reluctant to bring a lawsuit, a lawyer can handle communication with insurance companies, negotiating with medical providers and other creditors to relieve the financial pressures on the family while the patient recovers.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 allows an injured person two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit. In many cases, an attorney could reach a reasonable settlement with the insurers for the responsible parties before filing a lawsuit. However, the realistic threat of a lawsuit is the leverage that spurs insurers and others to make reasonable offers—once the two-year time limit has passed, the patient’s leverage is gone.

Rely on an Attorney for Guidance While Rehabilitating at TIRR Memorial Hermann

Rehabilitation at TIRR after a serious injury can ensure the patient recovers as much function as possible, help them adapt to their permanent injuries, and provide their loved ones with the tools they need to cope and offer support.

While the patient is rehabilitating, a local injury lawyer could be working to ensure the patient has the resources they need to get the most out of life. Call today to speak with our team.