In the last post, this blog began a discussion on the varying levels of brain injury a person may suffer, and the varying levels of care available across the country, and across socioeconomic cultures in America. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned from Congress this week, has been advocating for better care for brain injury victims since her devastation injury during a political rally last January.

A West Coast professor of neurology says that most Americans have few services to choose from after sustaining a traumatic brain injury. He says that there currently is a lack of medical standards for treating brain injuries, a state of affairs that he calls a "travesty."

Miami SSDI lawyers are aware that brain injuries can vary widely in the level of severity among accident victims. Representative Gabrielle Giffords nearly died from being shot, and the trauma left her with a long road to recovery. She benefitted from federal workers' compensation coverage and now says all Americans should have access to similar treatment and rehabilitation options.

Medical professionals say that a person needs immediate medical treatment for brain injury in order to improve the potential outcome down the road. In addition to the immediate trauma care, people suffering a traumatic brain injury may require extensive rehabilitative care, which may include re-learning life skills. Basic skills, such as speaking, memory skills and fine-motor skills are often only the tip of the iceberg for brain injury patients.

Traumatic brain injuries can be further complicated by issues of anxiety, depression or irritability. The assault on a person's brain tissue can leave debilitating effects that make it impossible for an individual to return to work.

Traumatic brain injuries are included in the Social Security Administration's list of impairments. SSDI beneficiaries generally become eligible to receive Medicare benefits two years after their date of entitlement to the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. While the delayed Medicare benefits are not available in the immediate aftermath a TBI, the social safety net is in place to help disabled workers to make ends meet after no longer being able to work.

Source: Pro Publica, "Giffords May Get Better Brain-Injury Care Than Most of Her Constituents," Lena Groeger, Jan. 17, 2012