What Compensation Can I Recover After a Brain Injury in East Brunswick?
A traumatic brain injury can change parts of your life that other people may not immediately see. You may struggle to remember conversations, concentrate at work, control your emotions, sleep normally, or handle tasks that once came easily. Some people need ongoing therapy or help with daily activities, while others cannot return to the same job or level of independence.
If someone else caused your injury in East Brunswick, an experienced brain injury lawyer can document those losses, determine who may be responsible, and fight for compensation that reflects both your financial losses and the ways the injury has changed your life. Below, Beninato & Matrafajlo Attorneys at Law, LLC explains what compensation may cover, what can affect the value of a brain injury claim, and how New Jersey law may affect your recovery.
Medical Expenses and Future Treatment After a Brain Injury
You may be able to recover the reasonable cost of medical care needed because of the brain injury. This can include emergency treatment, hospital care, diagnostic imaging, neurologist visits, medication, rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and neuropsychological treatment.
If medical evidence shows that future care is reasonably probable, your claim may include anticipated expenses. A serious brain injury may require continuing therapy, medication, cognitive rehabilitation, assistive devices, home health services, or supervision.
Future medical damages may be available as well. Treating physicians, specialists, and, when appropriate, life-care planning evidence may explain what care you are likely to need and what it is expected to cost.
Lost Wages and Reduced Earning Capacity
A brain injury can keep you out of work temporarily or permanently. If the injury caused you to miss work, you may seek compensation for lost earnings. If your ability to earn income has been reduced long term, you may also have a claim for future lost earnings or diminished earning capacity.
This issue matters even if you return to work. Brain injuries may cause problems with concentration, memory, processing speed, communication, mental stamina, or executive functioning. Those limitations can make it difficult to perform the same job, work the same hours, earn overtime, qualify for promotions, or remain in the same occupation.
Employment records, tax records, medical opinions, and, when appropriate, vocational or economic testimony may help establish the loss. The goal is to show how much income the brain injury has already cost you and how much it may cost you in the future.
Pain, Suffering, Disability, and Loss of Enjoyment of Life
A brain injury claim is not limited to medical bills and lost income. New Jersey law also allows compensation for pain and suffering, disability, impairment, and loss of enjoyment of life when those harms were caused by the defendant’s negligence or other legal fault.
You may experience headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sleep disturbance, sensitivity to light or noise, memory problems, personality changes, depression, anxiety, communication difficulties, or reduced independence. You may also lose the ability to exercise, drive, care for children, participate in family activities, pursue hobbies, socialize, or manage ordinary responsibilities as you did before the injury.
There is no fixed formula for valuing these losses. Medical records, testimony from health care providers, your own testimony, and observations from people who knew you before and after the injury can help show its effect on your life.
How Comparative Negligence Can Affect Your Compensation
Under N.J.S.A. § 2A:15-5.1, being partly at fault does not automatically prevent recovery. You may recover if your negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person, or combined negligence of the persons, from whom you seek damages. Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault.
For an East Brunswick brain injury claim, this rule can matter when an insurer argues that your actions contributed to a crash, fall, or other accident. Photographs, video, witness statements, and incident reports can therefore affect both liability and the amount you recover.
Compensation After an East Brunswick Motor Vehicle Brain Injury
If your brain injury was caused by a motor vehicle crash in East Brunswick, New Jersey’s automobile insurance laws can directly affect your compensation.
After a New Jersey car crash, you may be able to use personal injury protection (also known as PIP), before anyone determines who was at fault. Under N.J.S.A. § 39:6A-4, PIP can cover eligible medical expenses and, depending on the coverage you purchased, may also provide limited benefits for lost income and help with necessary everyday services.
For a permanent or significant brain injury, New Jersey PIP can provide up to $250,000 in medical expense benefits under N.J.S.A. § 39:6A-4.3 for medically necessary treatment, even if you selected a lower PIP medical expense limit.
Under N.J.S.A. § 39:6A-12, uncompensated economic losses can be pursued against the person legally responsible for the crash. Depending on the circumstances, that may include unreimbursed medical expenses, deductibles, copayments, and medical expenses above applicable PIP limits.
If you chose the limitation-on-lawsuit option on your auto insurance policy, New Jersey law may limit when you can recover money for pain, suffering, and the ways the injury has affected your life. Under N.J.S.A. § 39:6A-8, you generally must show that your injury falls into one of several serious injury categories, including a permanent injury. For a brain injury, that usually means medical evidence showing the injury is permanent and a written certification from your doctor confirming it.
If the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance, uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage under N.J.S.A. § 17:28-1.1 may provide another source of compensation. This coverage may allow you to seek benefits when the responsible driver cannot fully cover your damages, subject to the coverage available and policy requirements.
East Brunswick Brain Injury Attorney
A brain injury claim should account for the full effect of the injury on your medical needs, earnings, independence, and quality of life. The amount you may recover depends on the evidence, the accident, available insurance, and applicable New Jersey law.
Beninato & Matrafajlo Attorneys at Law, LLC has recovered more than $100 million for New Jersey injury victims and was named a Top 10 Personal Injury Law Firm for 2026 by Attorney and Practice Magazine. If a brain injury has affected your ability to work, live independently, or enjoy your daily life, the firm can fight for the compensation you deserve. Call (732) 795-5679 or contact us online for a free consultation with an East Brunswick brain injury lawyer.
Dan T. Matrafajlo, Esq. is the Managing Member and Lead Partner at Beninato & Matrafajlo, Attorneys at Law, LLC, a New Jersey-based personal injury law firm with offices in Elizabeth and East Brunswick. With over two decades of experience representing clients in complex matters—including motor vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death cases—he has recovered over $100 million on behalf of his clients and is known for securing significant results. He has also helped shape New Jersey personal injury law through notable Appellate Division decisions such as Hardison v. King and Frenklakh v. Lojek, with his litigation work featured in the New Jersey Law Journal, underscoring his authority in the field.
Mr. Matrafajlo was recognized as a Super Lawyers® Rising Stars honoree from 2012 to 2017 and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum—an honor reserved for attorneys who have achieved multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements. Combining deep legal expertise with a client-focused approach, he provides strategic, results-driven representation while guiding clients through every stage of the legal process. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and is admitted to practice in both New Jersey and New York.
