How to help a TBI survivor safely return to driving

Posted By: Tony Baratta | July 10th, 2020

I’m Tony Baratta. Today, I’d like to talk about TBI survivors and driving. In the United States and maybe the world, movement equals health. This is certainly the case in the United States, where a car is king, and driving our car is symbolic with our freedom. It’s symbolic with our health.

 

Driving a car means freedom

Have you ever tried to take the car keys away from your elderly parents? Do you know how important a car is to our freedom? And a TBI victim may not be able to safely drive a car anymore. This is very problematic and causes a great deal of depression for the TBI survivor.

 

When can a TBI survivor drive again?

So when is it safe for a TBI survivor to return to the road? What we recommend to our clients is that we engage a driving rehabilitation specialist. A driving rehabilitation specialist can focus on the sole task of getting the TBI survivor ready to drive a vehicle again.

 

A driving rehabilitation specialist

That specialist takes all of the information that’s been accumulated by the treating physicians, occupational therapists, and neuropsychologists to try to understand the TBI survivor’s limitations. And then they design a program to help address those limitations.

They first start with an off-the-road training program and then proceed with an on-the-road training program. Through that process, the driving rehabilitation specialist learns what limitations the TBI survivor has. They can help them to accumulate the necessary adaptive skills to be able to understand and recognize their limitations, so that they can safely drive a motor vehicle again. My name is Tony Baratta, and I hope this has been helpful to you.

 

About the Author

Anthony J. Baratta (Tony) is a trial attorney. He has tried more than 50 cases to Juries in State and Federal Courts and has litigated thousands of personal injury and medical malpractice cases in his 30-year career. Tony is the founding partner of Baratta, Russell, & Baratta and an active board member of the Pennsylvania Brain Injury Association (BPIA). Tony is also on the board for the Philadelphia VIP and performs pro bono work for the Laurel House, a non-profit for victims of domestic abuse. In addition, Tony is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for trial attorneys, voted one of Philadelphia’s Super Lawyers for the past 14 years, and a 2018 recipient of the First Judicial District Pro Bono Award for the Civil Trial Division.

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