The longer I spend in the brain injury recovery space, the more involved I become in research and in conversations with people living with brain injuries, and with those who care for and work with them. The more I learn, the more aware I become of serious problems that still need real solutions.
For those of you who are entrepreneurial in spirit, I would encourage you to look closely at this area of need. But please, do not rush in thinking you have the answer before fully understanding what is actually required. I am seeing too many people and too many industries claim they have the solution for brain injury, when in reality what they offer is only one small piece of a much larger picture.
That has been frustrating. It has also been time consuming, especially when I repeatedly see the same needs expressed in social media groups and other communities. More than that, it is sad. We should be far more advanced by now in how we assist people whose lives have been changed by brain injury.
I have been speaking about these issues for over a decade. Some might say ad nauseam. But I keep talking because the need is still there, and because too many people who claim to be helping brain injured individuals are not addressing the full reality of what those individuals actually face.
Please consider the impact a brain injury has on a person, not only in the immediate aftermath, but over the long term. It affects their life, their family, their friendships, their work, their communication, and their ability to function in a world that often cannot see their injury. In the United States, approximately 5.3 million people are living with a permanent TBI related disability. That alone should force more serious attention toward better systems of care, evaluation, and advocacy.
We also need to be honest about who is most at risk. According to the CDC, adults age 75 and older have the highest numbers and rates of TBI related hospitalizations and deaths. That matters because it reminds us that brain injury is not a niche issue. It affects families across generations and creates consequences that ripple through health care, caregiving, legal systems, and everyday life.
Yet we still do not seem to have an evaluative mechanism in place that accurately accounts for this in many systems, including systems involving compensation. We have formulas for visible physical injuries in industrial accidents, but brain injury often remains misunderstood, minimized, or dismissed.
That needs to change.
One practical solution I have come to believe in is this: whenever someone enters litigation, sells a house, gets divorced, establishes business protocols, or tries to enforce those protocols through legal action, one basic question should be asked at the outset:
Have you had a brain injury, or are you currently experiencing challenges from a past trauma?
If that question were built into the process from the beginning, it could reduce, and in many cases prevent, extreme stress, misunderstandings, and unfair assumptions. From my own experience, and from what I have observed in others, the time it takes to reach a satisfactory resolution can be multiplied many times over when brain injury is not recognized and addressed appropriately. And when time means billable hours, delays often benefit everyone except the brain injured person at the center of the matter.
That is not right.
I recently came across a Florida continuing legal education presentation addressing what attorneys and courts need to understand when working with people who have cognitive disabilities, including brain injuries. The fact that this topic is being addressed in a legal education setting should tell us something important: the gap is real, and the consequences are serious.
I know there are still people who doubt what I have been saying for years. I know there are people who have known me personally who still think there is nothing wrong with me. But that only proves another point: the ways we evaluate brain injury is often inadequate. We are not looking at this the way we need to, and too many people are paying the price for that failure.
I know this not only from research, but from experience. I was once one of those people sitting in front of a judge who did not understand what a brain injured person might be struggling with. I was once in a courtroom where my slowed processing, disrupted speech, and reduced ability to connect facts quickly were not understood. I was mistreated in ways that should never have happened. I am not looking to revisit that now. But I am willing to say this: if it happened to me, it is happening to many others.
There is a real need for advocacy in the legal space for people with brain injuries. Not performative advocacy. Not a label. Real advocacy. The kind provided by people who understand what a brain injured person may be hindered by, whether that is perception, communication, processing speed, organization, or the ability to respond within legal time constraints.
If you are an attorney, a judge, or someone navigating litigation while living with a brain injury, please reach out. If you are looking for solutions, or connections to people who may be able to help, I am glad to be part of that conversation.
I am not a lawyer. I am not a doctor. But I am someone who has researched, lived, and will continue to study brain injury recovery and all that it affects until I see better systems in place to help a very large part of our society move forward with greater relief, dignity, and peace.
For those interested in the legal implications, here is a useful judicial education resource: https://youtu.be/JvlFC1Jj5tM?t=15
© Gail Waitkun 2026