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Symptoms of TBI are often complex and highly varied depending on the nature of the trauma, the severity of the accident that caused the trauma and how quickly the victim received treatment. In general, some of the more common symptoms that may be experienced include:
While there is a large number of accidents and unexpected mishaps that may result in traumatic brain injury (TBI), the leading causes of TBI include:
There are generally two types of brain injuries: mild and severe (though no brain injury is mild to you when you or a family member is the one with the injury).
Generally speaking, a mild brain injury may involve no loss of consciousness or a short loss of consciousness (perhaps less than thirty minutes). Typical symptoms might be confusion, headaches, irritability, mood swings, difficulty coming up with thoughts or words, or other cognitive issues. And these injuries shouldn’t be minimized because they are termed “mild” injuries. In many cases, a “mild” brain injury will have a drastic effect on you and your loved ones. Additionally,many cases of mild brain injury are undiagnosed and untreated. In fact, they may not even show up on a CAT scan or MRI. As a result, injured persons may have a more difficult time thinking or families may find themselves fighting more without really understanding why. If you’re involved in a wreck, it’s critical that you take a hard and honest look at the symptoms to help determine whether you might have a brain injury that needs treatment.
A severe brain injury is generally associated with loss of consciousness for more than thirty minutes. A person with a severe brain injury may experience many of the same symptoms as a person with a mild brain injury, though the degree of the symptoms might be greater.
Some of the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury may include:
The prognosis for your brain injury is typically determined by a number of things, including the location of the trauma, the size and the severity of the damage and the length and seriousness of any injury that you may have sustained.
Generally speaking, the worse a traumatic brain injury is, the longer the period of recovery and the more long-term effects are likely to be present. This is important information to know when speaking to an attorney, as it determines the amount of compensation that may be obtained to ensure ongoing treatment.
There are different stages in brain injury recovery, for example during the initial stages of treating a traumatic brain injury (TBI) the focus is on saving the person’s life. What follows is usually chronic care that requires a variety of rehabilitative medical technologies to aid the recovering victim. The rehab goal for those recovering from TBI is to overcome, minimize or work through disabilities to live as independently as possible. Sometimes, that may mean therapy and work to actually heal the brain, but sometimes it means therapy to help teach you coping mechanisms to better live with your injuries.
Yes, some people may recover from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, some individuals never recover and may require lifelong medical care. If their particular type of brain injury affects the ability to breathe or swallow, they may need medical equipment. Some may not be able to live at home and need to be placed in a long-term care facility. Others may be dealing with long-term depression and chronic pain.
Additionally, a TBI survivor may also end up dealing with digestive issues, blood clots, joint immobility, difficulty breathing and infections. Many also find themselves making frequent trips to hospitals as a result of their initial injury.
If you or a loved one is dealing with the aftermath of a TBI, speak to a personal injury attorney about your legal rights and find out how those responsible for the injury can be held responsible for compensation for your injuries and emotional suffering.
In many traumatic brain injury accidents, yes, there are physical changes to the brain. Changes that you and your family may observe include:
If you are experiencing the symptoms above, it is best to reach out to a doctor to have the seriousness of your traumatic brain injury graded. Knowing the grade assists your attorney is determining a reasonable amount of compensation for your accident based on what you need to recover as best as can be expected.
Yes, if while playing soccer your wife headed the ball and collided head-to-head with another player, she may have sustained a traumatic brain injury. Some of the symptoms that one may expect to experience after a head injury may include difficulty concentrating, headaches, irritability, nausea and difficulty balancing. These signals may not manifest until several hours or days later.
If the coach suggests your wife may have sustained such an injury, it is best to immediately seek medical aid. It would also be a good idea to stop playing on the field, or run the risk of making the concussion worse.
Yes, it is possible that your son has sustained a traumatic brain injury despite the fact that he was wearing a helmet. Even though helmets are designed to minimize blows to the head, they cannot and do not protect against all types blows to the head during play. Thus, it is not only possible for someone to sustain a head injury while wearing a helmet it has turned out to be more common than once thought. One only has to look to the National Football League to get a good idea of the extent of traumatic brain injury that numerous players sustained as a result of multiple concussions.
If your son was not told the risks of playing football, even while wearing a helmet, and was not appropriately treated as a result of being hit in the head, you may have a good case against the school and the team coach. When in doubt, reach out to speak with a knowledgeable brain injury attorney to find out what your rights are and how to file a lawsuit if you wish to recover compensation such injuries.
Injuries to the brain are usually classified as open or closed. A closed head injury means the trauma occurred as a result of a blow to the head where the brain slams against the inside of the skull from side-to-side or front-to-back. These types of injuries are referred to as diffuse or focal. Diffuse means the injury affects tissues and cells all through the brain. Focal means the injury is in one area (a focal point).
Closed head trauma may range from mild to severe and may affect various locations in the brain, such as the parietal or occipital lobes.
An open head injury may also be referred to as a penetrating head trauma. This happens when an object pierces the skull and pushes into the brain. With injuries of this nature, they are generally classified as focal – a specific location in the brain.