We all truly value our well-being and to maintain it we leave no stone unturned. Yes, our regular exercise routines, resolutions to eat healthy food, joining gym, regular medical checkup; all this reveals our intention to live healthy and productive life through out. But when we meet any accident, our health is compromised to a great extend and when we have injuries in or on our brain, the situation can be very serious!
Brain is the most important organ of a human organism on which the whole functionality of our body as well as our life is dependent. All the crucial activities and functions are carried out by our brain whether it is sensory perception, reasoning, memory, problem solving and so on. Any injury on this part of our body can have adverse effect not only on our health but only on all the aspects of our life. We have the risk of losing our senses, memories and reasoning power. We also become vulnerable to many other issues like paralysis, loss of sight, speech and many mental problems like amnesia, depression and so on.
When the brain injury is associated with a trauma of accidents the result can be fatal and really detrimental. In this article we are going to shed some light on Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and their effect on our life functions as well as our well-being.
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a very common and serious type of injury that occurs in accidents with an impact on the head. In normal circumstances, people think that they are fine and they don’t have any problems, and till they realize that they are inflicted with TBI, it can be too late. In such circumstances, you can’t do anything as all the processes are completed before you start registering pain and problems with your mind and its effect on your day to day life.
The brain’s functionality is extremely complex and even the advanced medical researchers at times fail to contribute much when it comes to this challenge. Hence, there are times that even a diagnosis can take lot of time. And when it comes to its treatment and recovery, it is further extended to an unpredictable time zone. To make sure that you get a claim for the right issue and get the appropriate compensation, it is important that your diagnosis is correct. This will not only help you in better treatment prospects and positive recovery but also with getting the rightful claim for your suffering.
If you have met a serious accident there are great chances that you could have a TBI and the signs might take time (a lot of time in some cases) to become apparent problems. Even though, delicate bones can be repaired with various treatments but TBI leaves permanent damage on the person’s mind, work, relationships, quality of life and mental ability. If you have faced an accident and want to know if you have a brain injury or not, then you can check the following signs with steps to protect your right of compensation.
Severity of the damage
There are two categories that describe the intensity of brain injuries and these are mild and severe. If a person after an accident has lost his/her consciousness for less than half an hour then it is treated as a mild injury. Many people that faced a TBI come from the category of mild brain injury and they come to know about their problems after one or more years. The exact percentage of such people that faced TBI after treated with mild brain injuries is 15%.
Signs of a mild TBI
- Problems in coordinating with people and actions
- Increased sleep or depression
- Violent outburst, changes in mood
- Memory loss, difficulty in formulating thoughts into sentences
- Seizures
- Nausea
- Bad taste in mouth, loss of smell, sensitivity to sounds and lights
In most cases, with proper treatment, mild TBI patients recover and live quality life like normal people. Still they are liable to file a personal injury claim in order to get compensation for the problems they faced due to the accident.
Moderate and severe TBI
Moderate TBI can be recognized in a situation when a person has lost his/her consciousness for more than half an hour to one hour. He/she might require complete medical care for many years to regain his/her normalcy in terms of functionality. Severe TBI is occurs only when people lost their consciousness for more than an hour and it can be fatal in some circumstances. People that face severe TBI need a lot of time to recover from this problem but in almost all situations they have to live with serious problems. Hence, it is a severe TBI that has higher chances of long term and life changing effects.
Signs of a serious TBI (may appear in days)
- Dilated pupils (both or one eye)
- Panic attacks, melancholy
- Vomiting, nausea
- Confusion in their work, difficulty in walking or even in speaking
- Aggressive behavior, irritable behavior
- Draining of clear fluid from ears or nose, or from both
These symptoms may take weeks to become apparent
People should understand that signs of a TBI may take from few weeks to years to become apparent. It totally depends on the injury to the brain and events that can take a lot of time to register a severe TBI. For better solutions, you should consult with your doctor about the things that you are feeling after the accident, as they are trained persons who can differentiate between serious problems and small things. You should never take this problem lightly and it is advisable to always take a second opinion, so that if you are diagnosed with a TBI, it is certainly a matter of great concern. Moreover, you can also ask for brain imaging scan or neurological examination if there is damage in or on your brain.
Various aspects of Traumatic Brain Injury
It could be either open (such as skull fracture) or closed brain damage, and both are caused by external forces. These injuries arise in personal injury cases, such as car accident, slip and fall, etc; criminal law cases, such as battery and assault; and workplace accident cases. There are many injuries that are related to TBI, including the following.
Concussion
It is the most common traumatic brain injury type that is caused due to direct impact on the head. It could happen due to falling, being shot or kicked, punched, shaken, or with other possibilities. Concussions are often followed by loss of consciousness. But if you have lost consciousness, it doesn’t mean that you have a concussion thought. It’s possible that you might face this problem as there are some other symptoms as well, that people face along with loss of consciousness, such as foggy mind, dizziness and confusion. In such situations, you should consult with a doctor for recognizing if you are really struggling with this concussion, because severe concussions can lead to permanent damage to your brain.
Contusion
It is very similar to concussion because all the symptoms are the same, and it can be also caused by a direct impact on the head. But it can be fatal because it usually causes internal bleeding within the brain. It should be surgically removed as soon as possible, because it can cause a blood clot formation, leading to devastating effects. There can be contusions at or sideways of the site of impact. If you have faced a Coup-Countercoup contusion, it can be dangerous because the impact of the accident is so high that the brain slams into the opposite side of the skull. This is a situation when maximum care is required, as the severity is quite intense. The long term impact of such problems is also severe and it certainly calls upon high amount of compensation. But that can only happen when a victim himself/herself (which happens not often as he/she is in intense care) or his/her family members file for a claim well on time. With help of an experienced personal injury attorney and accurate medical details, there is a chance of getting full compensation for colossal pain and suffering.
Diffuse axonal injuries
Rotational forces and severe shaking are the main causes behind diffuse axonal injuries – they create tears inside the brain formation as the skull cuts edges of the brain. This tearing disturb neuron-chemicals of the brain and can damage it permanently. In severe cases, it can lead to death or coma. One can also face memory disruptions, function disruptions, olfactory disruptions, motor sensation disruptions and many other medical problems.
Penetration injuries
This type of injury is usually caused by sharp objects affecting the brain or entering the skull. It can cause loss of tissues, tearing, shearing and rupturing of accessory tissues. Such level of damage can be fatal or can cause significant effects for a very long time period. The affected area of the brain, if associated with important sensory function or cognitive activity, is shattered and the loss is irrevocable in most cases.
In addition to that, there are also other types of issues, like Acquired Brain Injury, anoxia and hypoxic brain injury – the are also related to TBI. They also have various short and long term effects based on intensity of the problem.
In all the cases, it is clear that the brain is a very delicate as well as crucial part of our body, and without its well-functionality we cannot imagine our life going smooth ever again. Hence, when it comes to compensation for such injuries, you need to make sure that you receive optimum amount of at least monetary aid. There is no doubt that nothing can cancel the damage occurred, yet a rightful claim can be great help comparing to a situation where you might not get any!
Hence, it is imperative that if, God forbid, you or your loved one has faced a TBI, you must never delay filing for a personal injury claim.
How to proceed with a personal injury claim for a TBI
It is impossible to just see a person and tell right away that he or she has serious brain injuries, because it can only come into notice with some specific symptoms. If you have been injured in an accident and think that you have sustained brain injuries, it is really important to maintain your medical records and other documents, which properly highlight all problems you are facing in your life.
Calculating monetary compensation for the damages can be a very tricky thing, so you always can get help of an injury attorney. It is the best option to talk with your attorney about your injuries as they are helpful for getting settlements and winning personal injury lawsuit. In personal injury cases, you can collect monetary compensation for the complete cost of medical visits, hospitalization therapy, reduced quality of life, loss of income and other suffering. Make sure you are seeking legal professionals who have practical experience in handling such type cases.
Fortunately nowadays, there are many legal service providers that do not charge upfront but take a part of compensation that you will get, only if they win the case for you. This way you can negate any kind of stress that you might feel because of financial strain due to medical expenses, and when they have to face legal fees the situation can be really tight. The whole thing is negated if you hired an experienced personal injury lawyer and you don’t have to worry about the expenses anymore.
It is true that a TBI brings a lot of troubles on many dimensions with it, for the victim as well as his/her family. Here, if you show sensibility in selecting the apt legal support and services, then your chances of handling this critical situation becomes much stronger. So don’t underestimate the power of right people working in your favor.
If you need any help with a traumatic brain injury claim, please contact the best personal injury lawyers specializing on TBIs at 1 (844) 722-5246 or
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