Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can result from innocent play or the hazards of the football field. Unlike scrapes and bruises though, traumatic brain injuries can be life changing. To help you understand whether or not to hire a traumatic brain injury attorney, we’ll review what TBI is and when you should be concerned.
About traumatic brain injuries
Injuries to the brain vary in severity and no two are alike. Many people believe that for a brain injury to be severe you must go unconscious.
However, this is not true, and can lead to more severe injury. This is because friends and family will assume that the injured person is perfectly fine and allow them to return to normal activity. Injuries to the head should be taken seriously and the individual should be well monitored.
Traumatic brain injuries can result from a variety of causes. The following is a list of some of these causes, but it is not exhaustive:
- The sliding of the brain into the skull, likely from the individual’s head coming into contact with an object
- Damage to the skull, such as a fracture
- Oxygen deprivation to the brain
- A hemorrhage or other bleeding on the brain
Symptoms of TBI
To help you identify TBI in a loved one, here are some common symptoms. Please be aware, you should not use this list to diagnose a head injury. If you suspect something is wrong, get to an emergency room as soon as possible.
- Ongoing headaches
- Difficulty concentrating
- Slowed or inability to read and write
- Changes in vision
- Slurred or troubled speech
- Inability to control movements including involuntary movements
- Aggressive behavior outside the norm
- Nausea and vomiting
- Changes in hand-eye coordination
How to detect brain injuries
Brain injuries are also known as the invisible injury. Unlike broken bones or trauma to the skin, such as lacerations or burns, injuries to the brain cannot be seen with an untrained eye.
That’s why knowing the signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury are so important. Changes in behavior are the key indicators that a brain injury has been sustained.
Another key fact to know about brain injury symptoms is that they can present themselves days, weeks and even a month after an injury. So don’t rule out a TBI just because it’s been a significant amount of time since the individual was hurt.
Also be careful not to rule out a TBI simply because the individual was able to walk away from the scene of an accident on their own. Some victims walk away, return to work as normal and are able to pass all cognitive tests within a few days of the accident. Then, a few days later, start exhibiting classic TBI symptoms, that if left untreated, can have lasting effects.
Comas and unconsciousness
While we covered in the previous section how sneaky TBIs can be, they can also be apparently severe from the moment of impact.
Following an accident, you or your loved one may enter a coma. This is a prolonged state of unconsciousness. While it may look like the individual is sleeping, they don’t respond to stimuli, such as sounds or light. Patients in a coma cannot be awakened.
A coma is not the most severe state that an individual who has suffered TBI can go into though. Brain death occurs when there is severe and widespread trauma to the brain and the brain stops all activity.
Additionally, a vegetative state is much like a coma, only the individual is awake. This is also sustained from widespread trauma to the brain and is a severe condition in which individuals no longer respond to stimuli.
You and your caregiver’s rights
Some TBIs are the result of a true accident where there is no at-fault party while others are the result of negligence.
Traumatic brain injuries can be sustained at the hands of medical practitioners, such as during surgery when the brain is deprived of oxygen. Others can be the result of improper care for seniors or infants in which negligence contributed to an accident.
Injuries to the brain can also be sustained from a car accident or fight. All of these are examples where the victim is not at-fault and has rights to sue the other party for medical bills and pain and suffering.
If you believe you or a loved one might have grounds for a lawsuit, contact the Virginia traumatic brain injury attorneys with 35 years of experience. Gore and Kuperman have helped many families and individuals receive proper compensation following such injuries.
We’ll work with your financial situation and offer a free consultation, so you can get to know us before hiring us. To learn more and start your road to financial recovery, call us at 703-385-7300.
This blog post is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be used as such. Specific case facts should be discussed with an attorney.