Brain injuries often occur when the head is struck harshly or is shaken suddenly. Some safety groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that at least half of all TBIs in the country are caused by vehicle accidents.
A sudden jerking motion to the neck can cause the brain to strike the inside of the skull and cause a concussion, too. This type of abrupt and dangerous movement is common in rear-end accidents, causing both whiplash and a TBI.
Traumatic brain injuries can also be caused by oxygen deprivation, unsafe blood toxicity levels, and high fevers that last for many hours. Oftentimes, such brain injury causes can be linked to a medical setting and some form of medical malpractice, such as failing to monitor a patient’s vital signs while they are in surgery.
Common causes of traumatic brain injuries:
For reliable legal guidance from our Brooklyn brain injury attorneys, please get in touch with us today. Call (718) 690-3132 to schedule a free initial consultation.
Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury
Brain injuries can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms of them vary greatly depending on the part of the brain that has been damaged. Even an individual’s unique neural connections can make a brain injury look completely different from someone who was hurt in the same way or accident.
After being in an accident or incident that could have hurt your head, it is important to pay attention to your own health for signs and symptoms of an underlying brain injury. To play it safest, you should go to urgent care immediately after a violent accident, even if you think you are fine otherwise.
The various symptoms of a brain injury include:
- Physical symptoms: Some physical symptoms are short-term and will heal with the injury itself. Lacerations to the face and head, as well as headaches and nausea, may gradually heal with plenty of rest. However, other physical symptoms of a TBI may be permanent, such as chronic pain, insomnia, seizures, loss of bladder or bowel control, menstrual difficulties, and constant fatigue.
- Cognitive symptoms: A cognitive injury can include the inability to speak or understand language, the inability to read and write, and memory loss. Victims may also have difficulty concentrating, and they may be confused and take a long time to process things. Cognitive symptoms may be permanent, but speech therapy and other forms of treatment may help a victim recover.
- Sensory symptoms: TBIs may also result in sensory impairment. This includes losing the senses of taste and smell, as well as tinnitus or hearing loss. Victims may suffer partial or full blindness, involuntary eye movements, blurred vision, light intolerance, double vision, and difficulty judging distance. A TBI may also result in difficulty interpreting texture, temperature, movement, and limb position.
- Behavioral and emotional symptoms: In severe cases, TBI victims have demonstrated changes in personality and behavior. They may become anxious, depressed, irritable, aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial. TBI survivors may have a lack of motivation and struggle with disinhibition.
- Social symptoms: A traumatic brain injury can cause suffering and disabilities that seriously impact the victim’s employment, family life, and social relationships, leading to problems with loved ones, friends, family, coworkers, and employers.
- Miscellaneous symptoms: Other symptoms of a brain injury that many survivors experience include dizziness, inability to focus, decreased hand-eye coordination, frequent headaches and nausea, slurred speech, temporary memory loss, and difficulty finding the right words or aphasia.
If you notice you are experiencing any of these symptoms after an accident, please see a medical professional as soon as possible. The sooner a brain injury is diagnosed, the sooner it can be treated, which could also prevent some of the worst symptoms from developing or becoming permanent.
What is the Glasgow Coma Scale?
The Glasgow Coma Scale is the most widely used metric to measure the severity of a brain injury. The scale can be broken up into three categories: eye-opening, verbal responses, and motor responses. A score is taken of each category separately as well as together.
Normally, the injury victim's score is recorded when they are first evaluated. This way, any improvement or deterioration can be quickly noted. If, however, a patient is under the influence of any type of substance, is in shock, or is suffering from low blood oxygen, this scoring system can be inaccurate because it does not take into account these factors.
Your Glasgow Coma Scale rating can be used to determine the severity of your brain injury and factor into how your damages are calculated. A person who has rated poorly on this scale is likely to experience lifelong consequences of their brain injury, and the damages they are provided should reflect as much.
Contact Our Brooklyn Brain Injury Attorneys Today
People who negligently cause another to suffer a traumatic brain injury cannot be allowed to shirk their legal and financial responsibilities. Our accomplished team of Brooklyn brain injury attorneys has more than two decades of experience achieving success in catastrophic injury cases, including those involving serious head and brain injuries.
Recently, we recovered $2.5 million for a construction worker who suffered a brain injury when he fell off of an unprotected wall at a construction site and struck his head. We would like to see if we can deliver the same outstanding legal services to you and your family as well.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brain Injuries
Who is at the highest risk for a TBI?
Studies from groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that adolescents, young adults, and seniors older than 75 are at the highest risk of suffering a TBI. Men are also twice as likely to suffer a TBI than women in most demographics.
How is a TBI classified into mild, moderate, or severe?
In most medical contexts, a TBI is “mild” if the victim does not lose consciousness or loses it for less than 30 minutes. A TBI is “moderate” if unconsciousness lasts between 31 minutes and 24 hours. If unconsciousness lasts for more than a day, then the TBI is classified as “severe.”
What is a penetrating head injury?
A head injury is “penetrating” when the skull is pierced or cracked, exposing or damaging the brain. Penetrating head injuries are extremely dangerous, require emergency medical attention, and can be fatal or cause permanent disabilities.
What is a blast injury to the head?
An explosion creates a concussive force that moves through the air and solid objects. When that concussive force collides with a person’s head, it can rattle the brain inside the skull and cause a blast injury.
Why is it so difficult to predict the outcome of a TBI?
Symptoms of a brain injury are so difficult to predict because everyone’s neurons are networked uniquely. You could suffer identical damage to part of your brain as another person, and you would both experience different symptoms. Brain injuries are also prone to worsen with time, and new, unpredictable symptoms can arise as time passes.
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