Long-term Effects of Head Injuries, Concussions, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Most of us sympathize with people who suffer a bump on the head. Sports, car accidents, roughhousing by children, or simply hitting your head while working around the house are sometimes the causes of minor head injuries. However, some head trauma can be much more serious and may be life threatening or result in debilitating injuries. Whenever anyone takes a blow to the head, they risk a traumatic brain injury. This type of injury can alter your life and the lives of your loved ones forever.

A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is an injury to the brain which causes some kind of damage. Sometimes a head injury may produce symptoms that disappear over a matter of days or weeks, but a traumatic brain injury can result in a permanent disability or mental incapacitation. Individuals who are victims of a TBI caused by the negligence or recklessness of another party may suffer economically, emotionally and physically.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident, medical malpractice or by a defective drug or product, hire an experienced personal injury lawyer for your case who will secure for you the compensation to which you are entitled.

The Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain injuries, whether mild, moderate or severe, can be catastrophic and have short and long-term symptoms including confusion, dizziness, memory loss, loss of consciousness or seizures. Post-concussion syndrome is increasingly recognized as a serious health concern in the U.S.

The long-term effects following severe Traumatic Brain Injury or even mild concussions, however, are not as well known. And the friends and loved ones of the injured tend to overlook the past connections as well. Often head injury symptoms are forgotten or disregarded and somehow not associated with a head injury, which may have happened months or even years ago.

Concussions are serious injuries. Many professional and amateur athletes have suffered at least one concussion during their athletic careers with those involved in contact sports often suffering multiple concussions. The good news is that doctors and athletic trainers have an arsenal of tests athletes must pass before they can return to the field of play, including a new computerized screening that looks at brain functioning.

Recently, research has focused on repeated injuries to the brain where a more serious second head injury happens before a first injury has fully recovered (a.k.a., Second Impact Syndrome). Roughly 50% of those second impact cases prove fatal. Even when a brain has apparently fully recovered, the risk of permanent damage from a second concussion greatly increases.

Concussions can be cumulative over a lifetime. Younger people suffering multiple concussions may suffer from poor school performance, the inability to get the best jobs or to get into the college of their choice, thus impacting their financial future. In these cases, you should hire a personal injury attorney who has successfully handled these types of cases.

Typical Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury may be mild or severe. Symptoms of traumatic brain injuries may include:

1. Cognitive difficulties including trouble concentrating, sequencing or speaking

2. Memory loss

3. Sensory perception confusion

4. Difficulties with language comprehension

5. Loss of motor skills such as writing or walking

6. Difficulty seeing or hearing

7. Loss of smell or taste

8. Paralysis

9. Social or emotional disorders

The emotional impact alone from any of these disabilities can be devastating to anyone. Even mild symptoms of traumatic brain injury may cause permanent debilitation or job loss in certain circumstances.

Brain injuries are not always synonymous with head injuries. A traumatic brain injury may be caused by:

• Open or closed head injury

• Spinal cord injury

• Chemical or toxic material exposure

• Hypoxia (suffocation)

• Tumors or cysts

• Stroke or seizure

In many of these cases, a brain injury was caused by the negligence of another party including healthcare professionals or by a defective drug or medical device. In other cases, serious injuries result from the lack of workplace safety. In these situations, finding an experienced personal injury attorney is essential to getting you the compensation you deserve.

Hire a personal injury lawyer from Tovarian Law. Our attorneys will obtain for their brain injured clients and their families the compensation they need for medical care, to ensure that their daily needs are met, for lost wages, pain and suffering and that hope for a secure future is realized.