Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
As many as 1.4 million people suffer from some form of brain injury each year. While brain injuries can be caused by almost anything, lots of brain injury cases stem from some type of personal injury caused by someone else negligence. Sounds close to home? Well, if you’ve experienced head trauma it is vital to educate yourself on these types of injuries and its long lasting effects.
What Exactly Is Brain Injury?
Most head trauma cases are often mild because the skull is tough and provides the brain with an considerable amount of protection. Even seemingly mild brain injury can be debilitating. You don’t have to be involved in a serious accident to experience injury. There are three major types of brain injuries.
Concussions are the most common type of brain injury. You’ve probably heard this term so many times, so what is a concussion. The definition of a concussion is a violent shaking of the brain which can be caused by a hard blow to the head. Usually, a concussion causes short term brain malfunction such as; temporary memory and awareness loss.
An Intracranial Brain Injury is a serious form of brain injury and is caused by a severe blow to the head that actually causes the brain to shift. This type of head trauma is a major cause of death and disability. Intracranial brain injury also commonly referred to as traumatic brain injury in the medical world, causes physical, social, cognitive and emotional impairments.
Non Traumatic Acquired Brain Injuries refers to a type of head trauma that occurs after birth or that is non-hereditary. Non -traumatic acquired brain injuries are not caused by an external blow. ABI can result from an infection, drug or alcohol poison and disease. Brain tumors, strokes, Encephalitis and Meningitis are common causes of non-traumatic brain injuries because they affect the membranes of the brain which can lead to injury. Acquired Brain Injuries are usually non progressive.
Symptoms
How do you know if you have some type of brain injury? It’s always encouraged that you see a physician but here are some tell-tale signs of head trauma:
• Headache that won’t go away
• Inability to focus on a task or concentrate
• Memory loss
• Fatigue
• Hearing loss or ringing in ears
• Confusion
• Dizziness, having trouble balancing or standing up straight
• Irritable, easily frustrated or changes in mood
• Difficulty speaking in complete sentences or slurred speech
• Blurred vision
Depending upon the type and severity of brain injury, there can be lasting effects. Head trauma can alter a person’s cognitive and social skills. In extreme cases there can also be physical debilitation. Diseases such as Parkinson Disease, Alzheimer and Epilepsy are also a lasting effect of head trauma.
In order to properly diagnose brain injury, a series of image screening diagnostic tests may be necessary. A Glasgow Coma Scale may also be conducted by a physician or other medical personnel to determine the severity of an injury. This is especially important if you are considering pursuing legal action for a brain or head trauma.