Brain Injuries
Brain Injuries
TYPES OF ACCIDENTS THAT CAUSE BRAIN INJURIES
Traumatic brain injuries can arise out of a wide variety of situations, including:
- Even relatively low speed auto collisions.
- More severe car or truck accidents.
- Motorcycle accidents.
- Construction accidents.
- Falls down stairs, from ladders, or while walking on level surfaces.
- Situations cutting off oxygen flow to the brain such as near drownings.
- Situations that result in an interruption of blood flow to the brain.
RECOGNIZING BRAIN INJURIES
Some types of brain injuries are very easy to recognize such as when a person has suffered a skull fracture, or is in a coma because of a head injury.
However, in other situations the visible injuries may not be as dramatic, but a person may have suffered a mild or moderate brain injury that requires treatment.
Sometimes persons with pre-existing mental health problems, or pre-existing limitations may be affected more severely from a relatively mild traumatic brain injury.
Frequently, a person who has suffered a traumatic brain injury does not recognize that he has suffered any injury, or does not recognize the extent of his injury. In these situations, it is especially important for the family and friends of the injured party to advise the medical care professionals of the problems that they have noticed.
NATURE OF SPECIFIC BRAIN INJURIES
Depending upon the severity of the brain injury, a person can have a wide variety of symptoms:
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision or loss of vision
- Poor concentration
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Changes in personality
- Seizures
- Paralysis
- Problems speaking
- Problems walking
- Problems hearing
- Problems understanding others
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Confusion
- Behavior and mood changes
- General difficulty with thinking
- Vomiting or nausea
- Convulsions
- Loss of coordination
- Loss of ability to read social cues
- Inability to function at work or school
- Headaches
- Amnesia relating to the events of the underlying accident
- Loss of ability to learn new tasks
- Easily frustrated
- Argumentative
- Overestimates or underestimates abilities
- Loss of ability to perform planning for the future
- A tendency to get lost
- A tendency to get confused
- Increased problems in making decisions
- Memory problems
- Lowered ability to solve problems
- General slowness in performing tasks
- A lack of energy
- Increased sensitivity to sounds
- Increased sensitivity to lights
Loss of the sense of taste or smell
PROVING BRAIN INJURY DAMAGES
All brain injuries, and especially more severe brain injuries, can have a substantial effect on the quality of life of the injured person, as well as their family and other loved ones.
Brain injuries are usually treated by a spectrum of healthcare professionals including neurologists, neuropsychologists, and cognitive therapists. It is important to get the opinions of all of these healthcare professionals in order to be able to completely explain the nature of the injuries.
Interviewing the family and friends of the injured parties is also a crucial step in the process.
In serious cases, the injured person will not be able to earn income, and may need lifetime care. These cases require working with qualified experts such as life care planners, economists, and vocational rehabilitation experts in order to be able to explain the long-term effects of the brain injury, the expense of future care, and the associated loss of income.
