Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by penetrating injuries, blunt force trauma, or violent acceleration and deceleration forces. During a car accident, the sudden stop whips the head and neck backward and forward rapidly, slamming the brain against the inner walls of the skull. Even low-speed crashes can cause brain injuries. During slip-and-fall accidents, the head can strike hard surfaces like concrete or tile, which can cause serious brain injury.
How Do Brain Injuries Happen?
Traumatic brain injuries can be separated into two main categories: closed and penetrating. A penetrating brain injury happens when the skull is broken or pierced by an object or hit with immense force. Closed brain injuries happen when the brain itself is damaged without a physical break in the skull. A closed brain injury is caused by rapid forward-and-back or side-to-side movement or shaking of the head that causes the brain to move within the skull.
The inner bone of the skull is very hard, and when the head is moved rapidly enough, the brain slams against the skull and ricochets to the other side until the momentum is dissipated. The collision with the skull causes brain bleeds, lacerations, bruising, and diffuse axonal injuries where the brain tissue and nerve fibers stretch and tear. Both categories of brain injuries can have equally devastating long-term consequences, as even microscopic damage can severely affect brain function.
What Are Primary and Secondary Brain Injuries?
A primary brain injury is the sudden initial injury that takes place at the time of the accident, before any secondary swelling or bleeding develops. A secondary brain injury is the subsequent damage that develops after the primary injury. After an injury, there is a cascade of cellular, chemical, and tissue changes that continue damaging the brain for several hours or days after the first injury. For example, after an injury, there is an increase in sodium and calcium levels in neurons that cannot be efficiently removed, leading to neuronal cell death.
What Are the Results of a Brain Injury?
The brain is an exceedingly complex structure that controls everything about how the body functions. Some brain injuries are mild and can heal completely over time with the right treatments. However, severe brain injuries can cause permanent cognitive and functional disabilities that can only be managed, not cured. Common cognitive limitations include memory recall issues, problem-solving deficits, decreased awareness, confusion, inability to maintain focus for extended periods, and difficulties following multi-step instructions.
Physical deficits after a brain injury may include poor balance, chronic fatigue, tremors, decreased endurance, difficulties eating and drinking, and paralysis. Patients may be unable to handle daily activities like bathing and getting dressed without support. Victims with severe brain injuries often need round-the-clock in-home care. Sensory changes are also common, including loss of or increased sensation, double vision, blurred vision, hearing loss, and changes in taste perception.
For some brain injury victims, communication becomes difficult. Many injured struggle with speech, reading, writing, forming sentences, identifying specific objects, and difficulties understanding social nuances. Psychological changes like irritability, aggression, disinhibition, anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation can seriously damage relationships and may lead to social isolation.
What Can Brain Injury Victims Legally Do to Secure Financial Compensation?
After a car crash or a fall, it’s vital to seek medical attention. Brain injuries are frequently overlooked until the secondary damage causes obvious issues. Going to the doctor after an accident creates a medical record linking any subsequent developments in injury to that specific incident. If you don’t initiate a medical link, pursuing compensation later can be challenging as insurers and defense attorneys regularly argue that the victim’s injuries are unrelated.
Keep every piece of documentation related to your accident, including hospital bills, prescription medications, diagnostic scans, and anything that may be beneficial in a lawsuit. We also recommend keeping a recovery journal where you track everything about your days after the incident. Note every time you need pain medication, every follow-up appointment, functional limitation, cognitive challenge, missed work shift, and your psychological experience.
Should I Take Legal Action for a Brain Injury?
If your brain injury was caused by another person’s negligent behavior, you have the right to file a personal injury claim. The costs of treating a brain injury and caring for a brain injury victim long-term can result in lasting financial instability for the victim and their family. Brain trauma often requires ongoing specialized therapies and rehabilitation, with many also losing their ability to earn an income. If you are in this situation, contact HHJ Trial Attorneys.
Our team of legal experts is here to help victims recover financial support for injury-related expenses and non-economic compensation for the psychological impact. We are highly experienced personal injury attorneys who prepare every case with the same goal: settle fairly or go to trial. If you are not offered a settlement that fully covers your damages, we will not hesitate to fight for you in court. We also work on a contingency fee basis so you only pay us when we win your case. Schedule a free case review to discuss your options.
