Traumatic Brain Injuries TBI
Unfortunately, in most serious semi-truck crashes, falls and work accidents, there is a very high risk not only of death, but of tremendously tragic, permanent damage to the two most vulnerable areas of the human body: the brain and the spinal cord. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and spinal cord injuries — severe injuries to the head and neck — are not only debilitating and life altering for the injured person, but also equally catastrophic to the injury victim’s loved ones and family.
No one is the same after an accident in which there is a severe brain injury. Within the few minutes that it takes for a serious car crash, trucking accident, or on-the-job injury to occur, the lives of many people — victims, their husbands or wives, parents, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters — can be forever changed. In most instances, the injury victim is totally innocent of any responsibility or fault for this unfair and heartbreaking life event. And brain damage never goes away.
Traumatic Brain Injury is the “silent epidemic” in our country today
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year approximately 1.4 million people will suffer a brain injury in the United States. Of these, 100,000 will die from their injuries and another 500,000 will face a life where they must cope with severe and horrific permanent disability. Studies done by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair also reveal the following terrifying facts:
- Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death/disability for people under 45 years old;
- More people die from a brain injury in this country than from AIDS, breast cancer, MS, and spinal cord injury combined; and
- Every 15 seconds, someone in the United States suffers a brain injury.
Today in our country, there are over 5.5 million TBI sufferers facing the daily struggles of life after a traumatic brain injury — 2 percent of the current U.S. population. This statistic does not include those indirectly hurting every day from their loved one’s serious accident — one can safely assume those numbers to be in the tens of millions.
Given that four people suffer brain injuries every single minute in our nation, it’s no wonder that experts refer to Traumatic Brain Injury as the “silent epidemic.”
What is a traumatic brain injury?
Many assume that brain injuries happen because of a direct blow to the head or loss of consciousness, whether during a slip and fall, an accident at work, a semi-truck crash, or an auto collision with a heavy truck or bridge abutment. While many brain injuries are the result of trauma directly to the head, sometimes brain damage can occur without loss of consciousness or a direct blow to the head. This is so because the brain, a very soft organ suspended in cerebral spinal fluid, is encased in a very hard shell, the skull. The brain can often be injured by striking the bony skull, which occurs during sudden acceleration-deceleration — which occurs, for example, in a crash between a car and semi-truck at highway speeds or when a person falls at work from scaffolding or a ladder. In fact, most neurologists and neuropsychologists agree that a mild traumatic brain injury does not require actual loss of consciousness or direct trauma to the head.
But TBI can and does occur in situations other than semi-truck crashes, falls or work accidents. For example, a mild TBI may occur as a result of infection due to faulty medical care; poisoning (such as breathing toxic fumes while working on the job); or from insufficient oxygen or blood flow to the brain, as in the case of negligent vaginal delivery of an infant.
The truth is that any injury to the head can seriously and permanently harm someone. Any sudden blow to the head can render an individual physically incapacitated and reliant upon mechanical life support, or mentally disabled, depressed, unable to sleep and incapable of exercising self-control.
Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms
Not all brain injuries are easy to spot. TBIs may be wickedly subtle in how they have damaged someone. Brain injury victims sometimes have violent, sudden mood swings as well as a frustrating loss of memory — particularly short-term memory. TBI victims are vulnerable to being easily confused and often exhausted because brain injuries often disrupt one’s ability to sleep. Brain injuries to children result in learning disabilities they never experienced before their fall in the schoolyard or injury in a car or truck crash.
You should suspect a loved one may be suffering from a serious brain injury or TBI if they show signs of:
- Clumsiness (especially immediately after the accident) — dropping things, unable to hold tightly onto an object
- Confusion (especially immediately after the accident) — they may not know where they are, how to get home, what day it is, etc.
- Dizziness (either immediately after the accident or later) — dizzy spells are a big hint of TBI
- Fatigue — very weak or too exhausted to do activities that they would normally undertake, which is frequently associated with sleep disruption caused by TBI
- Headache — severe head pain may hint of brain injury
- Photophobic — that is, bothered by bright light or extra-sensitive to loud sounds
- Memory Loss — unable to recall new info or facts recently learned — like what they ate for breakfast
- Nausea (especially immediately after the accident) — vomiting or feeling the urge to vomit is a common result of a brain injury
- Numbness — the inability to feel any part of their body (finger, toe, limb) can mean TBI
- Depression — this is a common effect of mild TBI because the person realizes she’s no longer able to think and remember as well as she could previously
- Anosmia — that is, the loss of sense of smell (the olfactory nerves which control the sense of smell are very delicate and can easily be damaged during trauma)
- Personality change — this is the most troubling aspect of TBI since it affects loved ones as well as the injured person; the inability to control one’s temper and emotions is a frequent consequence of TBI
- Seizures — seizure disorder and convulsion can occur immediately or begin years after a TBI
- Other diseases — persons who have suffered TBI are more susceptible to early onset of Alzheimer’s or other dementia, Parkinson’s disease and brain atrophy.
Cost Of Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injuries
The financial cost and expense of a brain injury victim’s care can be astronomical. Not only are the initial medical expenses high when a severe accident or injury is involved, but the long-term medical care costs for those suffering from traumatic brain injuries can reach into the millions of dollars.
TBI victims may have a long lifetime ahead of them, where they will need daily, around-the-clock nursing care and therapy needs, as well as extended surgeries and other forms of treatment. For example, monetary damage awards assessed for young children who have sadly suffered a traumatic brain injury can be extremely high.
Complicated Lawsuits Need Experienced Traumatic Brain Injury – TBI Lawyers
Lawsuits are usually filed after accidents resulting in a traumatic brain injury in order to obtain adequate compensation for the care and treatment of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) victim. Each and every case requires complex medical knowledge as well as detailed legal expertise to adequately advocate for these victims and their families. The Indiana and Chicagoland law firm Allen Law Group is dedicated to this focused area of severe injury practice and is well respected for its efforts in this area of complex litigation.
Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuits Require Experienced Legal Representation
Lawsuits involving traumatic brain injuries are unlike other personal injury suits in that they are exceedingly intricate and complicated, requiring the input of a number of experts from the medical, legal and even economic fields. A traumatic brain injury of any degree of seriousness will have a profound effect on all aspects of the sufferer’s life and well-being, and all potential effects must be considered and accounted for in a lawsuit.
Moreover, the effects of a traumatic brain injury can take many forms, and over disparate timetables. It is critical to work with an attorney who is experienced in consulting with the proper medical experts in order to determine the symptoms and effects of the traumatic brain injury, and how the sufferer should be compensated for them. The variable and detailed nature of traumatic brain injury effects can easily overwhelm or confuse less-experienced attorneys without the proper specialization and knowledge.
Having experience with traumatic brain injury lawsuits means that an attorney is well-versed in exactly what kind of evidence, testimony and support are required to provide greater potential for success. They also are aware of how these lawsuits are defended against, providing a greater repository of knowledge with which to overcome obstacles to the recovery of damages fair to the sufferer.