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The Impact of a Brain Injury is Unpredictable

The Impact of a Brain Injury is Unpredictable

Brain injuries are always harrowing and, unfortunately, far more common than most people might think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that approximately 1.5 million people in the United States will suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. This number could even be higher when factoring in brain injuries that have mistakenly been diagnosed as “mild” or “moderate.”

It goes without saying that every brain injury will make a significant impact on the individual and their families. But one of the most frustrating problems with a brain injury is how unpredictable that impact will be. Everyone will experience a brain injury uniquely, which means two patients with near-identical brain injuries could exhibit entirely different symptoms, leading to totally different treatment and care requirements.

To get a better idea of what care you or your loved one might need after suffering a brain injury, it helps to know more about some of the most common types of brain injuries and their consequences.

Four of the most common types of brain injuries are:

  • Concussions: A concussion is classified as a form of mild traumatic brain injury. Although, many medical experts argue that there is no such thing as a “mild” TBI since even an injury as slight as a concussion can cause lifelong symptoms. Concussions can be particularly problematic when they go unnoticed or undocumented for weeks, months, or even years. The injured person can go that long without the benefits of rehabilitation or medical care, which allows the injury to worsen significantly.
  • Mild or severe TBIs: When a blow to the head causes a brief loss of consciousness or an alteration to someone’s mood, it can be qualified as a mild TBI. Severe TBIs, on the other hand, may cause long periods of unconsciousness, which can result in short-term or long-term disability.
  • Brain contusions: The simplest explanation for brain contusion is a bruise on the brain tissue, just like bruises that can happen with most other parts of the body. Causes of brain contusions and concussions are often the same, such as a car accident, sports injury, or slip-and-fall accident. The contusion is typically worse than a concussion because a contusion actually causes structural damage to the brain.
  • Skull fracture: The skull is tough and resilient, but significant blunt force trauma can cause a skull fracture. Possible symptoms of a skull fracture could be bruising behind the ears, confusion, convulsions, headache, slurred speech, and vomiting. Severe skull fractures can also cause internal brain bleeding as the pieces of bone lacerate the brain it was meant to protect.

Who is Vulnerable to a Brain Injury?

At any given time, there are approximately 5.3 million people in the country who live with brain injury disabilities, ranging from mild to severe. Gender and age seem to play significant roles in the likelihood of brain trauma, too. The incidence of brain trauma in men is double that of women and the most common ranges in age appear in two groups: adolescents aged 15 to 24 and the elderly aged 75 or older.

The younger demographic is assumed to be most likely to suffer a brain injury due to recklessness, such as teenagers who ride a bicycle without a helmet. On the other hand, brain injuries in the older demographic are almost-always caused by a slipping or tripping accident.

Possible Consequences to a Brain Injury

Brain injuries have a wide range of consequences depending on the severity of the trauma. A mild TBI can cause changes to thought processes, speech, physical functions, and social behavior, which can last a lifetime or temporarily. People with a mild TBI might be able to resume activities they enjoyed prior to their injury if they receive adequate care soon after the accident.

If a person suffers a severe TBI, they could experience an even wider variety of life-changing symptoms. These may include cognitive changes that cause them to have a shortened attention span, memory problems, lapses in judgment, loss of reading and writing skills, or difficulty with learning new skills. Some of the changes may be physical, which could include weakened muscles or muscle coordination issues, paralysis, sleep disorders, speech difficulties, and loss of hearing or sight.

There are also possibilities of personality and behavioral changes that could be barely noticeable or extreme. Such changes can cause people to have difficulty with socializing, empathy, emotional control, and inappropriate or aggressive behavior regulation. They may also be characterized by extreme mood swings or newly onset depression or anxiety. Emotional and behavioral changes are associated with both mild and severe brain injuries, making these some of the more common symptoms.

Prognosis Complications with Brain Injuries

Doctors and neurologists often have a difficult time creating an accurate prognosis for a brain injury patient due to the wide variety of possible side effects. Many medical professionals will not promise anything in a prognosis because they cannot be confident in what the patient could experience. Even symptoms today could be worsened or replaced tomorrow.

Also, each case is unique depending on the type of injury and what part of the brain was affected. The effectiveness of various treatments can also change a prognosis, hopefully for the better. Paying for specialized treatments can be a challenge, which might dishearten TBI patients from exploring all of their options.

Hire a Lawyer After a Brain Injury

After being in an accident that has or could have injured your head or brain, you should talk to a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. With an attorney on your side, you can see if you have a valid claim to file against the party that caused your injury. They can also help calculate your damages, including those that you will likely experience in the future, such as lifelong rehabilitative therapies. If you want to take your case as seriously as it should be, then hiring a brain injury attorney should be on your to-do list.

TBI survivors and their families in Daytona Beach, Florida can count on Politis & Matovina, P.A. for responsive and reliable legal representation for their brain injury claim. Call (386) 333-6613 if you live locally and need our help.