Every March, Brain Injury Awareness Month reminds Americans about the impact that traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have on millions of Americans. This year’s campaign has adopted the motto, “More Than My Brain Injury,” reminding TBI victims and their families that those who have suffered a TBI are not defined solely by this injury event.
Not only is there more to a person’s dimensions and character than a single injury event, but that single injury event is also more multifaceted than a simple blow to the head.
Brain injury lawyers see a variety of head trauma that occurs under many different circumstances. Appreciating the uniqueness of each person’s TBI experience is essential to that person’s ability to recover and receive compensation for their injuries.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
As the name implies, a brain injury is harm that is inflicted on your brain. This harm can come about because of a traumatic event like a fall or car accident, or it can be the result of a non-traumatic cause. Examples of non-traumatic causes include birth defects and degenerative conditions of the brain like Parkinson’s disease.
Traumatic brain injuries can be classified according to the severity of the symptoms they cause. Mild TBIs, while still serious injury events, will generally produce symptoms that require little medical intervention and that may resolve on their own with time.
Moderate and severe TBIs result in symptoms that can be more debilitating and last longer than those produced by mild brain injuries.
What Causes a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Brain injuries can result from a variety of causes. Some of these are unintentional, like sports-related injuries, while others occur because of another person’s negligence or reckless conduct. In these latter situations, a brain injury attorney’s involvement in your case can help you obtain financial damages to treat and recover from your TBI.
Common causes of traumatic brain injuries include the following:
Falls
Falls are the second most common cause of traumatic brain injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Falls do not always have to be from a height, such as falling off a roof or a ladder. Tripping or slipping and falling can also cause you to hit your head and can lead to a TBI.
Falls often cause blunt-force trauma. In a blunt force trauma brain injury, a blow to the head results in a traumatic force being transferred from the outside of the head to the brain inside the skull causing damage.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Car wrecks, motorcycle accidents, and truck crashes are other leading causes of traumatic brain injuries. These events can cause blunt force trauma injuries if your head strikes another object like the steering wheel, windshield, or pavement.
Accidents can also cause a whiplash-type TBI if your head is rapidly forced from one side to the other. This “jostling” or “shaking” of the brain is capable of producing symptoms similar to those seen with blows to the head.
Gunshots
A gunshot to the head is an example of a piercing TBI, where a foreign body (in this case, the bullet) pierces the skull and directly impacts the brain inside.
The symptoms and effects of a piercing TBI are similar to other types of brain injuries. These brain injuries, though, can require you to undergo one or more surgeries to close up the open wound to your head.
Moving Beyond a Traumatic Brain Injury
When you have suffered a TBI, you should speak with a brain injury lawyer about your legal options after receiving medical attention. If you believe another person caused or contributed to your traumatic brain injury, you may want to file a brain injury lawsuit with a lawyer’s help. There are several reasons to consider doing this:
Treating a Brain Injury Can Be Expensive
Even a mild traumatic brain injury deserves a trip to the emergency room for evaluation. Moderate and severe TBIs will certainly require more intensive medical care in order to alleviate the emergency and stop further damage from occurring.
All of this medical care is expensive and may exhaust your insurance’s resources. A lawsuit can help you recover compensation so you are not left paying for this initial care yourself.
Recovery Can Be Long-Term and Expensive
In cases of moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries, your recovery may take several months or years. In the most severe cases, you may need assistance with caring for yourself or completing daily activities for the remainder of your life. You may not be able to work full-time or hold down a strenuous and well-compensated job.
A successful lawsuit brought with a brain injury attorney’s help can give you compensation to address these ongoing needs and costs so that you can focus on your recovery and life moving forward.
Your Emotional and Mental Distress Deserves Recognition
Finally, a claim brought by your brain injury lawyer will typically include compensation for the mental and emotional distress you experience as a result of your accident. This includes depression, anxiety, and other similar feelings you can experience because of a brain injury.
This compensation can serve to validate your feelings and confirm that they are real and not figments of your imagination.
Selecting the Appropriate Brain Injury Law Firm
If you need the help of a brain injury attorney, it is important that you select the right person to handle your claim. Choosing a brain injury lawyer who is not experienced in investigating and pursuing these complicated claims can limit your financial recovery.
The brain injury lawyers at The Moore Law Firm have been pursuing justice for injury victims for years. We are experienced and well-equipped to take on your case and will fight to get you the compensation award you need and that your injuries deserve. Contact us today to get started with your claim.
If you have been injured or have lost a loved one as a result of another person's negligence, you deserve to be fully compensated for your losses. The simple fact is that you should not be forced to pay the price for another person's careless or reckless actions.