What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury is a bump, blow, or rupture of the skull that impairs the brain’s ability to carry out normal tasks. Treating traumatic brain injury requires expensive medical and rehabilitative care. A New York City personal injury lawyer can explain your options for receiving maximum compensation.
“The three-pound universe”
That’s a term used by physicians and scientists to describe the brain’s awesome capacity, and it’s not an exaggeration. In fact, the human mind is millions of times more efficient than the most sophisticated human-built computers.
But the brain is also extremely fragile. Even a minor bump to the head can cause serious problems with thinking, remembering, and awareness. Sometimes the damage caused to the brain can lead to long-term physical and mental health problems. The term for this condition is traumatic brain injury (TBI). Common symptoms of a TBI include:
- Loss of memory: Up to and including complete and permanent amnesia.
- Learning impairments; A TBI can interfere with the victim’s ability to read, to reason, and to learn new facts and skills.
- Difficulty managing emotions: Victims of a TBI may express strong or inappropriate emotions such as extreme anger or deep depression, sometimes without an obvious cause. In severe cases, this can lead either to violent outbursts or instances of self-harm.
- Trembling, clumsiness, or partial paralysis: The brain carries signals from our mind to our arms, legs, and other body parts. When this system is interrupted, the victim may lose the ability to perform everyday tasks effectively.
- Difficulty staying alert or noticing what’s going on in the surrounding environment: In severe cases, TBI patients may spend the rest of their lives in a semi-comatose state, unable to interact fully with the world around them.
- Heightened risk of developing major health problems: The physical and emotional toll a TBI inflicts on its victim can put the person at special risk for conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
- Loneliness, isolation, and social dysfunction: The behavioral and cognitive changes that come from suffering a TBI can disrupt the victim’s relationships with others. This is why friends and family members of TBI patients must show as much patience and compassion to the person as possible.
Typical causes of a TBI
Generally speaking, any sort of head trauma can lead to a TBI. However, the problem is particularly prevalent in circumstances like the following:
- Athletic competition: Especially in contact sports such as boxing, rugby, and football.
- Military service: The dangerous and chaotic nature of combat puts service members at special risk of suffering a TBI. Also, some forms of military training can make a TBI more likely.
- Work-related injuries: Blue-collar environments in particular pose countless risks to worker’s safety and well-being. Each year, thousands of laborers, both skilled and unskilled, suffer an accident leading to a TBI. Often this is due to oversight on the part of management.
- Auto accidents: Traveling by automobile is still a risky proposition, even with modern safeguards such as airbags and antilock brakes. More than three million Americans are injured every year in car-related collisions, according to the CDC.
The good news is that modern medical science has a number of ways to treat TBI. Cutting-edge drugs and other forms of therapy are available. But, as you can imagine, these treatments cost money. Where will you obtain the funds to pay for this care?
Sure, you can take a chance that insurance companies and at-fault parties will treat you fairly. But isn’t it better to talk to a New York City personal injury attorney before settling your case? Failing to do so can lead to a lifetime of physical and financial struggles.
Contact us today for a free consultation
The skilled attorneys here at Douglas and London have recovered more than $18 billion for their clients over the years. We’re known and respected throughout the Eastern United States. The other side knows you’re serious about receiving fair treatment when you choose us as your personal injury law firm.
New York State statutes of limitation mean that the time to act is now. Get in touch with Douglas and London today to schedule your no-cost consultation. Someone from our office is available 24/7 for your convenience. When life knocks you down, we can help you to get back up.
