In the field of personal injury law, few injuries carry the weight and complexity of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs).
These injuries can have profound and long-lasting effects on individuals and their families, often requiring extensive medical treatment and ongoing care. As a personal injury law firm, it’s crucial to understand what TBIs entail, how they occur, and their legal implications.
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?
A Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is a disruption in normal brain function caused by a blow, jolt, or penetrating head injury. These injuries can range from mild concussions to severe brain damage, depending on the force and duration of the impact.
Symptoms of TBIs:
The symptoms of TBIs can vary widely depending on the severity and location of the injury. Common mild symptoms include:
A person with a mild TBI may experience any of the following:
- Headache
- Confusion
- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision
- Ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus
- Tiredness or sleepiness
- A bad taste in the mouth
- A change in sleep habits
- Behavior or mood changes
- Trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking
- Loss of consciousness lasting a few seconds to minutes
- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Nausea or vomiting
A person with moderate or severe TBI may have some of the symptoms listed for mild TBI. In addition, the person may experience any of the following:
- Headache that gets worse or will not go away
- Loss of vision in one or both eyes
- Repeated vomiting or continued nausea
- Slurred speech
- Convulsions or seizures
- An inability to wake up from sleep
- Enlargement of the pupil (dark center) of one or both eyes
- Numbness or tingling of the arms or legs
- Uncoordinated or “clumsy” movements
- Increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation
- Loss of consciousness lasting a few minutes to hours
How is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnosed?
If you have a head injury or other trauma that may have caused a TBI, you need to get medical care as soon as possible. To make a diagnosis, your health care provider:
- Will ask about your symptoms and the details of your injury
- Will do a neurologic exam
- May do imaging tests, such as a CT scan or MRI
- May use a tool such as the Glasgow coma scale to determine how severe the TBI is. This scale measures your ability to open your eyes, speak, and move.
- May do neuropsychological tests to check how your brain is functioning
Treatment
Treatment of traumatic brain injuries is dependent on the severity of the injury and the cause of the injury. While mild traumatic brain injuries typically do not require treatment aside from supervision, rest, and certain pain-relieving medications, moderate to severe brain injuries typically necessitate immediate emergency care. This could include medication such as diuretics, anti-seizure drugs, or coma-inducing drugs; surgery to repair a skull fracture or remove bone fragments from the brain; blood clot removal; contusion treatment; or even surgery to drain excess or accumulated cerebral spinal fluid.
Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate that approximately 20-30% of all TBIs related to trauma are caused by car accidents.
Common events causing traumatic brain injuries include the following:
Get Legal Help from a Pensacola, Florida Brain Injury Attorney
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 5.3 million Americans living with long-term or permanent brain injuries need assistance to perform daily tasks. Brain injury can have a severe impact on the injured person, their family, work and social interaction. If you have suffered a brain injury as a result of another person’s negligence, don’t wait until time runs out before you take action. The time limit within which to make a claim for your injury would depend on the legal basis of your claim. You have two years from the date of your injury to make a claim based on medical malpractice, and four years for other personal injury cases based on negligence. Whatever the case, the sooner you take action, the better it is for your claim. It is important to seek the help of an experienced Pensacola personal injury lawyer to help make sure that any settlement presented for consideration is sufficient to cover costs now and in the future.
Contact an Experienced Pensacola Brain Injury Lawyer Today
BE CONFIDENT YOU HAVE A LEGAL EXPERT ON YOUR SIDE.
NO COST, NO FEE, UNLESS WE WIN
Zarzaur Law is a pure contingency fee law firm. There is NO FEE unless you win. If you don’t collect, we don’t either. Results matter, so make sure to check out our case results as well as our client reviews see what are clients have to say about our firm.
SOURCES:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
CDC – Traumatic Brain Injury & Concussion
Brain & Life (American Academy of Neurology): What Is Traumatic Brain Injury?