A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is most often portrayed as being the end result of a person impacting their head against a solid surface in a motor vehicle accident, especially those involving motorcycles.
The reality is that traumatic brain injury is not always caused by an impact. They’re also caused by any rapid acceleration and deceleration that causes the brain to come into contact with the inside of the skull.
This is known as a diffuse axonal injury and is just as common a cause for long-term brain injury side effects as the more obvious causes of acquired brain injuries.
Here are 5 things you need to know about this type of injury and what legal options may be available to you to recoup medical and other expenses.
1. Top Causes of Acquired Traumatic Brain Injury
What might also surprise you is that the top three causes of TBI’s are as follows:
1. Trips and falls at home or in work
2. Being struck in the head with a blunt object
3. Motor vehicle and motorcycle accidents
Almost 3 million American citizens find themselves the victim of a TBI each year, many of whom are left dealing with a reduced quality of life as a result.
2. You Don’t Need To Be Unconscious
Most people believe that you need to be “knocked out” for several minutes or even hours. For example, a person can be involved in an horrific car accident but never lose consciousness.
Being unconscious does not indicate the presence of serious brain injury, no more than a cut on their head indicates the absence of such an injury.
There’s a condition called Secondary Impact Syndrome whereby the victim feels no ill effect immediately after their accident, but suddenly loses consciousness several hours later because of swelling in or a bleed on their brain. This can lead to death in extreme cases.
If your head received an impact as a result of an accident, or an assault, you should be assessed by a medical professional as soon as is possible.
Just because you don’t feel symptomatic right now doesn’t mean you won’t feel the ill effects later on.
3. Learn To Recognize The Symptoms
The movie industry typically portrays victims of a brain injury as being seriously physically and/or mentally impaired, with no quality of life.
And while these are likely outcomes of very serious cases of brain injury, they don’t take into account the people who are living with an acquired brain injury and don’t even realize it.
- Have you noticed any changes in your mood, temperament
or eating habits? - Do you find yourself falling asleep at unusual
times or sleeping far more often than you used to? - Maybe you’re suddenly sensitive to loud noises
or bright lights? - Or have you suddenly had to deal with bouts of
crippling depression and anxiety but you have no idea why?
All of the above – and many more beside – are indicators that you have suffered a traumatic brain injury and your body is still trying to adapt to the damage.
So you should seek medical attention if you are exhibiting any of the above symptoms.
4. Financial Burden
An acquired brain injury can result in significant and ongoing medical expenses, especially if the victim now suffers from reduced mobility, is unable to earn an income, and possibly requires constant care.
This financial burden can often leave families struggling to keep up with medical bills while also caring for their loved one.
To put this in perspective, the US government contributes roughly US$100 billion each year to programs which provide support for citizens suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
In addition to pressing medical bills such as those for surgery, you also need to factor in how much rehabilitation will cost, and how many years it will be required.
So, while it might be tempting to settle for just current medical expenses, doing so is not advisable.
5. Statute of Limitations
Most states have a statute of limitations within which you can pursue a personal injury claim for a TBI and most other types of personal injuries.
The length of the statute varies from state to state, but it is no more than 2 years from the date of the accident in the state of New Jersey, for example.
That’s why it’s so important to begin gathering evidence and then taking action as soon as you possibly can.
Conclusion
Based on the above we hope you can see that you need a lawyer who can and will fight for the compensation and damages you require both for now and the future.
The side effects of the cause of your traumatic brain injury could last months, years, or for the rest of your natural life.
There’s simply no way to predict what your future cognitive or physical impairments might be, so that definitely needs to be taken into account.