Traumatic brain injuries can be some of the most debilitating types of injuries someone can experience. These horrible injuries can be caused by trauma, such as commonly seen in car and truck crashes or in falls.
Most people understand that any kind of brain injury, even if it is mild, can cause damage that is long-lasting. If that has happened to you or a loved one, you may experience symptoms for a few days, such as memory loss, headaches, or confusion or you may have symptoms that last longer and prohibit you from continuing on with your normal routine. When this is the case and your brain injury is caused because someone else was acting negligently, you want to make sure you do everything you can reasonably do to make sure you get the medical treatment your doctors and other healthcare providers determine is medically necessary. Your most important concern must be your health, and it is imperative that you follow your doctor’s orders.
If your traumatic brain injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, you may very well have a civil claim against that person or company that caused your harm. If you file a claim against the responsible person’s insurance or choose to take the responsible party to court, you may be able to get compensation for the injury you are suffering from.
How do brain injuries happen?
Brain injuries can happen when your head hits another object, when it whips back and forth, or when another object comes in contact with your head. In any case, this usually causes your brain to either hit the inside wall of your head or something can penetrate your brain. One way that is helpful to understand brain injury causes is to understand how forces can cause a brain injury. When a head snaps back and forth, it can cause what is known as a coup-contrecoup effect. That back and forth movement on the brain causes it to smash into the bony ridges on the inside of the skull. Those smashes, in turn, can cause damage to the brain tissue.
Brain injuries can also be caused by rotational forces that operate on the brain. As the brain spins or rotates inside the skull, the spinning or rotation can cause sheering of brain cells, also known as axons.
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What kinds of treatment options are available for TBI?
There are different treatment options available with varying rates of success. As a lawyer, like a brain injury lawyer from a law firm like MartinWren, P.C. understands, the different brain injury treatments will address different brain domains that are impacted by the injury. So, for example, a traumatic brain injury can impact a number of different domains, such as sensory (vision, smelling, hearing), emotional regulation and stability, executive and cognitive functioning (including attention, memory), muscle control, and a variety of other internal systems.
Treatment and rehabilitation of a traumatic brain injury can treat a number of different deficits that may result from a traumatic experience. Different types of rehabilitation include the following:
- Cognitive Rehabilitation. Cognitive rehabilitation therapy can include a variety of therapies that can both restore or improve cognitive functioning after a TBI. This therapy can help identify cognitive deficits following a TBI, and it can provide skill-building techniques for individuals who continue to have deficits after a traumatic crash. Cognitive rehabilitation therapy can also help TBI survivors develop compensatory strategies and tactics for permanent injuries.
- Vision Therapy. Brain injury survivors often demonstrate vision disorders as a result of a TBI. Neuro-optometrists and neuro-ophthalmologists can help diagnose these deficits and ascertain the extent of damage. They can diagnose problems such as hemianopsia, accommodative dysfunction, convergence insufficiency, spatial disorientation, ocular motor dysfunction, blurred vision, photophobia, nystagmus, post-traumatic vision syndrome, dizziness, and depth perception problems. Once diagnosed, they have prescribe vision therapy and other neuro-optometric rehabilitation techniques to hopefully improve or resolve vision issues.
- Emotional and Psychological Therapy. Given the intense trauma caused by a tractor trailer or serious automobile crash, it is understandable how much serious accident survivors develop an acute stress response or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the traumatic event and the TBI. TBI survivors who experience PTSD symptoms may find relief from various psychological therapy, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). In addition, some TBI survivors have reported having depression as a consequence of experiencing trauma and a TBI. Many of those survivors have reported successful results from such techniques as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
- Endocrine Therapy. Various features of the brain that regulate hormonal function can be damaged as a result of a traumatic brain injury. When that occurs, there are various therapies that may be helpful, such as hormonal replacement therapy.
The good news is that these and other therapies have been shown to help survivors of traumatic brain injuries. The bad news, of course, is that these therapies can be incredibly expensive. When doctors determine that it is necessary for a TBI survivor to have these therapies for the rest of their lives to treat permanent injuries, the cost may be impossible for most individuals or families to afford. After all, the projected expenses for these treatments could be in the millions of dollars.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim vs. a Lawsuit
Given the immense costs that could be associated with a traumatic brain injury, you may feel it is necessary to work with an experienced TBI lawyer. An experienced lawyer will know the steps to resolve a TBI claim, even if it means filing a personal injury claim or a lawsuit.
Speaking with a knowledgeable and experienced lawyer can help you to determine which route is best. For example, if your injury is minor and you have symptoms that only last a few days, filing a personal injury claim may not be the right course of action. If you have more substantial injuries and must undergo long-term treatment, filing a personal injury lawsuit may be your best bet for helping with the much larger expenses you will expect to incur.
When you have suffered from a brain injury at the hands of someone else, you want to make sure you are getting the legal representation that is best for your case. Contact the experienced and knowledgeable brain injury attorneys at MartinWren, P.C. today for a free consultation.
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