What is a traumatic brain injury and what are its effects?
Whether or not you are a sports fan in California or elsewhere, you probably know that traumatic brain injury has been strongly linked over the last decade with contact sports such as football, boxing and hockey. Many athletes have suffered profound mental and physical losses, and even died from traumatic brain injury. Researchers now believe this type of injury is responsible for 30 percent of all injury-related fatalities in the United States.
Traumatic brain injuries are classified into two types: closed and penetrating. Closed injuries usually result from motor vehicle accidents and falls. In a closed injury, the brain is injured by sudden movement that causes the brain to strike the skull with great force. Penetrating injuries are those caused by foreign objects entering the skull. If you are struck in the head with an object and it penetrates bone, then you will suffer a traumatic brain injury.
Anyone diagnosed with a TBI may lose consciousness and enter a coma. The length of the coma depends on the severity of the injury. A patient may also experience amnesia when not in a coma. If you were diagnosed with a TBI, then you may suffer temporary or permanent issues that could affect your emotions, sensations and both motor and cognitive function.
If a loved one has a TBI, then you will most likely have to make physical changes to your home. The house will need to be remodeled to accommodate the patient’s needs. Home remodeling, therapy and rehabilitation can become quite costly. Aside from filing for disability, you may consider hiring a qualified Los Angeles brain injury attorney and pursuing other legal options for compensation, especially if the injury resulted from another person’s negligence.
Source: Cdc.gov, “Severe traumatic brain injury,” accessed on Oct. 12, 2014