Traumatic Brain Injury / Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury refers only to brain injuries that result from an external force and cause total or partial dysfunction or psychosocial impairment. Brain injury present at birth, due to hereditary or environmental causes, as well as birth trauma and degeneration are not considered traumatic brain injury.

The most common cause of traumatic brain injury is car accidents, followed by firearm related incidents and falls. A frequent misconception is that the head has to strike an object in order to create a traumatic brain injury, but this isn’t so. Nor do cars have to be traveling at high speed. Even moderate speeds may create enough impact to result in traumatic brain injury. Any motion that causes the brain to crush against the hard bone of the skull can result in bruising, bleeding or tearing because the brain is made of very soft tissue that is easily damaged. When blood vessels in the brain tear and there is bleeding, pressure may build up inside the skull and possibly damage tissue and obstruct neural connections.

CT scans and MRIs are effective for revealing bleeding and tumors, but are not effective in showing tears in the brain. In some cases, symptoms may be the only indication of injury. Symptoms often include headaches, memory loss, sleeping disorder and fatigue.

Birth trauma is another source of brain injury and may result in cerebral palsy or other defects that become observable during child development. If brain injury occurred because of third party negligence, such as a medical doctor’s actions or lack of precaution, or due to environmental causes, such as product liability, a competent and experienced personal injury lawyer can assist a client in determining whether he has a case.

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