Have you ever heard someone joke that their friend or relative, who’s just made a questionable decision, was dropped on their head as a baby? Of course, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are no joke. In the United States, over 60,000 TBI-related deaths occurred in 2019.
Traumatic brain injuries occur when there is a blow or jolt to the head. The most common causes of TBI are falls, motor vehicle accidents, assaults, explosions, and instances of blunt trauma, including sports-related injuries. Traumatic brain injuries are also common among workers in the construction, heavy machinery, manufacturing, or hazardous materials industries—but it’s important to realize that head and brain injuries can happen anywhere.
While the effects of minor TBIs will resolve in a relatively short amount of time, more serious injuries can have debilitating, devastating, and permanent consequences.
The immediate to short-term effects of a TBI can include:
- Physical signs: headaches, seizures, convulsions, blurred vision, nausea.
- Cognitive and behavioral problems: loss of consciousness, confusion, memory issues, changes in sleep patterns.
- Sensory symptoms: dizziness, sensitivity to light or sound, ringing in the ears, and fatigue.
Injuries to the head and brain may lead to long-term consequences such as:
- Issues with executive functioning: memory, the ability to plan and work toward a goal, emotional regulation, impulse control, and organizational skills.
- Emotional difficulties: sluggishness, aggressiveness, flattened emotions, impatience, irritability, depression, and PTSD.
- Mental complications: memory problems, poor communication, reduced capacity to process information, inability to problem solve, and confusion.
The most serious TBIs can lead to permanent paralysis, inability to care for oneself, drastic and debilitating personality changes, lifelong seizures or other neurological disorders, and death.
In short, a traumatic brain injury can completely change the course of one’s life. In an instant, everything they once did or dreamed of is snatched away. If you or your loved one has experienced a life-altering TBI that came about because of another party’s actions, you may be entitled to help with medical bills, compensation for lost wages, and remunerations for pain and suffering.
Contact us at 323-818-HURT or 323-591-2829 to schedule a consultation, or visit us online to learn more about the devastating impact of TBI.