Falls and car accidents are among the top causes of traumatic brain injuries.
When there is a serious blow to the head, it happens that your brain hits against the skull.
The injury can result in major damage to the brain.
If you are suffering from TBI due to someone else's negligence, consulting a Florida brain injury lawyer for legal assistance can be a wise choice.
You can take a step to lower your risk of accidents that cause TBIs.
Who Can Get a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Anyone can experience a TBI, but it is common among people older than 65 years.
Even infants can experience TBIs from different incidents like falling from a height or from abuse; no doubt, it can be a rare case.
People of this age group usually lose their balance, resulting in falling and hitting their heads.
However, People involved in different professions or activities have a higher possibility of TBI risk; those include -
- Construction Workers
- Athletes
- Police and Law enforcement
- Military Members
What To Know About Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury can happen when there is a blow to the head. The injury can be as serious as a gunshot wound or minor, such as a head injury in a car accident.
Traumatic brain injuries can vary.
Even if a person recovers from TBI within days, sometimes it can result in permanent brain injury and sometimes death.
How Common are Traumatic Brain Injuries?
TBIs are the major cause of disability and death. In 2021, there were about 69,000 deaths due to TBI in the United States. That was about 190 deaths every day.
You need to know that TBIs can affect the lives of people of all ages. However, there are some groups that are at a greater risk of death that results from a TBI or experiencing long-term health problems after an injury. Those include -
- Veterans and Service Members
- Homeless people
- Ethnic and Racial minorities
- Survivors of violence from their intimate partners
- People who are in detention and correctional facilities.
- Rural areas people
Traumatic Brain Injuries: What are Its Types?
The head injury is determined by different factors, including -
- Loss of consciousness
- Certain neurological symptoms
- Loss of memory
- Abnormalities on head CT or Brain MRI
There are different types of TBIs -
Mild Concussion (mTBI)
Concussion is among the common types of TBI. You need to know that 3 out of 4 TBIs are concussions.
These mTBIs include brief alterations of consciousness, such as feeling dizzy or loss of consciousness for about 30 minutes.
People suffering from mTBI usually experience confusion for about one day, which is different from the difficulties with memory or attention.
Severe TBI
People who suffer from this type of head injury usually lose their consciousness for a day. These injuries are usually related to changes in head CT or brain MRI.
Moderate TBI
This type of head injury is related to the loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes but less than a day. The unwanted confusion can last for up to a week.
Open TBI
Healthcare providers usually call open TBI a serious condition. The injury is caused by a knife, bullet, or any sharp object that causes an injury to the skull.
Any object that goes to the brain causes severe damage to the brain tissues.
Closed TBI
It means an external force results in a blow or jolt to the head that does not affect the skull. This impact can cause injury to the brain, causing it to swell.
Non-traumatic
It is also known as hypoxic brain injury. Some TBIs are not from any trauma. They are from seizures and choking.
Causes and Symptoms
What are the major causes of traumatic brain injury?
When your head gets hurt severely, your brain experiences changes in energy use as a way to compensate for the injury. These changes can cause confusion, headaches, and sensitivity.
When there is a mild TBI, these changes are extremely short and do not cause permanent damage to the brain.
However, with more serious injuries, these changes can last longer and usually result in the damage of brain cells. These effects can cause the brain to swell and even expand inside the skull.
The swelling can become even more severe, and as a result, it can lead to brain damage.
Causes
Most people experience fall-related TBIs, and those include people older than 65 and children under 17. Other causes include -
- Suicides, gunshot wounds
- Assaults, child abuse, domestic violence, and shaken baby syndrome
- Work, sports, or military injuries.
Symptoms
TBI symptoms can vary depending on the seriousness of injuries. The major sign is passing out after a blow.
Most people feel dazed for a few minutes, while others do not respond for an extended period.
People with mild TBIs can experience different symptoms, most of which occur after a head injury. Some people do not feel the symptoms until they return to their jobs.
Signs of TBI are -
- Headaches
- Vomiting
- Dizziness
- Fainting
- Confusion
- Mood changes
- Behavior changes
- Restlessness
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Sleepy
- Slurred speech
- Sensitivity
Contact a Florida Lawyer for your TBI Case
In most cases, getting help from a professional who can handle a lawsuit for personal injuries is always a good idea.
However, the assistance is even more valuable when a person suffers from a traumatic brain injury. These are various benefits of hiring a Florida brain injury attorney.
Ideally, a lawyer helps answer questions, get compensation treatment, work with insurance providers, and make sure a claim is filed.
During the consultation, a lawyer will help you to determine -
- The available insurance
- The severity of injuries
- The facts of the case that need investigation
- The type of treatment available.
Unfortunately, it is extremely common in TBI cases that the person claiming has no idea regarding what has happened. In that situation, the lawyer interview the other person, who is a relative of the injured person.
