Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous injuries, since its consequences are unpredictable. One moment the injured person may appear normal, but the very next instant he or she may show life-threatening symptoms.
This is because, unlike other injuries that are restricted to only to one region of the body and can be easily treated, TBI affects your mental abilities and functioning of the body controlled by the brain. What’s more, a brain injury doesn’t heal like other injuries and constitutes a functional recovery, whose outcome is more or less uncertain.
To add to the seriousness of this kind of injury, no two brain injuries are alike and even similar injuries manifest differently, requiring different lines of treatment. The appearance of symptoms of TBI may also vary, some appearing immediately and others, after days or even weeks. In some cases, the person doesn’t even realize that he or she is a victim of TBI.
Understanding TBI
TBI is categorized into two types – mild and severe. Let us see their difference:
- Mild TBI: If the victim loses consciousness or experiences confusion or disorientation for less than 30 minutes, it is classified as mild TBI. In this, despite the normal results obtained in MRI and CAT scans, the victim experiences cognitive problems, such as headache, memory loss, attention deficit, mood swings, frustration and even difficulty in thinking. What is worse is these symptoms are often overlooked or not attributed to TBI.
- Severe TBI: Any brain injury in which the victim loses consciousness for more than 30 minutes and loses memory for over 24 hours, comes under this category. Not only does it impair higher level cognitive functions, but it may also lead to coma. This form of TBI can limit the functions of the limbs, create speech impediment or abnormal speech, impair thinking ability and give rise to emotional problems.
No two victims of TBI, either mild or severe, will show the same symptoms, so the doctor has to diagnose and treat the patient on individual basis. Even the degree of recovery is not same for individuals stricken with TBI.
Causes of TBI
You may be shocked to know that about 1.5 million people in the US suffer from TBI each year, as per the statistics given out by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of these, about 50,000 victims die from it each year and around 85,000 people get saddled with long-term disabilities. And this is the statistics of only those admitted to the hospitals and exclude those treated as out patients.
Everyone is at a risk of TBI, particularly young adults and the elderly. Since there is no sure cure of TBI, prevention is the best approach.
Types of TBI
These include:
- Open head injury: Sustained through bullet wounds, where the bullet penetrates the skull.
- Closed head injury: Sustained through a slip and fall, motor accidents, and the like. It may result in damage to axons through diffused injury. There is no penetration of the skull.
- Deceleration injuries: Basically, this is caused by the soft brain tissue smashing against the hard skull inside the head, due to rapid deceleration, as when the victim crashes into a stationery object while driving. This may result in diffuse axonal shearing, contusion and brain swelling.
Other types of TBI may be due to chemicals or toxins entering the brain, lack of oxygen, tumors, infections and stroke. If you are the unfortunate victim of TBI and belong to Kentucky, US, it is important that you hire a Louisville personal injury lawyer, who is a specialist in TBI laws.
Conclusion
TBI cases are serious in nature, since they can lead to fatalities or life-long disabilities. Thus, it is important to get the full compensation for your injuries. This can be made possible by brain injury lawyers who are specialists in TBI laws.
