Traumatic brain injuries or TBI have come to the public’s attention as we’ve learned about the horrible, long-term consequences of these injuries whether they’ve struck military servicemen or football players. Let’s learn more about traumatic brain injuries before discussing what can be done about them.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury is any injury to the brain that impacts one’s daily life. One common brain injury is the concussion. While it doesn’t permanently disable someone, the blinding headaches, extreme fatigue, chronic disorientation and impaired judgement can interfere in your ability to live a normal life for weeks. More traumatic brain injuries can permanently impair someone in the same way a concussion does, or it may extend to a loss of memory or mobility.
What Can Cause a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by a wide range of things, though some causes are more common than others. For example, a large percentage of traumatic brain injuries are due to the literal impact of car crashes. A traumatic brain injury is often the result of assault. It could be because someone was hit in the head with a baseball bat or struck. A traumatic brain injury could be the result of an accident, whether someone is accidentally hit by a tool dropped from a great height or someone’s head hitting the ground when pushed backward. Traumatic brain injuries can be the result of innocent pranks, sports matches or aggressive sports. Boxing and football are well-known culprits, but your child could be left with a head injury if someone tries to drop-kick them in the face or accidentally hits them instead of the ball with their bat. Falling from a great height can cause traumatic brain injuries, whether this is an adult falling off a roof while repairing it or a child falling off the monkey bars head first.
How Should You Deal with a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Always seek medical care immediately. If you see someone who is disoriented, unusually emotional, or otherwise acting strangely, get medical care for them rather than assuming they’ll be fine in the morning. In a worst-case scenario, the symptoms are a warning of the bleeding on the brain or clots that can kill someone.
Once you’ve arranged medical treatment, you’re going to need to deal with the aftermath. Someone who has had a concussion needs to be supervised for days. Someone who has survived a more extreme traumatic brain injury may spend weeks in the hospital or assisted living. In these cases, you need to hire an attorney who handles traumatic brain injury cases. They can help you sue the responsible party to pay for the mounting medical bills. They can help you estimate the long-term financial impact of the traumatic brain injury. Any personal injury lawsuit must take these costs into account, so that you can afford to take care of your loved one. If you have survived the traumatic brain injury, don’t be afraid to ask for help from a trusted friend or family member to help you get legal assistance.
There are a number of reasons to seek legal assistance. If you’re the one who is dealing with headaches and memory lapses, you are in no condition to deal with medical bills or legal forms. Nor do you want to deal with it, given how bad you feel. Furthermore, you can’t afford the risk that you’ll sign away your legal rights or accept an insufficient settlement by those who would exploit your impaired judgement or the desire for “closure”.
