BRAIN INJURIES AND ACCIDENTS

San Francisco Injury Lawyers > Brain Injury

A person who suffers a blow or jolt to the head may frequently develop a traumatic brain injury ("TBI"). TBI is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Each year, 1.4 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury. 50,000 of those die from the TBI, 235,000 people are hospitalized, and 1.1 million people are treated and released from an emergency room. The injury may be relatively minor, such as a mild concussion or brief period of unconsciousness, or it may be severe, such as a lengthy period of unconsciousness (i.e., a coma) or amnesia after the injury.

Each year, 80,000 to 90,000 people will sustain a long-term disability as the result of a TBI. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that at least 5.3 million Americans currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of TBI.

The leading causes of traumatic brain injury are motor vehicle accidents, falls, being struck by or against an object, and assaults by another person. TBI need not be caused by a blow to the head; a violent jolt of the head such as one might experience in a rear-end automobile collision ("whiplash") may result in serious brain injury. Even in this age of advanced medicine, there is no cure for a TBI. Recovery from a brain injury depends on the brain's "plasticity," that is, the brain's ability for other areas of the brain to take over the functions of the damaged areas, to "rewire" itself.

If you have suffered a blow or jolt to the head, it is important that you get medical evaluation and treatment as soon as possible. There are some new drugs and procedures available today that can help to limit the "secondary" damage caused by swelling of the brain. However, these procedures are effective only when administered soon after the injury is sustained.

Some of the common signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injury are:

Headaches or neck pain that will not go away;
Difficulty remembering, concentrating, or making decisions;
Slowness in thinking, speaking, acting, or reading;
Feeling tired all the time (fatigue), having no energy or motivation;
Mood changes, such as feeling sad (depression) or angry for no reason;
Blurred vision or eyes that get tired easily;
Light-headedness, dizziness, or loss of balance.

TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, language, learning, emotions, behavior, and sensation. TBI can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for such conditions as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders that become more likely as you grow older.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to another person's carelessness - such as an automobile accident caused by another person's inattentiveness or a slip and fall on a store's slippery floor - it is important that you promptly seek representation by a personal injury law firm experienced in this type of injury.

San Francisco Injury Lawyers > Brain Injury

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