Traumatic brain injuries can be a lifelong condition. Many people experience mild to permanent issues that require long-term rehabilitation. Effects of brain injuries might include cognitive deficits, confusion, memory problems, loss of sense of time and space, problem-solving issues, and decreased awareness.
Traumatic brain injuries are often a result of unexpected accidents or another party’s negligence. It is estimated that 2.8 million Americans sustain TBIs annually. Sadly, about 50% of people with a TBI will experience further decline in their daily lives or die within five years of their injury.
If you suffered from a traumatic brain injury and another party may be at fault, contact a traumatic brain injury lawyer at Constant Legal Group. Our injury lawyers can help you fight to recover compensation for your suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, and similar losses.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often the result of a drastic bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body from an object that may pierce the skull or enter the brain. Some TBIs are temporary and cause short-term problems with brain function, such as how a person thinks, moves, communicates, and acts. In more severe cases, a person with a TBI can become disabled or die.
There are two types of TBIs: penetrating and non-penetrating. In a penetrating TBI, an object enters the skull and damages only part of the brain. A non-penetrating TBI is an extreme, blunt force and can move the brain inside the head. Accidents that can cause a non-penetrating TBI include falls, car crashes, or sports injuries.
How Many Traumatic Brain Injuries Occur a Year?
Traumatic brain injuries cause varying levels of damage to the brain, and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Some cases can cause temporary confusion or lead to a coma or death. TBIs are the leading cause of death and disability in children and adults ages 1 to 44, but the people most affected are youth and elderly who slip and fall and hit their heads.
Every year about 2.5 million people are impacted by TBIs because of workplace slips and falls, motor vehicle crashes, obstructions, and physical assault.
Is a Traumatic Brain Injury Permanent, or Will It Get Better?
Traumatic brain injuries can be temporary in mild cases or permanent. Mild injuries like a concussions can disappear a few days or weeks after the injury. People with moderate symptoms might recover from the initial injury but could experience long-term effects like headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, and memory problems.
In more serious cases, the healing process varies depending on the severity of the brain damage, and recovery might take two to 10 years or more. Some brain injuries, however, never heal entirely.
Everyone’s experience with traumatic brain injuries will vary depending on the accident’s severity. Neurosurgery, occupational and physical therapy, speech and language therapy, and psychological and social services might be needed in moderate or severe situations.
What Are the Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Many people who experience a TBI can have short- or long-term symptoms. Common examples include:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Ringing in the ears
- Headache
- Hypersensitivity to light, noise, touch, smell, or taste
- Fatigue
- Sensitivity to crowds
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Difficulty sleeping or oversleeping
- Changes to sex drive
Recovery after a TBI takes time and money to help with previous medical bills, ongoing medical support, and treatment. Our head injury lawyers at Constant Legal Group help injured victims and their families improve their financial futures.
How Many Types of Brain Injuries Are There?
There are two main types of brain injuries: primary and secondary brain injuries. They are also sometimes referred to as traumatic or non-traumatic.
- Primary brain injuries: Primary brain injuries refer to sudden and significant injury to the brain, like during a car accident or slip and fall. Examples include cerebral edema, fractures, contusions, and extracranial soft-tissue injury and lacerations.
- Secondary brain injuries: Secondary brain injuries are changes that evolve and can range from hours to days. Examples include hypertension, brain swelling, herniation, hypercapnia, or excessive carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
Brain injuries can happen in one of two ways, including a closed brain injury or penetrating brain injury. A closed brain injury occurs when rapid forward or backward movement in the brain results in bruising or tearing. A penetrating brain injury is considered an open head injury when there is a break in the skull.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries?
There are two primary categories of brain injuries: traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and acquired brain injuries (ABIs). Traumatic brain injuries are caused by a drastic force or trauma to the head. Acquired brain injuries (ABIs) are not caused by physical contact with the head; they result from oxygen deprivation, a stroke, or a disease that attacks the brain. The negligence of others can cause both types of traumatic brain injuries.
Research shows most TBIs are from slip-and-fall accidents, fire-arm-related injuries, motor vehicle crashes, or physical assaults.
Auto Injury
Vehicle collisions are one of the leading causes of auto injuries and motorcycle injuries. Auto accidents commonly cause the following types of traumatic brain injuries, including:
- Concussions that can lead to bleeding, swelling, loss of consciousness, or nerve damage.
- Contusions that can cause severe headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
- Penetrating brain injuries that impact motor function and communication skills.
Diffuse axonal injuries that disrupt the communication and chemical processes in the brain and result in temporary or permanent brain damage, coma, or even death.
Sports Injury
Contact sports like football, boxing, hockey, wrestling, rugby, and other sports with physical contact often endanger athletes. Football, for instance, results in 47,000 brain injuries yearly, while cycling results in more than 85,000 sports injuries yearly.
Workplace Injury
Work-related traumatic brain injuries are on the rise even though workplace injuries are on the decline. Sometimes building owners or property managers fail to meet standards of care and put workers at risk of workplace accidents. This can happen anywhere with a lack of safety equipment, inadequate training, or faulty equipment, and studies show that most TBIs can be prevented.
Product Liability
There are millions of products in the marketplace. Some companies fail to manufacture or produce safe products, resulting in catastrophic results. Defective products harm people every day, and typical examples of design defects might include the following:
- Toys that contain choking hazards
- Products prone to melting or causing fires or explosions
- Unstable structures that collapse under weight or with use
- Mechanical defects in cars or trucks that lead to deadly accidents
- Products that crack or break from little impact
Products can be a liability without someone knowing it, and sadly many product-related accidents can be prevented. We help hold potentially negligent companies accountable when their products hurt you or your family.
Slips and Falls
Slips and falls can happen anywhere, though they usually result from a neglected property. For instance, a tenant can fall on the slippery steps of their apartment building if the property manager fails to salt the area. As another example, a worker can slip and hit the back of their head from using a faulty piece of equipment that should have been repaired.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 28 percent of TBIs are caused by falls. One slip can change a person’s life and future in an instant.
Birth Injury
Brain damage at birth can result in traumatic brain injuries; sometimes, physician negligence and medical malpractice are to blame. Head and brain injuries are the most common birth-related injuries, and babies can suffer lifelong physical and mental disabilities.
We work with birth injury victims to reclaim their lives and reach a fair settlement to help with medical bills and overall quality of life.
Assault
Assault is the third most common cause of TBIs. Physical assault can include aggressive shaking, strangulation, a blow to the head from a fist or a heavy object, and hitting your head after being thrown on the ground. About 25% of TBIs are caused by violent acts, and a hit or blow to the head can lead to lifetime consequences.
Who Can File a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuit?
TBIs are considered head injuries that result in impairments in cognitive thinking, language, memory, attention, reasoning, problem-solving, sensory, motor abilities, and physical functions. People can experience mild or severe TBIs, and most injured victims who are disabled and require ongoing treatment are more likely to file a traumatic brain injury lawsuit.
Suppose you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury because of the actions of another person or a negligent company. In that case, you may be eligible for compensation to help with current and future medical expenses and money for your pain and suffering.
Traumatic Brain Injuries FAQ
What Are the Benefits of Filing a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawsuit?
Someone who experienced a traumatic brain injury has more to worry about than the physical and mental consequences. Victims of TBIs face:
- Extended or ongoing hospital stays and medical care
- Multiple surgeries or treatments
- Past or future lost wages
- Caretaking expenses or medical assistance
- Future medical and care expenses
- Future rehabilitation
- Past and future emotional distress
- General pain and suffering
Traumatic brain injury lawsuits can positively change TBI victims’ future with the help of an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer.
When Should I Sue for a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The statute of limitations dictates when a person can or cannot sue for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and they differ by state. Generally, the statute of limitations restricts the amount of time you have to pursue legal action following an injury, and the window also varies depending on the type of claim and the state the injury occurred. With a limited amount of time, seeking legal representation as soon as possible is wise.
Attorneys with Constant Legal Group are ready to take on your case and fight for your rights. It is easy to get started, too, as we offer free consultations.
How Do I Prove a Traumatic Brain Injury?
It is necessary to prove an accident or a company’s negligence caused your traumatic brain injury and resulted in consequences like lost wages, a decline in quality of life, and significant medical bills. To prove a TBI, the steps might look like:
- Starting a paper trail and documenting the accident, hospital stays, visits, and general medical records, changes to your job or quality of life.
- Participating in diagnostic tests like the Glasgow Coma Scale, an MRI, computerized tomography, or a traumatic brain injury x-ray and ICP.
- Proving the severity of injury and long-term impacts, such as what has been spent on medical care and lost wages.
- Seeing a physician and retaining medical paperwork with a TBI diagnosis, listing mild, moderate, or severe symptoms.
Constant Legal Group will work to prove your injury is related to an accident, assault, or a defective product.
How Can a TBI Lawyer Help?
Life after a TBI can feel isolating and sometimes hopeless, with the burden of someone else’s negligence or poor choices on your shoulders. A TBI lawyer can help turn your financial situation around so you can heal and pay for your healthcare and necessary treatment, recover past or future lost wages, get medical assistance, and cover your living expenses, among other things.
Constant Legal Group and our seasoned traumatic brain injury attorneys have worked with TBI and other personal injury victims to reclaim their lives through robust settlements.
Speak to a Top-Rated Injury Lawyer to Get Started
A traumatic brain injury’s consequences might impact your life immediately or slowly cause problems over time. Costs vary depending on the extent of the damage; still, it is estimated that the cost of caring for a severe traumatic brain injury is between $600,000 and $1,875,000 throughout someone’s lifetime. Most victims with severe TBI cases come to us for solutions as they cannot afford the necessary medical support and other expenses that arise when living with a TBI.
Constant Legal Group is an experienced personal injury firm, and we have helped hundreds of victims get a fair settlement so they can move on with their lives. Change the course of your future and contact our firm today. We will review your case for free.