While some injuries suffered in a car accident are severe, requiring months or even years to recover from, others are catastrophic, leaving victims with lifelong harm. Among those that fall into the latter group are traumatic brain injuries. Although a lot of people have heard of traumatic brain injuries, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what these injuries entail and how to treat them. We hope this blog will help provide some insight so that you or a loved one who has suffered brain damage know how to move forward.
What is a traumatic brain injury?
A traumatic brain injury is damage that is caused to the brain after a forceful blow to the head or a quick jolting of the head or body that forces the brain to slam against the inside of the skull. The event can leave the brain bruised, torn, or bleeding, which can cause serious long-term implications for the sufferer. This is because it can take a long time for the brain to heal from one of these injuries. In some cases, the brain never fully recovers. And in both instances, the damage can be severe and wide-reaching.
Signs of a traumatic brain injury
There are a lot of symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Here are just some that the person can experience:
- Dizziness
- Balance issues
- Throwing up
- Excessive drowsiness and fatigue
- Difficulty talking properly
- Headaches
- Light and sound sensitivity
- Blurry vision
- Memory issues
- Sleeping problems
- Mood variations
- Difficulty concentrating
These are just some of the symptoms that a traumatic brain injury sufferer may experience. If you or a loved one is subjected to any of these symptoms, you need to seek immediate follow-up care and treatment.
How are traumatic brain injuries treated?
Depending on the severity of the brain injury suffered, there may be multiple treatment options available. Among them are medications, such as those that seek to inhibit seizures and reduce fluids in the body, as well as surgeries that may be necessary to remove blood clots, repair damage to the skull, reduce and stop brain bleeding, and relieve pressure on the brain. Although that care can be quite extensive, it’s just the beginning of traumatic brain injury treatment.
The rehabilitation process can also be extensive and overwhelming. A victim might need physical and occupational therapy to learn how to walk again or relearn how to carry out other daily activities, and the victim might have to work with a speech pathologist to rebuild communication skills. A victim might also need help learning coping skills and managing behaviors that are tied to the injury. In many of these cases, a traumatic brain injury sufferer needs help with nearly every aspect of their life.
Dealing with the realities of a traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury can take a devastating toll. With that said, adequate treatment can go a long way toward helping a victim reclaim as much of their life as possible. This treatment and care can be enormously expensive, though, easily blowing past any insurance policy caps that might be in place.
That’s why if you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, you might want to consider whether a personal injury lawsuit is a viable way for you to recover the compensation that you need. A personal injury attorney can help you evaluate your circumstances to determine your best course of action, which is why you might want to reach out to one of these advocates if you’re looking for accountability and financial stability.