Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney
Accidents can lead to a variety of serious and debilitating injuries. One of the worst is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This type of injury affects over 2.5 million people yearly and usually leads to lifelong complications, a coma, or even wrongful death.
If you or a loved one suffered from a TBI after an accident, contact the personal injury attorneys at Hernandez Law Group, P.C. Our firm has helped many clients recover compensation for the multitude of damages resulting from their injuries. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation at one of our office locations.
TBI Causes
A traumatic brain injury is usually the result of a major accident. Common causes of TBIs include:
- Car accidents
- Plane crashes
- Work accidents
- Assaults
- Falls from a great height
- Pedestrian accidents
- 18 Wheeler accidents
If you or a loved one received a brain injury after an accident, the personal injury attorneys at Hernandez Law Group, P.C. will help you recover damages for your pain, suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.
TBI Symptoms
After an accident, you may have immediate symptoms that indicate that you have a TBI. In other cases, the symptoms may be delayed. For this reason, it’s important to visit a medical professional as soon as possible after a serious accident; otherwise, you may think you’re fine only to discover later that you’re suffering from a serious condition such as a TBI. Here are the common immediate and delayed symptoms of a traumatic brain injury:
Immediate Symptoms
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Ringing of the ears
- Slurred speech
- Difficulty forming words
- Confusion
- Loss of consciousness
Delayed Symptoms
- Blurred vision
- Sensitivity to sound and/or light
- Difficulty sleeping or waking up
- Mood changes or mood swings
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Loss of coordination
- Memory loss
- Seizures
- Coma
Some of these symptoms may be confused as symptoms of less serious conditions. You should never assume that you’re completely fine after a major accident; visit a medical professional immediately.
TBI Side Effects
Traumatic brain injuries have many side effects that may be short-lived, long-term, or even permanent. Lasting side effects of a TBI include:
- Memory loss
- Difficulty reasoning
- Difficulty communicating
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Mood changes
- Aggression
- Epilepsy
- Alzheimer’s
- Parkinson’s disease
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries
The term traumatic brain injury covers multiple different types of brain injuries. These include:
- Concussion. When a blow to the head causes the brain to shake or move violently enough in the head, it leads to a concussion. A concussion is also known as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
- Coup-Contrecoup brain injury. This type of TBI is more serious than a concussion and is the result of a more violent impact on the head. A coup-contrecoup injury is the result of a brain being impacted so violently that it slams into the opposite side of the skull.
- Brain contusion. A contusion is essentially mild bleeding of the brain. Contusions often accompany concussions.
- Diffuse axonal injury (DAI). If a blow to the head is serious enough, it may cause the brain or head to move so violently that the brain stem can’t match the rate of speed. The result is a DAI – a tearing of the connections to the brain. If the tear is large enough, it can be fatal.
- Penetrating injury. While the above injuries are the result of an exterior blow, a penetrating injury is the result of something that penetrates the skull and brain. Such objects may include a bullet or piece of shrapnel. Penetrating injuries are very serious and are often fatal if not treated right away.
- Shaken baby syndrome. Since a baby’s brain is so fragile, it’s much easier to damage. Shaken baby syndrome is the result of someone moving a baby back and forth violently, and it is a form of abuse. This type of abuse can lead to lifelong complications or even death.
Brain Injury Treatment
Immediate treatment is necessary to prevent a traumatic brain injury from worsening and minimize the potential side effects. Mechanical ventilation is often the first form of treatment.
In addition, sedation or drug-induced comas may be used to reduce the potential of agitation to the brain or secondary injuries. A device to monitor and control pressure under the skull may be placed within the brain cavity as well.
If there are lasting effects after a TBI, it may be necessary for the victim to take medication. They may also need to stay in a rehabilitation center for some time. These centers focus on stabilizing patients, helping patients restore lost functions such as movement or reasoning skills, and preventing future complications.
Medical and rehabilitative treatment lead to significant medical bills. At Juan Hernandez Law, we’ll make sure that you recover the cost of these bills from the responsible party after an accident leading to at TBI.
TBI Recovery Statistics
Here are the recovery statistics for TBI victims after 2 years, according to a factsheet from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center:
- Need for Assistance. After 2 years, around 70% of TBI victims will be able to take care of themselves without assistance from another person. Over time, this number will increase.
- Living in Care Facilities or Hospitals. Around 90% of people who suffered from a TBI will be able to live in a private residence rather than a hospital or care facility. This percentage is lower immediately after an accident but steadily rises to 90% at the 2-year point.
- Depression. While the percentage may be higher immediately after an accident, only 25% of those who suffer from depression resulting from a TBI still have depression 2 years after the accident.
- Ability to work. Around 30% of TBI victims are able to work again after their accident – though they may not have the same job that they had before.
According to the most recent TBI study from the Centers for Disease Control, only around 2% of TBI sufferers die from the TBI. 99.7% of children are able to avoid death, while 97.4% of adults are able to avoid death.
TBI Attorney in Dallas, Abilene, and Amarillo
If you or a loved one were one of the millions affected by a TBI after an accident, contact the attorneys at Hernandez Law Group. We have experience litigating a wide number of accident cases and recovering clients’ compensation for their injuries.
Our firm is led by Juan Hernandez, who is one of the few attorneys that has certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization to practice personal injury law. You can trust that his expertise in this field will help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free personal injury lawsuit consultation.