Causes for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) include falls, motor vehicle accidents, and acts of violence. Many of these potentially devastating injuries are preventable.
- When you suffer a slip and fall accident, you can hit your head on a hard object during the fall or on the floor or sidewalk when you land at the end of the incident. The force of the head striking something can fracture the skull or cause a severe blow to the head.
- Motor vehicle accidents – regardless of whether you were a pedestrian, bystander, or operating a vehicle of some sort – can also cause a traumatic brain injury. Motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bike riders can get thrown through the air, while people in vehicles can get a TBI from hitting their heads inside the car.
- Violent acts like gunshot wounds and other assaults can cause brain injury. If a bullet penetrates the skull, it can damage brain tissue. Assaults that involve getting hit over the head with an object, pushed into something like a wall, or falling to the ground and striking the head on the pavement can all cause traumatic brain injuries.
These are a few examples of how both accidental and intentional acts can cause a traumatic brain injury to occur.
Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury
If you were in an accident or got assaulted and think that you might have a head injury, go straight to the emergency room. You might be bleeding inside your head and require surgery to prevent even worse damage to the brain.
Some of the signs of a traumatic brain injury include:
- Passing out (losing consciousness) for any period of time
- Being disoriented or confused
- Headache
- Seizures
- The pupils of one or both eyes might be dilated, or the pupils might be uneven compared to each other.
- Losing your balance or being dizzy, fatigued, or drowsy
- Being unable to wake up or unable to sleep
- Nausea or vomiting
- Slurred speech
- Being oversensitive to sound or light
- Changes in your senses, like your ability to smell, an odd taste in your mouth, ringing in your ears, or blurred vision.
You might only have one or two of these symptoms, or you might have other indications that something is not right. When in doubt, get immediate medical attention.
How Your Life Can Change After a Traumatic Brain Injury
There is a wide range of potential consequences from a traumatic brain injury. With a mild concussion, a person might feel back to normal within a few weeks or months. Even these people can develop severe complications years later.
A person with a moderate to severe brain injury from trauma might experience one or more of these altered states of consciousness:
- Coma, a state in which the patient is unconscious. He cannot respond to any stimulus, and he is not aware of anything in his surroundings. A coma is a temporary state that lasts from a few days to a few weeks. The patient either emerges from the coma or falls into a vegetative state.
- A vegetative state can occur because of damage to multiple areas of the brain. The patient might move, make sounds, or open his eyes, but he is not aware of his surroundings.
- A minimally conscious state is sometimes a transitional state in which a person is emerging from a coma or vegetative state. The person has some awareness of his environment, but he still has significantly altered consciousness.
- Brain death is a state in which the brain and brainstem have no measurable activity. Brain death is irreversible.
People who sustain brain injury can also experience these complications on a short- or long-term basis:
- Chronic headaches
- Seizures
- Hydrocephalus (buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain)
- Stroke or blood clots in the brain
- Loss of sight, hearing, taste, or smell
- Intellectual problems
- Struggles to communicate
- Emotional issues
- Degenerative brain disease
How to Get Legal Help for a Traumatic Brain Injury Claim in Georgia
If you suffered a traumatic brain injury from a slip and fall, motor vehicle accident, negligent security, or some other cause, a personal injury lawyer can help. At S. Burke Law, we take pride in delivering caring, attentive legal services for our clients. We treat our clients like family. You will be able to focus on getting better while we take care of your legal matters.
You will not have to pay upfront legal fees. We handle these cases on a contingent fee basis, which means that we do not get paid until you win. Our legal fees will come out of the settlement proceeds or the award at the end of the case.
Call us today at (404) 842-7838 for a free consultation. There is no obligation.