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Treating California’s Injured With Dignity And Respect
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Types of Brain Injuries – Overview

Traumatic brain injuries can involve closed head injuries, skull fractures or objects piercing the skull.  Such injuries can occur in car accidents, falls from heights, explosions, and many other causes.

Closed head injuries are traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in which the skull is not penetrated.  Closed head injuries result from rapid movement of the brain within the skull, which most commonly occurs in motor vehicle accidents – car crashes, truck accidents, motorcycle, and even bicycle accidents where the cyclist is hit by a car and thrown to the pavement.  Closed head injuries, such as concussions and more serious TBIs, result in swelling and bruising of the brain and microscopic tears in brain tissue when the brain hits the inside of the skull.  Because of a lack of external symptoms such as a visible skull fracture or bleeding, a closed head injury is more subtle and can go undiagnosed, resulting in even more serious brain damage or even death.

Another type of brain injury, anoxic, is caused by lack of oxygen (near drownings) or disturbance of blood flow (massive bleeding or stroke).

The Location of Brain Injuries

Different areas of the brain control specific functions in the body.  The symptoms a brain injured victim experiences signal the parts of the brain that have been injured:

The Challenges of Diagnosing a Brain Injury

Unlike fractures or spinal cord injuries, brain injuries are often not immediately visible.  If the injured person did not lose consciousness, a closed head injury or concussion can be overlooked.  A brain bleed (hematoma or hemorrhage) may not result in easily identifiable symptoms for many hours.  The injured person may have suffered permanent brain damage by that time.  Imaging studies, such as various types of MRIs and CT scan, can assist in diagnosis a brain injury.

The Challenges of Living With a Brain Injury

A brain injury can affect short- or long-term memory, cognitive ability, personality, self-control, and ability to manage emotions.  Family members of brain injured victims often say the person is no longer him or herself.  Injured persons may or may not know the full extent of the changes that have occurred.  If they do, they may experience depression or feel angry that they cannot do the things they once did.

Age is a factor in the ability of the brain to recover.  The human brain does not fully mature until approximately 22 years of age.  Children and young adults often experience better outcomes than older adults with the same brain injury.  This is due to brain “plasticity” – the neural pathways in younger brains have a greater ability to rewire to regain function.

The difficult truth is, however, many brain injuries do not improve over time, and some worsen. In order to deal with the effects of a brain injury, it’s important that the injured person or the family of the injured person have the financial resources for treatment, therapy, and nursing care.

Neuropsychological evaluations can assist in diagnosing the specific areas of harm to a person suffering from a brain injury.  It also can indicate what future needs brain injury victim will require.

Securing Full and Fair Compensation for the Victims of Brain Injuries

Each brain injury is unique and has different effects on the victim. The brain injury attorneys at Abramson Smith Waldsmith, LLP, work closely with clients and their families to ensure the client’s medical condition has been thoroughly assessed and he or she is receiving appropriate care.

We go the extra mile to ensure that our clients receive full and fair compensation.  We are known for our use of cutting-edge technology to demonstrate the injury and explain how it has affected our clients.  We have received the national Law Technology News award for Most Innovative Use of Technology at Trial for our trial techniques.  Our creativity in trial presentation sets us apart from other firms.

Contact Us

For more information about traumatic brain injuries or to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer, contact Abramson Smith Waldsmith LLP. Or call us at 415-421-7995 or toll free at 866-399-3548.