What you need to know about brain injury
Brain injury refers to any insult to the brain. Such injuries encompass a range of severity, from a mild concussion to a coma or death. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be caused events such as near-drowning, car accidents, falls or gunshots, or from diseases such as tumors, infections or metabolic variations. Closed head injuries, including those from Shaken Baby Injuries, are additional forms of brain injuries.
Almost regardless of their severity, brain injuries affect people for life. Currently, 5.3 million people in the U.S. live with disability caused by brain injury, and 2 million more sustain them each year. Because of the range of injuries and their frequency, brain injuries are sometimes called a "silent epidemic."
Brain injuries are often life-altering. Serious physical impairments frequently result, as do a range of cognitive, behavioral and emotional complications. The costs of brain injuries are staggering; an individual with severe brain injury usually faces five to 10 years of intensive rehabilitation. Cumulative costs for brain injuries are more than $48 billion annually.
What are symptoms of brain injury?
Symptoms of a traumatic brain injury may include headache, nausea, memory loss or other cognitive problems; a change in personality, depression, irritability, and other emotional and behavioral problems; and seizures. However, symptoms of brain injury vary widely due to the brain's numerous functions.
Because many symptoms of traumatic brain injury are subtle, victims often go undiagnosed, especially in emergency rooms. Proper detection requires sophisticated imaging equipment.
You do not need to have multiple symptoms to assert that you may have experienced a brain injury for which you may be entitled to compensation. A single symptom can permanently impair or change your life.
Do I have a case?
A brain injury can affect every aspect of your life. If you have symptoms that affect your personal and professional life, you may have a case. Symptoms can range from the subtle, such as increased fatigue, to the severe, such as a coma. You may also experience disruptions in your personal relationships.
What we can do for you
If you suspect that you may have a brain injury case, we can help. First, we will need to know basic information about what happened. Later, we will need medical records, hospital records and additional information. We have experience handling the legal needs of traumatic brain injury survivors with proper litigation. These include government benefits, insurance policies and estate planning to help you meet costs of treatment, rehabilitation and, if needed, lifelong therapy.
