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Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) and Non-Traumatic Brain Injuries (nTBIs)

Living with a TBI often means living with a permanent. The problems associated with TBIs can affect every aspect of your life for all of your life. Depending on the type, the causes differ from person to person—but the effects remain generally the same. From poor memory and decision-making to chronic headaches and mood swings, the injury can be debilitating.

Fortunately, our Traumatic Brain Injury law firm can help fight for the compensation people with TBIs need to cover all pain and suffering expenses. No mater what the severity, our Virginia brain injury lawyers are here to fight for you.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs)

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

A TBI is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in TBIs. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild” (a brief change in mental status or consciousness) to “severe” (an extended period of unconsciousness or memory loss after the injury). Most TBIs are mild and commonly called concussions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (Report to Congress on mild traumatic brain injury in the United States: steps to prevent a serious public health problem. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.) (https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html)

Overview of a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States, estimated to affect 13.5 million individuals. (Schiller JS, Lucas JW, Ward BW, Peregoy JA. Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2010. Vital Health Stat 10 2012; :1.)

Many survivors live with significant disabilities, resulting in major socioeconomic burden as well as health issues. In 2010, the economic impact of TBI in the United States was estimated to be $76.5 billion in direct and indirect costs. (Finkelstein E, Corso P, Miller T. The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States, Oxford University Press, New York 2006; Coronado V, McGuire L, Faul M, et al. Epidemiology and public health issues. In: Brain Injury Medicine: Principles and Practice, 2nd ed, Zasler ND, Katz DI, Zafonte RD, et al. (Eds), Demos Medical Publishing, New York 2012.)

In 2013, there were approximately 2.5 million emergency department (ED) visits, 282,000 hospitalizations, and 56,000 deaths related to TBI in the United States. (Taylor CA, Bell JM, Breiding MJ, Xu L. Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths — United States, 2007 and 2013. MMWR Surveill Summ 2017; 66:1.)

TBI contributes to 30 percent of all injury-related deaths in the United States. (Id.) These numbers are thought to significantly underestimate the burden of TBI, since they do not include patients who did not seek medical attention, received ambulatory care, were seen at Veterans Affairs centers, or were in the military.

TBI is a major problem for the United States military; the Department of Defense reports that between 2000 and 2017, 375,230 military personnel suffered TBI. (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. DoD Numbers for Traumatic Brain Injury. Department of Defense, 2017.
(https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/data/index.html)

Non-Traumatic Brain Injuries (nTBIs)

What is a non-traumatic brain injury (nTBI)?

Non-traumatic events that can lead to nTBIs include:

  • Lack of oxygen (anoxic/hypoxic injury)
  • Stroke
  • Cardiac arrest
  • Medication errors

Children & young people with nTBIs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4955214/

Older adults with nTBIs:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3849645/

Functional recovery after nTBI:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19117180

Causes of Brain Injury

Trauma-Induced Injury

Motor vehicle accidents
  • Impact of head with structural components of vehicle or other objects in the vehicle.
  • De-acceleration Injuries, where there is no impact to the head itself, but injuries occur within the brain as tissue is damaged by the sudden deceleration of the brain impacting with the skull.
    • These injuries commonly occur to the front (frontal) and side (temporal) of the brain, which are used for learning, memory, planning, organization, concentration, and emotional control.
    • Most-frequent causes:
      • Car accident
      • Truck accident
      • Motorcycle accident
      • Plane accident
  • Coup Contre Coup, when there is a blow to the head and the brain strikes the inside of the skull on the side of the blow and on the opposite side.
Injuries from falling
  • A fall from a ladder, a roof, stairs, or a high surface can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
    • In 2014, falls were the leading cause of TBIs. Falls accounted for almost half (48%) of all TBI-related emergency department visits. Falls disproportionately affect children and older adults: Almost half (49%) of TBI-related ED visits among children 0 to 17 years old were caused by falls. (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6609a1.htm)
    • Four in five (81%) TBI-related emergency department visits in older adults aged 65 years and older were caused by falls.
    • Falls were the leading cause of death for people 65 years of age or older.
    • Falls were the leading cause of ED visits among young children aged 0 to 4 years old and adults age 65 years and older.
    • Falls were the leading cause of hospitalizations among children 0 to 17 years old and adults 55 years of age and older.
Penetrating injuries
  • An open head wound caused by an impact to the skull by an object such as a bullet, knife, baseball bat, etc.
Concussions
  • An injury resulting from a direct blow to the head, face, or neck.

Non–Trauma-Induced Brain Injury

This type of injury can be caused by:

  • Low oxygen levels
  • Low blood pressure
  • Temporary cardiac arrest
  • Excessive bleeding
  • Brain cancer
  • Near drowning
  • Stroke
  • Infections
  • Cancer
  • Tumors
  • Aneurysms
  • Birth injury
  • Drugs/Medication

Symptoms of Brain Injury

Beware: These symptoms may be hidden (masked) by severe physical injuries such as broken bones, severe lacerations, etc.  (https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/0660/).

Post-Traumatic Confusion State
  • After a severe brain injury, the patient could be unaware of a variety of important symptoms, such as their personal feelings, their current location or daily schedule, or even their name.
  • In some scenarios, these symptoms resolve after a few weeks. In other scenarios, victims experience symptoms for months, years, or even permanently, such as decreased attention span, differential levels of activity throughout the day, or severe personality changes.
  • This state is referred to as delirium (mental confusion followed by emotional and behavioral disruptions).
    (http://www-users.med.cornell.edu/~jdvicto/pdfs/sumuak17.pdf)
Personality changes

Brain injuries actually damage the brain. As a result, they often affect parts of the brain that control a person’s personality. Victims frequently exhibit one or more of the following:

  • Irritability
    • Unexpected outbursts around loved ones, friends, and co-workers.
    • Being irritable around loved ones, friends, or co-workers for non-apparent reasons.
    • Inability to think, work, or take care of their family.
  • Mood swings
    • Frequent changes from “happy” to incredibly sad, and/or mad.
  • Selfishness/Loss of empathy
    • Often become “selfish” or seem to lack concern for others, including close family members, co-workers, and even pets.
  • Aggression
    • Aggressive reactions to minor situations caused by misinterpreting actions of those around them or other triggers.
  • Lack of self-control
    • Frequently lack the ability or even the awareness that they need to control/limit their behavior or attitude.
    • Cursing at extremely inappropriate times and places.
    • Sexual activity
    • Purchasing activity
  • Paranoia
Emotional changes
  • Anxiety
    • An overwhelming feeling of fear
  • Depression
    • Overwhelming feelings of sadness
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • An emotional disorder triggered by memories, the brain injury event or surrounding circumstances
  • Flat affect
Difficulty with communication
  • Memory problems
    • Affect both long-term and short-term memory.
  • Attention problems
    • Changes in attention that may be caused by pain, fatigue, depression, PTSD.
    • Can cause long-term issues such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
  • Lack of interest in life & activities (Apathy)
    • Subtle and sometimes drastic reductions in interest in parts of the patient’s life that previously brought them enjoyment.
    • Often appears as a decrease of energy and/or lack of interest in completing activities they previously enjoyed.
  • Slowed thinking
    • Reduced ability to maintain previous information processing speed. Victims frequently experience the inability to process even simple information.
  • Speech impairment
    • Even after a mild to moderate brain injury, the inability to communicate thoughts, expressions, and emotions as clearly and easily as before the accident.
    • May not speak clearly; may also have issues with speaking at the same speed/rhythm as before the injury.
  • Word-finding problems
Altered sense of taste, smell, and vision
Masking
  • Physical injuries may mask signs and symptoms of brain injuries. The physical injuries may be so severe that they require immediate treatment to stabilize the victim’s injuries or even save their life, and the brain injury may go unnoticed because of the amount of attention required by the other injuries.
  • Signs that a brain injury may have occurred include:

Severity of Injury

Glasgow Coma Scale

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is used by first responders (paramedics, EMS, etc.) to assess the level of brain injury/consciousness of a person after an accident or head injury.
The GCS measures three brain functions:

  • Eye opening
  • Verbal awareness
  • Motor response

Low GCS scores are often caused by skull fractures, brain bleeds, or drastic damage to the brain itself, often resulting in the need for immediate surgery.

High GCS Scores (even 15, which is considered “mild”) do not mean that there was no brain injury. GCS is only an initial assessment tool and carries no guarantee for lack of future symptoms. GCS is a subjective determination that is not definitive of a brain injury.
(https://www.biausa.org/brain-injury/about-brain-injury/diagnosis/assessments-in-the-hospital/glasgow-coma-scale)

Mild (GCS 13–15)

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) may occur without the loss of consciousness. The patient may be confused or disoriented. Imaging studies often appear normal. In many cases, the injured person’s family notices abnormal behavior first. Despite the lack of a loss of consciousness, significant problems with daily function and personality may become apparent over time.

Moderate (GCS 9–12)

A more-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often characterized by the loss of consciousness for minutes to hours. Confusion is often present and may or may not improve after the injury. More-significant symptoms include cognitive, behavioral, and physical problems. These symptoms may be permanent and require extensive treatment by a wide range of healthcare providers.

Severe (GCS 8 or less)

More-severe traumatic brain injuries involve profound damage to the brain. These patients often suffer skull fractures and are not usually able to live independently after such an injury. They often need a team approach with the long-term involvement of multiple healthcare providers.

What Should Patients/Family Do if Worried about a Patient’s Brain Injury?

No two injuries are the same. Each person who sustains an injury to the brain must have a carefully tailored plan to assist them in their recovery.
If the brain injury was caused by the intentional act or negligence of someone else, the victim and his/her family will need, at minimum:

Medical treatment

Medical doctors (MDs)

Therapy
Medication
  • Damage to the brain frequently requires treatment by medications. These may include antidepressants, antispasmodics, medications to improve sleep, or medications to improve concentration.
  • Brain-injured individuals frequently refuse medication or lack the understanding of its importance to their recovery. Family, friends, etc., must step forward and ensure the patient complies with the medical treatment plan fully and completely. Failure to do so will frequently result in a spiraling decline in the person’s condition, which often compounds the problem and alienates friends, loved ones, or coworkers.
  • Reasons for issues with medications:
    • Side effects are more unpredictable in patients with a traumatic brain injury and may be severe, leading patients to stop taking their medications.
    • There may be many different medications.
    • Medication interactions may be a problem.
    • The patient may be non-compliant about taking their medications.
      Medications may be very expensive.
    • Some medications may require frequent laboratory monitoring.
    • Patients may not be able to administer their medications safely.

Future of Brain Injury Evaluation

New ways to evaluate the types and levels of brain injury are being developed, including:

Laboratory testing for brain injury.
New imaging methods for diagnosis, such as a functional MRI (a testing method that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow).
MRI analysis of brain anatomy using NeuroQuant (software that can measure brain shrinkage).
Eye-Trac Advance studies (a measurement that can track how well a patient can coordinate their eye movement).
Cognitive-behavioral evaluations.
Neuropsychiatric testing.
Trans-cranial ultrasound.
SPECT and PET scanning.

The legal services provided by our Traumatic Brain Injury attorneys address the following:

Please choose from the attorneys listed at left to inquire about these matters. Learn more about the attorneys by clicking on their names.

Have questions? Contact us.
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