Has someone in your family sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) because of someone’s carelessness? If so, the entire situation may be overwhelming. From dealing with their injuries to the accumulating medical bills, you may wonder what options you have and where to turn.
If the brain injury was caused in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, you might be able to recover compensation. Contact The Law Office of Joseph J. Perrini, III, to learn more about your legal rights and options in these situations.
It can also be beneficial to learn about some of the most common types of brain injuries that can occur. Knowing these may help you detect an injury if it has not been diagnosed after an accident.
Types of Accident-Caused Brain Injuries
A brain injury can occur from many types of injuries and show varied symptoms. The complications and outcome of a brain injury depend on its severity, where it is located, and how quickly treatment is sought. Some of the most common brain injuries seen include the following:
Concussions
A concussion is a minor brain injury. It usually results from an impact to the head, sudden change in movement, or shaking. Sometimes, concussions do not appear in traditional imaging tests used by doctors and hospitals. However, this is still a head injury and still serious – it should be treated this way.
A concussion can cause headaches, memory loss, disorientation, and issues with focus and concentration. Concussions can be especially problematic if a second one occurs before the first is fully healed. This is officially referred to as “second impact syndrome.”
Brain Contusions
A brain contusion is a bruise on the brain tissue. It is the same way a bruise occurs on the skin, just like any other bruise – it results from the breaking and leaking of small blood vessels.
When this happens under the skin, you see a blue or purple color for a few days. However, when leaking occurs in the brain, it can cause many other issues, including an increase in pressure.
Brain contusions may occur after any impact on a person’s head. For example, it could appear after a car accident, and the head strikes the steering wheel. It may also occur after a slip-and-fall incident when the head strikes the floor.
When the head hits something, the brain may be injured at the site of the impact or on the opposite side of the head if it is slammed into the skull. These are described as coup or contrecoup injuries.
A brain contusion can range from mild to extreme. More severe cases can result in emotional distress, agitation, tiredness, confusion, and a loss of consciousness. They may also lead to brain swelling, prevent brain tissue oxygenation, and lead to permanent issues.
Subdural Hematomas
A blockage may occur because of trauma, a heart attack, stroke, blood clot, or something else. Sometimes, the brain’s blood flow is sufficient and normal, but it does not carry enough oxygen. This may occur because of suffocation, choking, carbon monoxide poisoning, drowning, or anything that keeps the lungs from taking in the proper level of oxygen molecules.
Penetrating Brain Injuries
Another type of brain injury is if an object pierces into or through the skull. This can cause the object, skull fragments, skin, or hair to touch or penetrate the brain. The contact is usually forceful, which can cause a serious brain injury. The injury may be in a concentrated area or affect a large portion of the brain.
A penetrating brain injury can result from an external force or an object breaking through the skull. Examples of how this injury occurs include the following:
- Gunshot wound to the head
- Slip and fall that causes the skull to crack
- Sports related injury
- Car accident where something penetrates the skull
Hypoxic Brain Injuries
Another type of brain injury is a hypoxic brain injury. This injury occurs when the brain gets some oxygen, but not enough and damage occurs. Usually, this is achieved because of an incomplete reduction of oxygen to the blood or longs to the brain through some type of inefficient suffocation, such as:
- Carbon monoxide
- Near drowning
- Exposure to poisonous gasses
- Cardiac arrest
- Near-hanging
Anoxic Brain Injuries
Anoxic brain injuries occur if the brain does not receive adequate oxygen to continue operating. When this happens, it can lead to serious consequences.
In fact, in just four to five minutes without sufficient oxygen, brain cells will start to die, and a brain injury will occur. Oxygen is carried to the brain by blood, which is why most anoxic brain damage occurs when the blood flow is stopped or blocked in some way.
With a DAI (diffuse axonal injury), the cause is like a concussion – from the brain moving in the skull. However, this type of injury is usually much more serious. With DAI, the head moves extremely violently. In fact, the movement is so violent that it is impossible for the brain stem to sustain the movement, creating tears in the spinal cord and brain connection. Sometimes, the tears are microscopic, but others are larger. Because of this, the brain damage that occurs varies.
If the tears are large enough, they may cause serious and life-long effects. Sometimes, the result is fatal.
How an Long Island Personal Injury Attorney Can Help with an Accident Caused Brain Injury
If you or someone in your family experienced a brain injury due to an accident caused by another party, you might be able to recover compensation.
At The Law Office of Joseph J. Perrini, III, our legal team can review the facts of your case to determine if you have a claim. We can help you recover the full value of your injuries and losses to cover the current and future issues a brain injury may cause. Contact us today for a free consultation.
