A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a type of catastrophic injury to brain tissue that can result in permanent changes to one’s cognitive function, mood, personality, and more. When someone is afflicted with TBI, it’s often a devastating situation for them and their loved ones that can have lifelong consequences.
What Causes TBI?
Trauma is the primary cause of TBI and occurs when an object and a person’s head forcefully collide. Examples of this include a violent blow to someone’s head or a sudden motion that causes the brain to slam against the skull. Trauma can also occur when a foreign object pierces brain tissue, such as glass or skull fragments might in a car accident.
Car accidents are a major risk factor for TBI, but they aren’t the only one. In fact, any accident that can feasibly damage brain tissue can lead to TBI.
What Are the Symptoms of TBI?
Traumatic brain injury can present itself through many different symptoms, and no two patients may exhibit the exact same symptoms. Generally speaking, symptoms can present as physical, sensory, and/or cognitive in nature.
Physical Symptoms
A person with TBI might show physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue or drowsiness, nausea, dizziness or loss of balance, motor skill impairments, convulsions or seizures, as well as problems with their speech.
Sensory Symptoms
Sensory symptoms affect the five senses and can show up as: sensitivity to light or sound, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, inability to smell or taste, or a foul taste in one’s mouth.
Cognitive Symptoms
Some of the most apparent symptoms of TBI are those that affect a person’s cognition, mental state, and behavior.
These symptoms can include the following:
- Intermittent loss of consciousness
- Disorientation or a feeling of daze
- Confusion
- Memory loss of any kind
- Changes in mood and mood swings
- Sleep problems (too much or too little) when none existed before
- Sudden onset of anxiety and/or depression
- Abrupt changes in personality, especially aggression
What Should I Do If I or a Loved One Suffers from TBI?
If you or a loved one were diagnosed with TBI after an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you can pursue legal action with an attorney’s assistance. Paulsen Law Group can offer the legal support you need to hold the responsible parties accountable for causing an accident that left you or a loved one with life-altering conditions as a result of TBI.
You may have incurred damages such as new medical costs, lost wages, loss of your earning capacity, and more as a result of the accident. You can recover important compensation to help you offset the financial burdens that you never asked to assume.
Learn more about how you can fight for damages with a TBI lawsuit by contacting Paulsen Law Group today.