Alabama Brain Injury Attorneys Compassionately Working for You and Your Family

A correctly functioning brain is at the core of our decisions, bodily functions, thoughts, feelings, and abilities, and even the slightest damage to it can have long-lasting, life-changing effects.

A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, has the potential to be catastrophic and can have devastating, life-long impacts on the victim.

What Are the Types of  TBI?

Traumatic brain injuries fall into three main categories:

• Mild TBI: also known as a concussion, a mild TBI may occur if a victim loses consciousness for a brief period. Symptoms may include problems with balance, fatigue, nausea, and confusion. These injuries can result in temporary mental, sensory, or cognitive issues that can impact daily life for a period of time.
• Moderate TBI: a moderate TBI usually occurs when a victim loses consciousness for several hours. Symptoms are similar to those experienced in a mild TBI but may last for several days. Victims can also suffer severe confusion, seizures, slurred speech, and pupil dilation.
• Severe TBI: the victim of a severe TBI may lose consciousness for a prolonged period of time or have been in a coma. These injuries offer more severe consequences and can result in personality changes, damage to cognitive function, or other long-term issues.

What Are the Causes of  TBIs?

Naturally, atraumatic brain injury results from trauma. Common causes include:

• A Slip or Fall: hitting your head as the result of a fall.
• Auto Accident: any vehicle collision has the potential to cause damage to the head and can result in traumatic injury to the brain.
• Experiencing Violence: being the victim of violence can cause severe, long-term damage to the brain. This may include assault, such as a blow to the head, domestic violence, or Shaken ImpactSyndrome in infants.
• Explosions: a loud blast or explosion can cause significant long-term damage. This is most often seen in active military personnel or veterans. Falling items or shrapnel can also have the same effect.
• Sports Injuries: contact sports, such as football, baseball, boxing, or soccer, all come with a high risk of damage.

What Are the Long-Term Implications?

If you or a loved one is a victim of a traumatic brain injury, quality of life can be seriously affected. Some long-term implications include:

• Entering a State of Altered Consciousness: this can occur if the brain shuts itself down to prevent further damage or trauma. There is a high risk of this occurring with any TBI and can result in a long-term state of altered consciousness, long-term damage, death.
• Sensory Damage: each area of the brain controls a different sense.Taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell could be damaged, depending on the injury’s location.
• Risk of Aneurysm: if there is damage to the delicate blood vessels which are found on the brain and the interior of the skull, there is an increased risk of long-term bleeding, strokes, clots, or aneurysms.
• Cognitive and Communication Issues: those who survive a traumatic brain injury may find themselves with long-term intellectual and cognitive issues. Memory, judgment, and reasoning can all be impacted.The victim may also struggle to learn and understand new concepts or ideas, solve problems, plan, or organize.Victims may also lose the ability to speak or understand speech, read, write, or communicate non-verbally. Everyday actions such as gripping, walking, talking, eating, and drinking could also be affected.
• Emotional and Social Issues: depending on the location of the damage, inhibitions and emotional control may be impacted. This can result in mood swings, anger, or outbursts, as well as having issues with social interaction or maintaining a stable emotional state.
• Risk of Degenerative Brain Diseases: any TBI has the potential to trigger further conditions later on. Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s often appear following even a mild TBI, and post-traumatic epilepsy is very common, as well.

What Can You Do?

If you have suffered a TBI, it may be possible to bring about a case to claim damages and compensation. To be successful, you will need to prove that a third party was negligent or reckless and that this resulted in your injuries.

Here at Pharr & Associates Injury Attorneys, we have aided victims of TBIs all across Alabama, and our skilled team has the experience and knowledge to help you move towards a desirable outcome. Call (256) 487-6080 today and start on your journey to justice.