Not all traumatic head and brain injuries are the same. These injuries vary in their severity and can produce both long-term symptoms and short-term symptoms.
Moreover, the severity of traumatic head and brain injuries range from relatively minor, to moderate, to severe. Your treating healthcare provider can diagnose the type of head injury from which you suffer and prescribe treatment to help you recover from your injury or injuries.
Some of the most common types of traumatic head and brain injuries that accident victims frequently sustain include:
- Skull fractures – A number of bones make up the human skull. A skull fracture occurs when one or more of those bones break in an accident. Skull fractures are common in accidents where there is a sharp blow to the accident victim’s head, such as when the accident victim strikes the ground or strikes their head on something in a vehicle, such as a window.
- Concussions – Some concussion injuries are relatively mild, while others are incredibly severe. A concussion typically occurs from an impact to the accident victim’s skull. This impact causes bruising on the brain and can result in severe symptoms, including vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and difficulty with memory functions.
- Subdural hematoma – A subdural hematoma results from large amounts of blood building up between the upper lining of the accident victim’s brain and brain tissues. To correct this problem, the accident victim may require one or more surgeries.
- Diffuse axonal injury – A diffuse axonal injury occurs when the damage sustained in an accident cuts nerve fibers in the brain. As a result, the accident victim may fall into a coma or suffer from a disability that lasts for the remainder of their lifetime.
- Anoxic brain injury – Brain cells require oxygen so that they can survive. If an individual’s brain cells do not receive the necessary amount of oxygen, they will begin to die off very rapidly. An anoxic brain injury deprives an accident victim’s brain of needed oxygen for an extended period of time.
- TBIs – TBIs are more formally known as traumatic brain injuries. These injuries typically occur when blunt force impacts an individual’s head. The individual may strike their head on the ground with a considerable amount of force, or an object may strike or penetrate the accident victim’s head, resulting in the traumatic brain injury. These injuries typically occur when the amount of force is so strong that the individual’s brain actually strikes the inside of the skull as it moves around. This back-and-forth movement can disrupt the neurons and axons that make up the brain’s internal wiring system, resulting in severe and sometimes permanent brain damage.
If you or someone you care about has sustained a traumatic brain or head injury in an accident that someone else caused, you may have several legal remedies available to you. The experienced team of Lawrenceville brain injury attorneys at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC can explain all of your legal options in clear terms and help you decide on the best course of action for moving forward with your case.
