Accidents that result in a serious brain injury can change your life forever. Unlike some other types of bodily trauma, many brain injuries do not completely heal and may affect a large variety of motor and cognitive skills.
If you or a loved one are struggling with issues related to a brain injury, after an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, Sevenish Law Firm can connect you with an experienced traumatic brain injury attorney in Greenwood, guide you through building a personal injury lawsuit and provide you with important information about brain injuries.
Types of Brain Injury
Your brain sits cushioned inside the skull, which protects it from damage. However, during an accident, the force of a car crash or a serious fall can cause the brain to strike the inner skull, causing bruising or bleeding. In other types of injuries, a skull fracture can drive pieces of bone into the brain and cause significant trauma.
Depending on the force or type of TBI, you may experience one of several grades of this injury, including:
- A closed/internal TBI
- An open TBI with skull fracture
- A TBI related to severe whiplash
Penetrative injuries, such as those that occur when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain, can cause serious secondary symptoms like blood clots and strokes. While no two brain injuries are exactly alike, many share the signs and symptoms, including some that may not become apparent until days or weeks after the accident.
Traumatic Brain Injury Symptoms
No matter the cause of your TBI, the types of symptoms you experience will likely vary depending on the severity of the head injury. Some symptoms occur across the severity spectrum, while others only appear after a serious brain injury.
New or worsening headaches
A closed TBI may cause a change in how you experience headaches, as well as how often. You may find the number of headaches you have per week increase all at once, or you may begin to suffer from migraine headaches that sideline you for hours. Any headaches that cause changes in vision or hearing could indicate bruising or bleeding in the brain.
Speech problems
After a brain injury, your speech center may not work as it once did and cause issues such as stuttering, pauses between words or slurred and garbled speech. The latter often occurs with moderate to severe concussions. You might also experience a disconnect between your hearing and speech and believe the words you say make sense when they do not.
Changes in memory
After a TBI, you may have trouble recalling certain memories or feel a sense of lost time. You may not remember the accident or the aftermath but recall events just before it with clarity. Cognitive processes connected with memory may work more slowly than before and cause you to forget people’s names or important dates.
Sudden changes in mood
New or worsening mood swings may occur weeks or months after a TBI. You may feel depressed or agitated from one day to the next.
Brain Injury Levels
The severity or grade of the TBI you suffered can affect your personal injury case in several ways, including its overall value. Many doctors measure the severity of the brain injury by considering a variety of changes, such as:
- Reduction in cognitive ability
- The severity of any memory loss
- The length of any period of unconsciousness after the accident
Doctors may also grade the severity of your traumatic brain injury by the severity of its symptoms. Treatment for a moderate or severe TBI may cost thousands of dollars, so speaking to a traumatic brain injury lawyer at our office can help you prove the person or company that caused your brain injury is liable.
Brain Injuries and Liability
Accidents can happen anywhere to anyone, but when the incident that caused your TBI is the result of someone else’s negligence, that party is responsible for your injuries and other damages as well. To gauge liability, you must consider three questions: Did the defendant owe you a duty of care? Did the defendant breach that care? What percentage of liability did the defendant contribute to the accident?
Reviewing and answering these questions can help you build a solid foundation for your case, with the help of an attorney.
Determining Case Value
Many factors can determine the overall value of your traumatic brain injury case. These may include the severity of the TBI, how it affects your cognitive and physical abilities, the total amount of future lost wages and the cost of future care. Compensation for any future care may include physical therapy, any medical equipment you require to live comfortably and the cost of medication.
If you feel you can prove that the other party’s actions were meant to harm you or if they acted in a way that was especially negligent, you may ask the court for punitive damages. For example, if the individual who caused your TBI knowingly got behind the wheel after drinking, you might ask for punitive damages for such a negligent act.
Reach Out to a Greenwood Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
No matter the severity of the injury, a TBI can change your life forever and leave you with many questions about what to do next. Take the first step by contacting our Greenwood firm today so we can help guide you through the process of building a personal brain injury case.
