Skip to main content

Auto Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are responsible for the deaths of approximately 50,000 Americans each year and the hospitalizations of roughly 230,000 more. Many more victims go undiagnosed.

Auto accidents are one of the leading causes of TBI. Most TBI's are closed head injuries, which means that trauma sets the brain in motion inside the skull. The brain gets slammed against the interior surface of the skull, resulting in contusions and swelling. 

Trauma can also initiate rotational forces that twist and stretch the brain, which can damage axons. Brain neurons send messages via electrical impulses; axons are the carriers of these impulses. When axons are damaged, brain function is diminished. 

A condition called diffuse axonal injury (DAI) occurs on a cellular level and leaves blood vessels and major brain structures intact. This type of damage cannot be detected by MRIs or CT scans, making DAI vastly under diagnosed and under treated. 

Brain injuries are unlike injuries to other parts of the body. They not only have a physical component, they also affect the cognitive and emotional well-being of the victim. Impairments can be temporary or permanent, subtle or catastrophic. 

It's important to note that low-impact auto accidents can result in TBI (e.g., concussion due to whiplash), not just in high-impact ones. In addition, a person involved in a car crash may feel perfectly normal immediately following the incident; however, TBI symptoms might only present themselves hours, days, or weeks later. 

If you have been involved in a car accident caused by the negligence of another driver, schedule a medical evaluation and contact an attorney to protect your rights. 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Questioned by the Police? - Don't Forget Your Rights

One of the special things about our country's criminal justice system is that if you are suspected or accused of committing a crime, you have certain fundamental rights. Unfortunately though, many people aren't aware of their rights, or, in the head of the moment, they forget about those rights. For instance, citizens who find themselves being questioned and in police custody may not even be aware that they have a basic fundamental right to have an attorney present any time they are being questioned by any branch of law enforcement. Truth is, having an attorney present if you are being quested is vitally important. Why is that? For one thing, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you from incriminating yourself, can make sure that you don't answer questions that are designed to trick you, and can keep officers from asking the same question over and over again. Bottom line - having a criminal defense attorney on your side can help make sure that you don...
2 comments
Read more

Full Custody, Joint Custody, and Sole Custody - What You Need to Know

We figured it might be helpful to produce a short article that summarizes the key differences among different types of custody. Full custody: this means that one parent is granted the majority of custody time and legal rights for the child. Joint custody: in this situation, the parents can split the physical custody of the child, and then have just one of the parents handle the legal custody (and, as a result, make any major decisions on behalf of the child). More common is to have parents share legal custody and then have one parent awarded physical custody. True joint custody arrangements, in which parents share both physical and legal custody equally, tend to be rare because of the logistical and personal issues involved (scheduling, added stress, disruption of the child's routine, costs, etc.) Sole custody: this means that one parent is awarded full legal and physical custody. These arrangements are rare, and are typically only set up if one parent is deemed unfit or wh...
1 comment
Read more

Important Safety Warning from the CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision (CPSC) had issued an important alert urging consumers to immediately stop using the LayZ Board self-balancing scooters (known as hoverboards). The CPSC has evidence that the LayZ Board was the hoverboard involved in the tragic fire on March 10, 2017, in Harrisburg, PA, which took the lives of two young girls. Numerous other fires have occurred in recent years as a result of the lithium-ion batteries in hoverboards, although this is the first fire that is believed to have directly led to fatalities. The LayZ Board hoverboards were manufactured in Shenzhen, China, and more than 3,000 units were imported into the United States. Due to the fire hazard posed to consumers of all ages by these hoverboards, the CPSC is urging the public to stop charging and stop using their LayZ Board. Consumers who choose to dispose of their hoverboards should take them to a local recycling center for safe handling of the lithium-ion battery. The CPSC is also...
Post a Comment
Read more