How to Identify a Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) are a common injury from a wide variety of accidents, from car crashes to slips and falls. After a harsh impact to the head, the brain can be jostled inside the skull, causing bruising, bleeding, and even tearing of brain tissue.

Not every hit to the head causes a brain injury. However, recognizing the symptoms and intensity of TBIs is essential to receiving treatment and possible personal injury compensation.

Brain Injury Symptoms and Severity

Brain injuries are typically divided into mild, moderate, and severe. Since symptoms of brain injuries can be hard to detect, victims of head injuries should see a doctor as soon as possible for a medical exam. Your doctor may order a CT scan or MRI to help diagnosis a brain injury.

The CDC details the diverse range of symptoms of mild, moderate, and severe brain injuries:

• Mild: A mild brain injury might occur due to a concussion and there’s usually no or only a brief loss of consciousness. Symptoms could include dizziness, headaches, disorientation, blurred vision, energy loss, reduced concentration, and interrupted sleep. This can last up to 3-4 months, with most sufferers recovering fully.

• Moderate: These brain injuries usually follow a more extended period of unconsciousness, between an hour and a day. Symptoms include memory loss, vomiting and nausea, seizures, changes to sensory perception, and difficulties in communication and learning. Recovery times are longer, lasting up to a year.

• Severe: These brain injuries can result from crushing or penetrating blows to the skull and nearly always require some degree of neurosurgery. Symptoms include amnesia; speech, hearing, and vision problems; issues with balance and motor functions; and convulsions.

Most recovery occurs within the first six months of the injury, with subsequent slow progress over several years. In some cases, the effects can be permanent.

The emotional and psychological effects of brain injuries, such as anxiety and depression, can be felt throughout all severity levels. All patients suffering from brain injuries experience slightly different symptoms depending on the seriousness of their initial accident and the areas of the brain affected.

Brain Injuries from a Legal Perspective

Due to the severe effects of brain injuries physically, emotionally, and economically, it is important to consult a medical professional immediately. This is also important from a legal perspective, because the damage is often not visible, and some symptoms are not identifiable until weeks after the initial accident. You will need an experienced attorney who is willing is fight hard to prove not only that your injury exists, but who caused it and how it has impacted your life.

Accident reports and resulting medical bills can be used as evidence to help ensure you get the full compensation needed. The more severe the brain injury, the more disruption to the victim’s employment and day-to-day functions.

Clients can seek greater compensation for severe head injuries due to the long-term repercussions of their symptoms. In addition to the loss of wages, possible life care expenses may be required to assist with continuing costs of disability. 

Damages for TBIs in Louisiana

In Louisiana, there are different types of damages your attorney can help you pursue as compensation for your traumatic brain injury. The value of your claim is partially determined by the financial cost of your treatment and losses, along with the severity of your injury.

Economic damages

When recovering from or living with a brain injury, you’ll likely require extensive medical care, treatments, and time off from work. Suing a liable party for economic damages allows you to recover compensation for these financial losses.

Non-economic damages

These are non-quantifiable damages resulting from the injury, such as loss of quality of life or pain and suffering. Victims of severe brain injuries may experience disability that limits their abilities to take part in favorite hobbies or daily tasks of life. They may also experience changes in emotional stability and personality that may damage their relationships with friends and family.

While Louisiana doesn’t cap most personal injury damages, if your brain injury results from medical malpractice, there is a cap of $500,000 on damages outside of medical expenses, such as lost wages and pain and suffering.  

Punitive damages

In some cases, Louisiana allows plaintiffs to pursue punitive damages. To qualify, the injury must result from intentional or malicious behavior. Rather than reimbursing the victim for their hardships, punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant and deter these acts in the future.

Get Compensation for Your TBI

If you or someone you love has suffered a brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, a personal injury lawsuit could be a way to recover the high cost of treatments and loss of income.

Contact the Louisiana personal injury lawyers at Dudley DeBosier for a no-obligation, free consultation, and speak to an experienced attorney who puts your best interests first.

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