Brain Injury Lawyer

Traumatic brain injuries also referred to as TBIs, is a debilitating, serious injury that results from trauma to the head. These accidents often result from trucking, motorcycle, and automobile accidents, falls, slips, and trips. A TBI isn’t always easy to identify. Even a mild brain injury should be taken seriously and can have serious effects on a person’s emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities. If you sustained this type of complex injury due to the negligence of another, contact a brain injury lawyer in Houston. An experienced lawyer from a personal injury firm that specializes in severe brain injury cases will be prepared to fight for your future and seek maximum compensation for past, present, and future medical expenses and treatment.

Medical and Surgical Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injuries

After an accident, it’s important to seek medical attention if a head injury is suspected. Even a mild brain injury can take a turn for the worse quickly. Prompt medical treatment is imperative in any brain injury case to minimize long-term damage. Once this type of injury has been stabilized, long-term and short-term care for victims of brain injuries can take a variety of forms. Whether the treatment is received in an outpatient or in-patient setting, a rehab program will often involve several specialists who will work with a brain injury victim and their family to overcome the neurological, emotional, and physical complications that can arise after a TBI.

Common Types of Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury can be mild or severe. These classifications are assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale. This is a fifteen-point scale that will measure certain traumatic brain injury symptoms that are associated with each level of injury and the chance of survival. A lower number on the scale demonstrates a more severe injury.

There are several different types of TBIs. When determining a diagnosis, there are many factors to consider. Some types of injuries concern the swelling and bruising of the brain. Others can involve an intrusion or crack in the skull.

Concussions

The most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injury is a concussion. Many medical professionals consider concussions to be a mild traumatic brain injury. However, in reality, there’s really no such thing as a mild TBI. A concussion is a trauma-induced alteration of the alert state. This type of injury can result in momentary unconsciousness and can lead to complications such as death, blood clots, and long-term damage that’s permanent.

Closed Head Injury

A closed head injury is often caused by a fall or motor vehicle accident and doesn’t involve penetration of the skull. With a closed head injury, the brain can still have bruising or bleeding within the skull, which can lead to permanent damage.

There are many different types of closed head injuries, including:

Contusions

This injury involves bleeding or bruising on the brain and can be the result of the brain shaking back and forth or direct impact on the brain, causing brain tissue to come into contact with blood that has been released from broken blood vessels.

Coup Contrecoup

Coup contrecoup is an injury caused by the brain rattling back and forth inside the skull. This shaking slams the brain against a side of the skull, sending it on a collision course with the other side of the skull. This can cause several contusions in different parts of the brain. The initial impact is called the coup, while the second impact is referred to as the contrecoup.

Diffused Axonal Injury

This TBI occurs when the brain is rattled back and forth violently, pushing the brain against the skull. If the impact is hard enough, portions of the brain can be stretched to the point of tearing apart. This type of injury can result in severe damage to individual neurons, in addition to the connections between each of the neurons. This will cause a breakdown in communication between the neurons, which can lead to widespread brain damage, death, or coma.

Hematoma

The breakage of a major blood vessel is called a hematoma. This injury can result in heavy bleeding in the brain or the areas between the skull and the brain.

Open Head Injury

An open head injury occurs when the skull has been penetrated by physical objects. This type of injury is not as common as a closed head injury, but it can be very serious.

Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury

TBIs can affect many aspects of a person’s cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being. Many of the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can appear shortly after or immediately after the initial injury. In some cases, the symptoms can be very easy to miss.

Mild symptoms can include:

• Difficulty thinking
• Difficulty paying attention
• Trouble concentrating
• Memory problems
• Changes in sleeping pattern
• Lethargy
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Confusion
• Ringing in ears
• Bad taste in the mouth
• Headaches

Moderate/severe symptoms can include:

• Restlessness
• Loss of consciousness
• Loss of coordination
• Vision loss
• Numbness or weakness of extremities
• Slow pulse
• Paralysis
• Slurred speech
• Pupil dilation
• Spinal fluid coming out of the nose or ears
• Seizures or convulsions
• Inability to wake up
• Repeated nausea or vomiting
• Headaches that don’t go away or increase in intensity
• Increased confusion
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Inappropriate agitation, irritability, laughing, or crying

When a child suffers a TBI, the symptoms can be very difficult to detect because they may lack the ability to communicate. If a child displays any of the following traumatic brain injury symptoms, seek medical attention:

• Loss of interest in favorite activities
• Changes in performance at school
• Changes in sleeping patterns
• Change in cognitive function
• Increased irritability or listlessness
• Refusal to eat

Traumatic Brain Injury Complications

Many long-term and short-term complications can arise from a TBI, such as:

Seizures

A large percentage of TBI survivors will experience immediate or early seizures. An immediate seizure will occur within twenty-four hours after the initial injury. This type of seizure can increase the risk of early seizures, which can occur within seven days after the initial injury. These types of seizures do not have a link in increasing the accident victim’s possibility of developing epilepsy.

Infections

Meningitis is an infection that can affect the tears in the brain by letting in bacteria and air. This infection involves inflammation of the brain’s protective membrane and the membrane covering the spinal cord. A traumatic brain injury can spread the infection to the nervous system and other parts of the brain.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

A TBI is known to affect a wide range of functions, such as memory, language, sensation, speech, emotions, thinking, and behavior. A condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy is caused by repeated head injuries. This means that even a mild hit to the head if repeated can lead to symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can include progressive dementia, aggression, and memory loss.

Strokes

Damage to major blood vessels that lead to the brain can prevent blood flow, leading to a stroke from the formation of a blood clot at the injury site or bleeding of the artery. Semiconsciousness, paralysis, seizures, vomiting, and headaches can also be caused by blood clots.

Coma

Traumatic brain injury sufferers can fall into a coma and become unresponsive for days or weeks following the injury. Some people will awaken gradually and become conscious, while others will die or enter a vegetative state. People who fall into a vegetative state for over a period of twelve months will rarely make a full recovery and will require extensive long-term treatment and care.

Sensory and Cognitive Disabilities

Complications from a traumatic brain injury may lead to impaired problem solving and reasoning skills. The most common of these impairments is short-term memory loss. Sensory problems including constant ringing in the ears, changes in smell and taste, double vision, and poor hand-eye coordination, are also common.

Changes in Personality

Unstable emotions and personality changes are very common with brain injuries. Impulse control is often impaired, which can result in inappropriate behavior, especially as the accident victim is recovering.

Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the deterioration of cognitive abilities and memory loss and can arise from a traumatic brain injury. The more severe the injury is, the more likely the person is to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

The Impact of a Traumatic Brain Injury

A serious injury can impact everything associated with the accident victim, including their friendships, career, and family. A person’s brain is the center of their nervous system. It dictates everything from behaviors, thoughts, emotions, memory, and sensations, to the movement and control of the legs and arms.

Catastrophic injuries to this complex organ have the potential to alter behaviors, erase important memories, and can cause crippling seizures and mental disorders. Even seemingly minor damage to brain tissues can lead to a serious long-term injury that requires lifelong care.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

The most common causes of a TBI include:

• Shootings
• Motor vehicle crashes
• Falls
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accident
• Violent assaults
• Workplace accident
• Recreational activities and sports

Brain Injury Lawsuit

Not every traumatic brain injury or severe head injury results in a personal injury lawsuit, but when a lawsuit is necessary, you need a traumatic brain injury attorney that is experienced, capable, and able to handle the complex issues that surround this type of case. Working with a legal team with knowledge, experience, and resources in the traumatic injury field will be key to successfully resolving this type of case.

Many different circumstances can lead to a traumatic brain injury lawsuit, including:

• Commercial transportation accidents
• Defective products
• Slip and fall accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Helmet defects

How a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer Can Help

If you were involved in a TBI accident, you must speak with an experienced attorney who knows how to investigate this type of complex accident case. A Houston brain injury attorney can answer your questions, deal with insurance companies, and can help build a solid case. A brain injury law firm will work closely with medical professionals, industry experts, accident reconstruction experts, and investigators to ensure that you’re appropriately compensated for your losses, for both economic and non-economic damages, including:

• Pain and suffering
• Past and future medical care
• Lost earning power
• Lost wages
• Long-term care needs
• Rehabilitation
• Medical expenses
• Loss of quality of life
• Loss of enjoyment of life

If you have sustained a traumatic brain injury, skull fracture, or another type of head injury in an accident, and you believe the accident was caused by the negligence of another party, you must pursue fair compensation for medical expenses, medical treatment, and other types of damages. Nothing should stand in the way of your ability to get the best treatment possible. Having a Houston brain injury lawyer on your side, one who knows exactly how to build your case to hold the negligent party accountable will ensure you receive the compensation you need for damages, including long-term care needs.

Contact an Experienced Brain Injury Attorney Today to Schedule a Confidential Consultation

The Ben Dominguez Law Firm has decades of experience representing severely injured people in truck, train, bus, and aviation accidents, defective products, and poorly maintained properties.

If you or a loved one have sustained a severe brain injury due to someone’s negligence or harmful acts, you may be entitled to compensation. During this time, you must focus on your recovery. Let an experienced brain injury lawyer Houston help you navigate this complex legal process. We will work hard to build a strong traumatic brain injury case and handle all aspects of your personal injury claim so you can focus on your road to recovery. Contact a personal injury attorney at the Ben Dominguez Law Firm today to schedule an initial consultation and learn how we can help you win the financial compensation you deserve.