Every year, millions of Americans go through a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after experiencing catastrophic car crashes, trucking accidents, and workplace injuries. At Plakas Mannos, our lawyers have experience with traumatic brain injuries, and view the whole person when approaching your case to ensure that all your personal injuries are addressed and your recovery is maximized.
Our personal injury lawyers have gained significant experience in handling traumatic brain injury cases. They understand what a TBI is and how much it can affect you and the legal process.
What is a TBI?
The CDC states that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury that affects how the brain works. According to the Mayo Clinic, TBIs usually result from violent impact to the head or body or from something going through brain tissue.
The National Institution of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) states that some TBIs can cause temporary problems, while others can lead to long term problems, severe disability, or even death.
What is the lasting damage from a traumatic brain injury?
When someone experiences a TBI because of an accident, their immediate concerns often revolve around physical injuries and obvious consequences of those injuries. For example, immediate concerns can include loss of consciousness and headaches, as well as broken bones, cuts, and bruises.
However, the impact of such accidents and resulting TBIs can extend far beyond those obvious concerns.
While some symptoms of TBIs are clear cut, there are other issues that might not be immediately associated with the injury, such as incontinence, difficulty concentrating, personality changes, and memory problems.
To maximize your recovery in an injury case, it is critical for your team of traumatic brain injury attorneys to know and understand these often invisible and troubling effects. Having the ability to work with your medical providers to properly document these injuries and TBI symptoms is very important.
When do TBI symptoms typically appear?
According to the Mayo Clinic and NINDS, some symptoms appear immediately while others do not manifest until days or weeks after the accident. Physical symptoms that tend to appear more immediately include headaches, confusion, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, speech problems, memory issues, and dizziness or balance issues.
It is important to remember that TBI presentations can be quite variable, and every patient is different in terms of the severity of symptoms they experience.
What are other, less obvious, symptoms of TBIs?
1. Incontinence
According to the Mayo Clinic and NINDS, some symptoms appear immediately while others do not manifest until days or weeks after the accident. Physical symptoms that tend to appear more immediately include headaches, confusion, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, speech problems, memory issues, and dizziness or balance issues.
It is important to remember that TBI presentations can be quite variable, and every patient is different in terms of the severity of symptoms they experience.
2. Memory and cognitive problems
TBIs are known to cause memory problems, but the extent of these issues might not be fully understood. Apart from the well-known short-term memory deficits, individuals might also experience difficulties with organization, planning, and multitasking.
These cognitive changes can hinder daily activities and even affect one’s ability to return to work, perform at work, or maintain personal relationships.
3. Irritability, Frustration and Behavioral Changes
Emotional and behavioral changes can also be caused by a TBI. Irritability and mood swings are common. These changes in function could also include a lack of impulse control, personality changes and issues, and lack of a “filter.”
This behavioral dynamic can create problems both professionally and interpersonally. Additionally, the victim of a TBI often feels frustration that they cannot perform the way they did prior to the accident.
Why is it important for personal injury lawyers to know these facts about traumatic injuries?
When pursuing legal action after a car crash, trucking crash, or other accident resulting in a TBI, it is critical for you and your counsel to evaluate all possible manifestations of TBIs, in both the long and short term. In many cases, the lesser-known symptoms can significantly impact the victim’s ability to earn an income.
You can only resolve your personal injury case once.
Medical expenses, actual loss of earnings, and potential loss of earnings, as well as the possibility of future medical treatment and expenses, should be thoroughly evaluated when seeking compensation for your personal injury.
How can the Plakas Mannos team of personal injury attorneys help me?
Our firm has a team of experienced lawyers dedicated to the investigation and pursuit of serious personal injury cases. We are award-winning lawyers, who are consistently included in the Best Lawyers of America and Super Lawyers Magazine.
In addition to our team of experienced attorneys and paralegals, we also have an in-house physician consultant, Allison Kreiner, M.D., who dedicates her practice to our clients and thoroughly reviews medical records to ensure that symptoms and impacts of accidents are not missed and included in our clients’ personal injury claim.
Traumatic brain injuries resulting from automobile crashes, trucking accidents, and other accidents are not “one size fits all.” They are complicated. They show their presence in ways that might not immediately be associated with the injury and therefore require a holistic review by a qualified team.
Having the right legal representation via lawyers who are experienced with and understand TBIs and can determine whether there are additional phenomena not immediately recognized because of the TBI is very important. The effects can be far-reaching, long-lasting, and significantly impact the victim’s life.
Recognizing and addressing these hidden effects is essential for both your medical treatment and pursuing fair and complete legal compensation for your personal injury. It is critical that you have a lawyer and law firm who understand the complexity of TBIs so that you may achieve a full recovery and financial justice.
Reach out to Plakas Mannos today. Our attorneys are here to help during this difficult experience.
Contact our Injuries & Wrongful Death team
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
