Understanding Signs of Brain Injury

What are the types of head injuries?

There are several types of head injuries that can result from a car accident, slip and fall incident, or other types of accident. If the trauma results in damage to the skull itself, such as a crack or break, the trauma is considered a penetrating head injury. More difficult to diagnose are closed head injuries, where the skull is not obviously damaged, but the brain is still injured. This can occur from a blow or impact or from severe back-and-forth shaking, such as whiplash in a car accident. Babies and small children can suffer such injuries from being shaken, known as “shaken baby syndrome.”

What are the signs of a brain injury?

A medical professional should evaluate anyone who has sustained a blow to the head or whiplash-like injuries to determine if the victim has experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Even if symptoms are so slight that the victim does not realize that a serious injury has occurred, treatment should be sought before further injury can develop. Often the symptoms may be delayed for many hours until swelling in the brain reaches a point that it begins to affect the victim.

Some signs and symptoms of a brain injury to look for include:

Physical Symptoms: Dizziness, loss of balance, headaches, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, drowsiness, and confusion.

Mental Cognitive Symptoms: Intermittent disorientation, amnesia, short-term memory loss, poor judgment, and poor concentration

Emotional Symptoms: Anxiety and depression, agitation, irritability, apathy, confrontational attitude, explosive temper, fearfulness and impatience, personality changes in general, and sleep (early morning awakening) and appetite disturbances

What are the possible long-term problems?

TBI can result in permanent, irreversible damage to the brain. With severe brain injuries, the impairments are obvious and profound. They can result in paralysis, weakness, or abnormalities, including loss of sensation, coordination, or intellectual capacity. The more difficult, often overlooked cases are those where neurological and mental changes are subtle.

These may happen as a result of what appears to be a minor accident in which the brain is jarred. Symptoms called soft signs to begin to appear afterward, sometimes after long periods of time. In either case, a TBI can have a profound effect on the quality of life, including the inability to work, interact with friends and family, and loss of body function. If you see any of these signs, contact the Ontario, Canada brain injury lawyers at Cariati Law immediately.

Relevant terminology:

Concussion: When the head receives a trauma, and the brain is jarred inside the skull, which can end in a period of confusion
Retrograde Amnesia: Loss of memory of events that preceded the injury
Anterograde Amnesia: Loss of forward memory after the injury
Brain Contusion: A bruise to the brain
Focal Injury: An injury to one part of the brain, leaving the other parts intact
Diffuse Injury: Denotes widespread damage
Countercoup Injury: Brain damage occurring at the side of the brain opposite the trauma, caused by the cerebral spinal fluid drifting backward. If the blow is hard enough, it forces the brain against the back of the skull.

The brain injury lawyers at Cariati Law could help represent you if your brain injury was caused by negligence. Was your brain injury caused by a car accident, a slip and fall at work, or because of possible negligence? If you believe it was, call Cariati Law for help. We’ll investigate your situation thoroughly and see if you have a claim to recover damages.

It is very important to hire an experienced brain injury lawyer. Call Cariati Law to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer. It won’t cost you anything to discuss your case.

Each and every Ontario, Canada injury and disability lawyer at our firm is innovative, highly experienced, and result-oriented when serving the diverse legal needs of our clients. Our lawyers are committed to protecting your rights. When injured, make one call to Cariati Law.

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