There are many terrible consequences of a car accident or other horrific event, but a victim who suffers from traumatic brain injury following an accident endures some of the most debilitating pain and challenging recoveries. A traumatic brain injury results from an impact to the head that occurs in a fall or an impact event. The two categories of traumatic brain injury (often referred to as TBI) are:
- A penetrating injury: An injury that involves an intrusion into the brain area by a foreign object. The damage occurs along the path of penetration as well as the final impact point. These types of injuries may be caused by a bullet or shrapnel, as well as an object forced into the brain during a serious car accident, including parts of the metal car frame.
- A closed head injury: When there is an impact to the head, the brain may be jarred inside the skull, causing damage to the brain tissue. This can happen in a fall where the person strikes his head or a car accident, when the victim’s head strikes the steering wheel, window, or dashboard.
In the United States, there are 1.7 million victims who suffer from a TBI each year. These serious injuries can lead to death, but if the damage to the tissue is not too severe, the person may recover over time. Many accident victims suffer from the consequences of a TBI for the remainder of their lives after the time of the injury. Falls result in the greatest number of TBIs each year with motor vehicle accidents coming in second at seventeen percent (17%). However, vehicle accidents result in the highest percentage of fatalities from TBIs.
The nature of the injury means that there are many immediate signs of trauma, including:
- Intracranial pressure that can have devastating consequences if not treated immediately (this pressure build-up leads to many deaths from TBIs);
- Swelling of the brain itself;
- Hematomas;
- Epilepsy or other seizure disorders;
- Anemia;
- Cardiac abnormalities; and
- Behavioral changes.
The long-term effects on the victim of a TBI may include debilitating pain and severe headaches, loss of muscle control impacting movement and coordination, vision, hearing, or speech impairment or loss, emotional turmoil, and cognitive impairment. A child who suffers from a TBI may not be able to return to the educational program that he or she attended before the accident. He may need adaptive technology, round-the-clock assistance, modifications to the home and family vehicle, and intensive medical rehabilitation. These specialized, and expensive, requirements may be necessary for the rest of the child’s life, meaning that there must be funds available to provide the appropriate level of care after the parents are no longer able to care for the child.
An adult with a traumatic brain injury may no longer have the ability to perform the job that he or she held before the accident. This injury may prevent him from working at all, especially if the tissue damage was extensive and the damage is permanent. Family members may have to give up a career, or take reduced hours, in order to provide the type of support that a TBI victim needs, including driving him to medical appointments and providing basic care. Many times, it is necessary to hire in-home nursing care. In order to ensure that the victim has the best quality of life possible, even if a return to normal is never possible, it is imperative that the settlement or jury award takes every physical, emotional, and financial need into account.
When you or a loved one has been severely injured in an accident, it is critical to have the right attorneys who understand that it is not merely the suffering of the moment that must be considered, but the long-term consequences of the accident that must be raised before it is too late to recover. The skilled and caring Missouri Car Accident Attorneys at Hubbard & Kurtz, LLP are dedicated to getting the justice that our clients deserve. To set up an initial consultation to discuss what happened to you and how we can help, please call us at (877) 535-1163.
