The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has designated each March as the month to raise awareness of brain injury and to work towards reducing it. Each year there is a particular focus on some aspect of brain injuries and this March, in 2009, the focus is on sports and concussion, especially youth sports.

The BIAA and its partners sponsor and organize activities nationwide designed to educate the public about the severity of brain injuries and to teach a preventive awareness of them. Brain injuries range from mild concussion involving no loss of consciousness to permanent mental disability and/or paralysis.

Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as brain damage caused by an impact to the head or by a head injury that penetrates the skull. A TBI does not necessarily result from these events – a milder injury could result. About 1.4 million people sustain a TBI each year in the U.S. About 50,000 die; 235,000 are hospitalized, and 1.1 million are treated in an emergency department and released.

Medical care for a TBI is typically extensive and expensive. It may well be life-long. There are two stages in the injury:

• The immediate damage from the blow to the head
• The secondary injuries which arise from the initial damage. These vary according to which part of the brain has been injured and examples would be dangerously low blood pressure, impaired blood flow to the brain, liver or kidney damage, and heart problems.
  

Emergency workers cannot do much for the immediate damage but they can and should do a lot for the secondary damage. They can prevent much suffering and loss of function if they are attentive and prompt in their care. When they are not, one must consider medical malpractice.

If you or a loved one received a strong blow to the head, please seek medical care immediately. Brain damage does not always give immediate symptoms, but may show up after days or weeks. You may not identify your state of mind as being the result of the injury, but may just think you need more sleep, more discipline, a vacation, more painkiller or less alcohol. Memory can be impaired, as can balance, speech, hearing, attention span, and eyesight.

Once you have sought medical care, please consider your legal position. If the blow to the head was caused by another person’s carelessness you may have a valid claim. Please contact our brain injury attorneys for a free case evaluation.