A traumatic brain injury occurs when a blow, jolt, penetration, or rapid movement causes damage to brain tissue or disrupts normal brain function.
Some traumatic brain injuries are visible on imaging.
Others, including many concussions and closed head injury cases, may produce serious symptoms even when CT scans or MRIs do not show obvious structural damage.
Symptoms may appear immediately or develop over hours, days, or weeks.
Brain injury victims should seek medical attention after any significant head trauma, especially if they experience headache, confusion, dizziness, nausea, sleep disruption, mood changes, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, vision changes, or loss of consciousness.
Traumatic brain injuries may result from a car accident, truck accident, fall, sports injury, assault, workplace incident, medical errors, medical malpractice, or a defective vehicle or product.
The medical treatment needed depends on the type and severity of the injury.
A mild TBI may require rest, monitoring, and follow-up care.
A serious brain injury or severe brain injury may require hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, long-term medical care, and support for permanent disability or permanent impairment.
Are There Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Traumatic brain injuries can vary by mechanism, severity, symptoms, and long-term effect.
Medical records, diagnostic imaging, neurological exams, neuropsychological testing, and treatment history may help show the type of injury and how it affects the injured person.
Common types of traumatic brain injuries include:
- Concussion: A concussion is often described as a mild traumatic brain injury, but “mild” does not mean harmless. A mild concussion can still cause headaches, dizziness, sleep problems, memory issues, mood changes, and difficulty concentrating.
- Contusion: A contusion is bruising of the brain tissue, often caused by direct head trauma. It may involve bleeding, swelling, and increased pressure inside the skull.
- Diffuse Axonal Injury: A diffuse axonal injury occurs when rapid movement, rotation, or force causes tearing or stretching of nerve fibers in the brain. Axonal injury can occur in high-force crashes, falls, or assaults and may cause severe TBI symptoms.
- Coup-Contrecoup Injury: This injury involves damage at the site of impact and on the opposite side of the brain as the brain moves within the skull.
- Skull Fracture: A skull fracture may occur when a forceful impact breaks the skull. It can be associated with bleeding, swelling, infection risk, or injury to underlying brain tissue.
- Closed Head Injury: A closed head injury occurs when the skull remains intact but the brain is injured by impact, acceleration, deceleration, or rotational force.
- Second Impact Syndrome: This rare but severe condition can occur when a person suffers a second head injury before the first concussion has healed.
The type of traumatic brain injury matters because it can affect medical treatment, future care costs, work restrictions, and the value of a brain injury claim.
What Are the Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injuries can occur when outside force, negligence, unsafe conditions, or preventable medical errors cause head trauma.
The responsible party depends on how the injury occurred and what evidence supports the claim.
Common causes include:
- Slips, Trips, and Falls: Falls may cause a head injury in grocery stores, apartment complexes, nursing homes, parking lots, sidewalks, stairwells, hospitals, workplaces, and private homes. A premises liability claim may be available when a property owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and failed to correct it or warn visitors.
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: A car accident, truck accident, motorcycle crash, pedestrian crash, or bicycle crash can cause traumatic brain injuries even without a direct blow to the head. A claim may involve the at-fault party, an employer, a commercial carrier, an insurance company, or a vehicle defect.
- Sports Injuries: Sports injuries may involve concussions, second impact syndrome, or other brain trauma. Potential claims may depend on supervision, safety rules, concussion protocols, equipment, and whether the injured person was returned to play too soon.
- Assaults and Negligent Security: Assault-related brain injuries may support claims against the person who committed the assault and, in some cases, against a property owner if negligent security contributed to the attack.
- Workplace and Construction Accidents: Falls from heights, falling objects, equipment collisions, and site hazards can cause serious brain injury. These cases may involve workers’ compensation, third-party personal injury claims, or claims against contractors, subcontractors, property owners, or equipment manufacturers.
- Medical Malpractice or Medical Negligence: Medical errors may cause or worsen a traumatic brain injury when delayed diagnosis, surgical error, oxygen deprivation, medication errors, or failure to monitor a patient results in brain damage.
- Motor Vehicle Defects: Defective airbags, seat belts, tires, brakes, roof structures, or other vehicle components may contribute to head or brain injury. Product liability claims require careful review of the vehicle, crash facts, defect evidence, and expert analysis.
Where Does a TBI Usually Occur?
A traumatic brain injury TBI can occur anywhere a person is exposed to a fall hazard, vehicle impact, unsafe supervision, medical error, or violent incident.
In St. Louis, brain injury cases may arise from crashes on I-64, I-70, I-44, I-55, I-270, city intersections, construction sites, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, sports facilities, apartment complexes, parking lots, and commercial properties.
Specific locations where brain injuries may occur include:
- Nursing Homes: Older adults may suffer a severe injury from falls, dropped transfers, poor supervision, medication issues, or failure to follow fall-prevention plans. These cases may involve medical records, care plans, staffing evidence, and witness testimony.
- Daycare Centers and Schools: Children may suffer head trauma from falls, unsafe playground equipment, sports injuries, inadequate supervision, or delayed medical attention.
- Hospitals and Medical Facilities: Patients may suffer brain injuries from falls, oxygen deprivation, surgical errors, medication errors, or other medical negligence. Some cases may involve a medical malpractice claim rather than a standard personal injury claim.
- Sports Areas: Concussions and other brain injuries can occur in football, hockey, boxing, soccer, cheerleading, skateboarding, cycling, and other activities. Legal responsibility may depend on supervision, protocol compliance, equipment, and whether the injured person received appropriate medical attention.
- Construction Sites and Workplaces: Workers may suffer head or brain injury from falls, falling objects, vehicle strikes, equipment failures, or unsafe worksite conditions. These cases may involve workers’ compensation, third-party claims, or equipment defect claims.
- Roadways and Vehicles: A car accident or truck accident can cause closed head injury, skull fracture, diffuse axonal injury, and other traumatic brain injuries. Evidence may include police reports, accident reports, vehicle data, scene photographs, and medical records.
What Are the Implications of Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Traumatic brain injuries can affect thinking, movement, memory, mood, communication, sleep, work capacity, relationships, and independence.
The impact depends on the severity of the injury, location of brain trauma, age, prior medical history, and access to medical care.
Potential effects include:
- Loss of Motor Function: Weakness, balance problems, coordination issues, tremors, paralysis, and mobility limitations may require physical therapy, assistive devices, or home modifications.
- Sensory Impairments: Vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, and sensory processing may be affected.
- Memory Loss: The injured person may have difficulty retaining new information, recalling events, managing appointments, or returning to work or school.
- Attention and Concentration Problems: Difficulty concentrating may affect driving, employment, education, household tasks, and daily decision-making.
- Executive Function Impairment: Planning, organizing, problem-solving, impulse control, and judgment may be affected.
- Language and Communication Problems: Some brain injury victims experience speech difficulty, word-finding problems, reading issues, or trouble understanding language.
- Mood and Behavioral Changes: Depression, anxiety, irritability, aggression, impulsivity, and emotional distress may occur after a traumatic brain injury.
- Loss of Independence: A serious brain injury may require assistance with dressing, bathing, eating, transportation, medication, and household tasks.
- Permanent Disability or Permanent Impairment: A severe brain injury may prevent the injured person from returning to prior work or living independently.
These effects matter in a brain injury lawsuit because damages may include medical expenses, future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, future care costs, emotional distress, and the cost of long-term support.
Traumatic Brain Injury Facts and Figures
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 214,110 victims and patients were hospitalized because of TBI following a tragic accident in 2021.
In terms of fatality, this catastrophic injury claimed the lives of 69,473 in the same year.
This number equates to 190 TBI-related deaths every day.
In a different paper published by the Perelman School of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, experts estimate that about two million Americans sustain and suffer from a TBI each year.
Traumatic brain injuries are a major public health issue in the United States.
Some accident victims need neurological follow-up, rehabilitation, medication, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychological support, or long-term medical treatment.
A severe TBI may also require life-care planning and documentation of future care costs.
In a personal injury lawsuit, the injured person still needs medical records, testimony from medical professionals, evidence of how the injury occurred, and documentation showing how the traumatic brain injury affected work, daily life, and family members.
