Every year, almost three million Americans go to hospital emergency rooms following serious head injuries. Traumatic Brain Injuries are a factor in about a third of the unintentional deaths in the United States. Despite the severity of these injuries, many people do not get the medical help they need right away.
TBIs are rather difficult to diagnose. Many people do not lose consciousness, vomit, or have other signature symptoms. Doctors often mistake the other symptoms, such as confusion, with either trauma from the injury or early-onset dementia. Furthermore, the brain is very adept at hiding its own injury. So, many TBI victims “feel fine” and do not press the doctor for treatment.
These facts often make a serious injury even more serious. As a result, a Brainerd personal injury attorney may be able to obtain significant compensation for these victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic damages, such as medical bills, as well as noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages may also be available, in some cases.
Understanding the common causes of these injuries makes it easier for victims to get the medical care they need. This prompt medical care also increases the financial compensation that’s available later.
Trauma
The aforementioned misdiagnosis issues are especially acute in slip-and-fall and other head trauma injuries. Such trauma injuries account for a large portion of the TBIs in Crow Wing County.
Most emergency responders easily identify trauma injuries, due to bleeding and swelling. But head trauma injuries do not display these symptoms. The skull hides internal bleeding and also compresses the brain. So, there is no visible injury. As a result, brain bleeding and swelling often go undetected.
Ordinarily, trauma injuries heal, given sufficient time and medical attention. But head trauma injuries are permanent. Once brain cells die, they never regenerate. It’s only possible to alleviate the symptoms. Doctors can perform surgery to stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling. Later, a physical therapist can work with a victim so that uninjured parts of the brain take over the lost functions. But these processes are long, difficult, and expensive.
Motion
Most people know that it’s possible to scramble an egg just by shaking it. In many ways, the human head is a lot like an egg. Sudden, violent motion causes the brain to smash against the inside of the skull. So, this motion almost literally scrambles the brain in the same way that it scrambles an egg.
These motion-related head injuries are especially common in car crash cases, mostly because of the whiplash effect. When a fast-moving car hits a solid object, the occupants in the car continue moving forward at the same speed. As a result, their necks usually surge forward then snap back, much like the cracking of a whip.
Whiplash is a soft tissue injury. It normally does not show up on cat scans, X-rays, and other diagnostic tests. Doctors must diagnose whiplash according to the symptoms, and as mentioned above, that’s difficult to do.
Fortunately, a Brainerd personal injury attorney can connect head injury victims with experienced accident physicians. These professionals know how to spot conditions like whiplash. They also know how to treat these injuries. Typically, these individuals charge nothing upfront for their services. So, a Brainerd personal injury attorney ensures that victims get the treatment they need, and not just the treatment they can afford.
Sudden Loud Noise
Many of these head injury practitioners say that a TBI is the “signature injury” of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. A disproportionate number of veterans come home with these kinds of injuries. That’s probably because of the prevalence of explosive blasts in these conflicts.
Researchers have recently learned that explosive blasts produce shock waves which are basically biological Electromagnetic Pulses. Normal EMPs shut down electronic devices, and biological EMPs disrupt brain functions.
Here is Minnesota, truck accidents cause many EMP-related brain injuries. Witnesses often describe the noise of these crashes as like explosions. Additionally, many of these crashes involve fireball explosions. These vehicles often carry hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel, a concoction which is much more volatile than gasoline.
Truck accidents are usually legally complex for several reasons. These incidents often involve the respondeat superior rule. According to this legal doctrine, a shipping company or other large truck owner is responsible for the damages a driver negligently causes. Additionally, many truck drivers have licenses in several different states. So, it’s difficult to accurately assess the tortfeasor’s driving record.
Respondeat superior and driving record are directly relevant to the amount of compensation a Brainerd personal injury attorney can obtain in these cases.
Reach Out to Assertive Lawyers
Serious brain injuries come in many shapes and sizes. For a free consultation with an experienced Brainerd personal injury attorney, contact Carlson & Jones, P.A. Home and hospital visits are available.