Injuries to the face and head should always be taken seriously. A serious blow to the head can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which has lasting effects on your well-being. When a negligent party causes a head injury or a TBI, our Indianapolis, IN, law firm can offer legal help.
There are different types of brain injuries that may be sustained. Our accident lawyers would like to consider some of the common types of brain injuries people sustain and why they are such serious matters.
Concussions
A concussion is one of the most common kinds of traumatic brain injuries. A concussion occurs when a blow to the head or the body causes the brain to shake within the cranium. Concussions can cause headaches, dizziness, memory loss, mood swings, and emotional problems.
Even if a concussion is mild, it’s important to get medical attention as soon as possible. Athletes in contact or combat sports run an especially high risk of suffering from multiple concussions. This could lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative brain disorder common among athletes and combat veterans.
Contusions
A brain contusion is a bruise on the brain. Much like the bruises that appear on your skin, a brain contusion results from broken blood vessels in the area that experienced trauma. A brain contusion typically occurs when the brain strikes the inside of the skull with sufficient force. This can occur from a blow to the head, face, or body. When the contusion occurs on the opposite side of the brain from the point of impact, it’s known as a contrecoup injury. When the area of impact and the opposite side of the brain are both affected, it’s called a coup-contrecoup.
While bruising on the skin is a minor issue, a brain contusion is far more serious. The broken blood vessels in the brain could result in memory loss, mood swings, and changes in cognitive function. Depending on the injury, a brain contusion may require surgery to repair the damage to the brain tissue.
Anoxic Brain Injury
A lack of oxygen to the brain can cause an anoxic brain injury. This type of injury is usually the result of impeded blood flow. A blood clot, a stroke, a heart attack, and serious trauma are common causes of anoxic brain injury. Anoxic brain injuries can also occur when a person is unable to breathe for too long, such as suffocation, drowning, poor ventilation, poisoning, and anything else that may affect proper/normal intake of oxygen in the lungs.
It only takes four to five minutes without oxygen to cause brain cells to die, which is why these kinds of injuries require monitoring and proper professional attention.
Penetrating Head Injuries
A penetrating head injury is any kind of trauma that results in penetration of the skull. This might include a gunshot wound, a fall that leads to a crack or fracture in the skull, or trauma from falling objects. These head injuries are especially dangerous since the brain may be critically damaged by the trauma that’s been sustained. They can even be fatal.
Second Impact Syndrome
Second impact syndrome is caused by increasing severity of repeated brain injuries. Suffering from a concussion makes additional concussions more likely. Multiple concussions can lead to further damage of the brain (CTE) and make previous lingering effects of a concussion even worse.
Learn More About Your Legal Options
To learn more about your legal rights and options following a serious injury to the head or brain, be sure to contact the injury accident lawyers of Golitko & Daly. Our attorneys are here to offer expert counsel in your time of legal need.
