Understanding the 8 Levels of Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens due to a forceful bump, jolt, or blow to the body or head. In other cases, it may be because of an object piercing the skull and penetrating the brain. However, not all blows or jolts to the head result in traumatic brain injury.
If you or your loved one are a victim of TBI due to an accident or medical negligence, you may be able to recover damages in a traumatic brain injury lawsuit. Christian personal injury and family law lawyers in Tulsa can provide legal help for you and your loved ones. They can gather the necessary evidence to show the severity of the damage and fight aggressively for the settlement you deserve.
What Are the Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury?
People who sustain traumatic brain injuries can experience a range of emotional symptoms. These include anger, fatigue, guilt, fear, and hopelessness. These feelings can lead to the development of recognized psychiatric disorders, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder. Their quality of life also suffers.
The traumatic brain injury can lead to temporary or short-term problems with normal brain functions. It may interfere with the victim’s thought process, ability to understand, movement, communication, and actions. In severe cases, TBI can cause permanent disability and even death.
What Are the Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic brain injuries are either primary or secondary. Primary injuries include tearing and bleeding forces that injure nerve fibers, causing inflammation, brain swelling, and metabolic changes.
Secondary injuries can include the changes that evolve over hours or days after the primary injuries. They entail serious steps or phases of cellular, blood vessels, tissue, or chemical changes in the brain. The progression contributes to further destruction of brain tissue.
Living with TBI can be expensive, painful, and draining, so it would help to pursue a legal compensation claim. Consult Christian traumatic brain injury lawyers in Tulsa for a case assessment.
Overall, here are the eight different types of traumatic brain injuries:
Concussions
Concussions are the most common type of traumatic brain injury. It happens when a stroke force hits the head, causing the brain to move in the direction of the force. The brain collides with the skull and sustains injuries. Doctors in the past considered concussions minor inconveniences, but today they take them seriously.
Symptoms range from mild to severe, with some cases causing life-long difficulties. If they persist for over a month, they lead to post-concussion syndrome.
Hematomas
Hematoma is bleeding in and around the brain. It results from a rupture of a blood vessel and forms in different types depending on the location the blood collects in relation to the meninges. The meninges are the protective membrane surrounding the brain, comprising three layers.
Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI)
It is widespread damage to the brain’s white matter and a prevalent type of TBI. The white matter is a projection of nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses between different brain parts. The injury results from rotational forces or sudden forceful stopping, causing the bundles of nerve cells to tear or overstretch.
The injury disrupts or breaks down communication of the cells in the brain and catalyzes the release of certain brain chemicals that propel further brain damage.
Skull Fractures
The bones that form the skull may break or crack due to blunt force trauma, causing damage to the blood vessels, membranes, and brain under the fracture. Skull fractures can extend into the sinuses, causing a leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the ears or nose. Other forms of skull fractures are depressed skull fractures that press on or into the brain.
Contusions
A contusion is a swelling or bruising of the brain. It happens when tiny blood vessels bleed into brain tissue. They can happen directly under the impact site (coup injury) and, in other cases, on the complete side of the brain following the impact (contrecoup injury).
Contusions can appear hours after the impact or days later. The coup and contrecoup lesions occur when the head suddenly decelerates, causing the brain to bounce back and forth within the skull.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
CTE is a progressive neurological disorder associated with symptoms like problems with communicating, thinking, understanding, and motor disorders. It’s also characterized by depression and impulse control problems, irritability, and confusion.
The injury primarily affects people with significant exposure to multiple blows to the head as a delayed consequence years later. It can lead to a lack of coordination, dementia, and tremors, effects that commonly show in retired boxers. Severe CTE can also lead to post-traumatic dementia (PTD).
Hemorrhagic Progression of a Contusion (HPC)
Injuries happen when an initial contusion from the primary injuries keeps bleeding in and around the brain for an extended time. It creates a new or bigger lesion or a tissue area damaged through injury or disease. Increased blood exposure is toxic to the brain cells and causes further swelling and brain cell loss.
Increased Intracranial Pressure
The injury happens due to brain swelling inside the confined area of the skull following an injury. The increasing pressure can damage brain tissue and prevent proper blood flow to the brain. Consequently, it deprives the brain of the much-needed oxygen for proper functioning.
Should I Hire a Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer?
It would be in your best interest to seek the services of skilled and experienced Tulsa Christian traumatic brain injury lawyers after seeking medical care if you wish to pursue a TBI legal claim. One of the most challenging things a legal professional can do is to aggressively represent you to ensure you or your loved one face the insurance company to get the compensation you deserve.
If you try to handle the lawsuit alone, you’ll only have a hard time arguing your case with insurance adjusters who may try to do all they can to shortchange you. Having dedicated Tulsa Christian personal injury and family law lawyers affords you the benefit of their experience and makes your claim for damages more legitimate.
A Dedicated Tulsa TBI Lawyer Fighting for Your Wellbeing
Traumatic brain injuries vary in how they occur and the impact they create. The result can be lifelong disabilities, lowering your quality of life and robbing you of the opportunity to fend for your family or associate with your loved ones. Don’t suffer in silence for another person’s negligence. Christian traumatic brain injury lawyers in Tulsa want to help you get compensation.
The legal team at our law firm can assess the scope of your brain injury and determine liability. Then, we can calculate the full range of your brain injury damages and advocate for compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, loss of consortium, and disability. Call us today to schedule a meeting.
