Brain Injury
It is estimated that more than five million people in the United States are currently suffering disabilities due to brain injury and head injuries including traumatic brain injury ( TBI ), acquired brain injury, closed head injury, penetrating head injury and anoxic brain injury. Statistics show that each year approximately 270,000 people will experience a moderate or severe brain injury and approximately 70,000 people will die as a result of their brain injury. Of those injured survivors, 80,000 will suffer significant and often permanent disabilities.
Traumatic Brain Injury, also called Acquired TBI, brain injury or simply head injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. The damage can be confined to one area of the brain or involve more than one area of the brain.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides the following definition of Traumatic Brain Injury:
"Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance."
The term brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking judgment, problem-solving, sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. Some symptoms are evident immediately, while others do not surface until several days or weeks after the injury. A person with a mild brain injury may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes.
The person may also feel dazed or not like himself for several days or weeks after the initial injury. Other symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking.
A person with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury may show these same symptoms, but may also have a headache that gets worse or does not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures, inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the extremities, loss of coordination, and/or increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation. Small children with moderate to severe brain injury may show some of these signs as well as signs specific to young children, such as persistent crying, inability to be consoled, and/or refusal to nurse or eat. Approximately half of severely head-injured patients will need surgery.
Medical personnel routinely use the Glasgow Coma Scale as a reference tool for evaluating the severity of a coma. Based on motor responsiveness, verbal performance, and eye opening to appropriate stimuli, the Glasgow Coma Scale was designed and used to assess the depth and duration coma and impaired consciousness. This scale helps to gauge the impact of a wide variety of conditions such as acute brain damage.
The scale is accessed a point total of 15 points, and the higher the point - the higher the chances of recovery. For example:
Severe Head Injury - score of 8 or less
Moderate Head Injury - score of 9 to 12
Mild Head Injury - score of 13 to 15
Surgery along with post-surgery care can cost you a lifetime of debt if you're not informed and prepared to fight for your legal rights to full monetary recovery for all your expenses. In many cases, health insurance benefits or disability payments have set limits or offer lump sum payments. It is crucial that you do not agree to any settlements from insurance companies until you consult with an attorney who is experienced in personal injury law and understands all the complications associated with the long rehabilitation or permanent effect of a brain injury.
Resources & Information on Brain Injuries
Brain Injury Association of America
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Resource Center on Traumatic Brain Injury
Brain Injury Association of America
Traumatic Brain Injury Survival Guide
Rehabilitation Research Center for TBI
UCLA Neurosurgery Brain Injury Program
Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association
Brain Injury Association National Help Line: 1-800-444-6443
NIOSH Help Line: 1-800-356-4674
The NIOSH provides workers, employers, university researchers, labor organizations, industrial organizations, and government agencies with information specific to their occupational health and safety problems.
