Brain Injury

Given that your brain controls your behaviour, thoughts and movements, an injury to your brain can be harmful to a myriad of aspects of your physical and mental health.

Brain injuries are common in collisions involving cars, motorcycles and bikes. The damage can range from a mild concussion to a devastating traumatic brain injury (TBI), the results of which can range from a simple headache to permanent cognitive impairment or even death.

Even minor injuries to the brain can result in long-term problems. Brain injuries are complex and therefore require specialized medical attention. These complex and serious injuries also require experienced legal expertise.

TBI refers to physical trauma caused to the brain. Damage can exist in just one specific area of brain function but more frequently, the injury will affect several aspects of brain function. Concussions are the most common but least severe form of TBI. They are often referred to as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI), which can still be very serious and must be understood and treated. A concussion usually involves a brief loss of consciousness, after which physical evidence of damage is not detected in a medical scan. A person suffering a concussion often experiences confusion and memory loss. Other effects include dizziness, blurred vision, mood changes, headaches, vomiting, convulsions, slurred speech and numbness or weakness in the arms and legs.

In general, a TBI is caused by a sudden violent blow to the head that sets the brain colliding into other parts of the inner skull. If there is a penetrating injury, most of the damage will exist where the impact occurred though the effects can also be seen on the opposite side of the brain. After a penetrating skull fracture, fragments of bone can enter the tissue of the brain and cause bruising. This puts pressure on the brain and can impair vital functions.

Bruising and swelling in the brain can be of critical concern. Swelling within the confined space of the skull is particularly serious due to the lack of room for expansion. This intracranial pressure, as it is known, can cause significant additional damage.

Friends, family and co-workers of an accident victim are often in the first to notice behavioural changes. Significant swings in a person’s moods can be a sign of brain injury that requires immediate treatment and specialized care.

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