A brain injury is always a serious injury, even when it is medically classified as “mild”. The area of the brain which is injured typically means more than the severity of the injury. Even a relatively minor brain injury can cause disabilities and other long-term consequences. The symptoms of brain injury may not appear for hours or days, and impairments may crop up months after the injury occurs.
Brain Injury Types and Causes
Acquired brain injuries (ABI) are brain injuries that occur anytime in your life after you were born. Birth brain injuries occur in the womb or during labor and delivery.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by extreme force to the head or body. It is one of the most common types of brain injury and a common consequence of motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall, and construction accidents. Other causes of brain injury include:
- Hypoxia/anoxia – lack of oxygen
- Ischemia – lack of blood flow
- Neurotoxic exposure – chemicals including pharmaceuticals
- Infections
- Hydrocephalus
- Stroke – ischemic or hemorrhagic
- Brain tumor
- Seizure
Brain Injury Claims and Compensation
A brain injury claim can arise from an accident causing TBI or other incidents that lead to other types of brain injury such as failure to diagnose and treat a stroke or infection in a timely fashion. Birth brain injuries are often the result of medical malpractice such as failure to respond to fetal distress.
The impact that your brain injury has on your life and is expected to have over the course of the rest of your life directly affects the amount of compensation you can receive. If your impairment is long-term or lasts the rest of your life, the costs will be substantial. Maximum compensation is necessary to ensure your financial future and give you access to the best treatments giving you the very best chance of recovery. Presenting the nature and severity of your injury, including its personal consequences and life-long financial cost, in a meaningful and convincing manner is critical to a successful brain injury claim.
Brain injury does not just affect the victim; it can have a life-changing effect on loved ones. Even when a brain injury does not cause a visible impairment, it often causes personality changes that can be confusing and upsetting for everyone involved and can tear apart relationships or change the way that family members relate to one another. When someone else has caused your brain injury, they can be held financially responsible for this harm as well as your monetary losses.