Brain Injuries

Personal Injury

Brain injuries can have devastating, life-changing consequences. If you or someone you love has suffered an injury to the brain, Tony Malley, Attorney at Law may be able to help you recover compensation for your present and future medical bills, lost wages and emotional suffering. Mr. Malley recognizes the challenges you face and will help you obtain the compensation you need to overcome those challenges and move forward with your life.

Types of Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as some injury to the brain from an external force, including:

  • Rapid acceleration or deceleration
  • Impact
  • Blast waves (injury from an explosion)
  • Penetration by a projectile

There are two types of acquired brain injury (as opposed to injury sustained by the fetus before birth):

  • TBI, which results from an external source
  • Non-traumatic brain injury, such as an injury caused by a stroke or an infection, which has an internal cause.

The usual classification of TBI depends upon several factors, including:

  • Severity of injury
  • Specific anatomical traits of an injury
  • The cause of the injury, which is divided into closed head injury, which occurs when the brain is not exposed and penetrating or open head injury, in which the brain is exposed

Treatment and Rehabilitation

Emergency treatment must be started as soon as possible following the injury. For best results, a brain injury should be treated within the first hour, which is sometimes referred to as the golden hour. Patients whose injuries are medium to severe are usually treated first in an intensive care unit, then in a hospital’s neurosurgical ward.

The kind of treatment provided depends upon the stage the injured person is in. If the patient is in the critical stage of injury, the goal is to stabilize him or her and to prevent the occurrence of additional injury. In less acute and recovery stages of TBI, rehabilitation is the primary aim of treatment.

In the critical or acute stage of the injury, doctors try to ensure adequate supply of oxygen and blood flow to the brain, prevent seizures, and control pressure within the skull and the brain tissue. Many medical measures are taken to accomplish these tasks.

Once the patient is stabilized and out of the acute stage of injury, he or she begins the process of rehabilitation. The goal of rehabilitation is to improve the person’s ability to function independently at home and away, and help them deal with their disabilities. Many specialists work as part of a multidisciplinary team to help the patient. Specialists can include:

  • Neurologists and rehabilitation physicians
  • Physiotherapists
  • Speech and language therapists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Psychologists

Long-Term Complications

The type and duration of complications from TBI vary widely, related to the severity of the injury and the quality and length of rehabilitation. Complications can include:

  • Effects on state of consciousness (coma, brain death, persistent vegetative state, minimally conscious state)
  • Effects from lying in bed for a long time (pressure sores, pneumonia, other infections, multiple organ failure)
  • Blood vessel complications (deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, vasospasm, aneurysms, stroke)
  • Movement disorders (ataxia, myoclonus, post-traumatic seizures)
  • Alteration in senses of vision, hearing or smell
  • Hormonal disturbances such as diabetes insipidus
  • Cognitive impairment can affect attention, insight, judgment, thought, compromised processing speed, abstract reasoning, planning, problem-solving, multitasking
  • Language problems, including speaking, understanding and written
  • Emotional and behavioral problems
  • Personality changes and psychiatric disorders
  • Strain on family relationships

Compensation Strategies for Brain Injury Patients

Because brain injuries can have such devastating effects on a person and his/her family, brain injury patients deserve all the legal help available. If you or a family member has sustained a severe injury to the brain, you deserve the best legal representation possible. To schedule a consultation with an experienced Texas brain injury lawyer, please contact Mr. Malley today.