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If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident and suffered a brain injury, you might be able to seek compensation. The brain is the control center for your entire body, and the effects of a brain injury can be surprising and debilitating. Since brain injuries are so difficult to treat, you may be stuck with little information regarding whether your loved one will ever recover.
With expensive medical bills stacking up, or lost wages from missed work weighing your family down, turn to someone you can trust to help you get the compensation you deserve. The personal injury attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm, P.C., may be able to help. Our attorneys have experience handing cases for injured accident victims, and may be able to help you, too.
What are TBI and MTBI?
The skull is an incredibly hard, incredibly strong series of bones that encase the most vital organ in your body. While the heart is protected by the rib cage, the brain is protected by a solid piece of bone. Brain injuries can vary widely in their severity and outward appearance. While taking a strong blow to the head often causes cuts or scrapes to the skin, it does not always penetrate the skull. However, some of the worst brain injuries occur when an object penetrates the skull and enters the brain. These “open” brain injuries are incredibly dangerous.
On the other hand, “closed” brain injuries can still have an enormous effect on the victim’s life. Most people are familiar with concussions, and many people have had, or know someone who has had, a concussion. A concussion, or “mild traumatic brain injury,” (MTBI) occurs when the brain is hit hard enough to make the victim lose consciousness. Sometimes the brain actually bounces against the inside of the skull. These often result in temporary loss of consciousness, confusion, nausea, light sensitivity, problems concentrating, and problems sleeping. It might not be immediately apparent that the injury is serious, though. Sometimes, the injury is even worse than a concussion.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the more severe version of a concussion. This occurs when the impact is much more severe, or when an object penetrates the brain. This kind of injury can cause serious brain damage. Unlike bones, muscles, or skin, the nervous cells that make up the brain and spinal cord do not heal or regenerate. This means that damage to the brain is permanent, and can only heal insofar as the brain can make new connections, working around the damaged tissue.
This means that areas of the brain that suffered damage may no longer perform the job they typically perform. There are different areas of the brain that are primarily responsible for things like emotional control, temperature regulation, balance, memory, recognition, language, and decision-making. Damage to any of these areas can affect these faculties. Some of these are not typically expected results from a traumatic injury, but are common symptoms of TBI:
- Change in personality
- Mood swings
- Memory problems
- Inability to recognize people or objects
- Loss of senses (smell, vision, hearing, etc.)
- Impulsiveness
- Trouble thinking or concentrating
Other symptoms, like nausea, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and balance problems are also common in cases of TBI, but less unusual.
How Can a Lawyer Help with Brain Injury?
The most important people to help with a brain injury are of course doctors and medical staff, who can treat the injuries, and family and friends, who can support a victim back to health. An attorney may not be able to help the injury itself, but a personal injury lawyer can be a vital resource for getting financial compensation.
Treating a brain injury may require long-term care. Unfortunately, victims of TBI may never recover, and may require skilled nursing care and monitoring for the rest of their lives. This can be extremely expensive and consume the time and resources of loved ones.
Our attorneys may be able to help you get compensation for medical bills, reimbursement for lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Medical bills eligible for compensation may include imaging (such as CT Scans and MRIs), surgeries (such as craniectomies to reduce swelling), nursing care, medical transportation, and more. If you or a loved one is missing work or can no longer work because of the injury, compensation may be available for past and future lost wages. Lastly, the physical pain and mental suffering the victim experiences may be compensated financially.
If the accident that caused the injury was insured, such as by auto insurance, workers’ compensation, or homeowner’s insurance, our attorneys may be able to fight the insurance companies to get you the best compensation available. If not, we may be able to fight your case in court.
Arlington, Texas Personal Injury Lawyers
The personal injury attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm help injured victims in the Arlington area seek compensation for their injuries. If you or a loved one suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident, call today for a free consultation to see what our lawyers can do for you. Call (817) 476-1797 today.