What is a brain injury and what should you do if you or someone you love suffers traumatic brain injury in an Orange County car accident?
We often think of the brain injury case where the injured person is in a coma, or confined to a bed, and is unable to function in any capacity. However, there are many other forms of brain injury cases which scientists and doctors are learning more and more about. They’re often referred to as a Closed Head Injury, or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
This kind of brain injury can occur when the person is knocked unconscious, or the head is simply shaken when the head is significantly moved in a car accident or truck collision. What might happen from a whiplash type accident? For example, in a serious rear end auto accident where the head moves back and forth violently at impact the resulting head movement can cause a TBI.
The closed head injury or TBI is often not verifiable by way of any imaging studies, such as an x-ray or an MRI, nor a CT scan. The injury is much more subtle. A qualified neuropsychologist is often the only one that is able to confirm the existence of the TBI. However, trauma centers have developed better tests in recent years to identify the presence of a brain injury.
Traumatic Brain Injury Defined
A traumatic brain injury in an Orange County car accident is defined in general as follows:
A patient with a mild traumatic brain injury is a person who has had a traumatically induced physiological disruption of the brain function as manifested by at least one of the following:
• Any period of loss of consciousness
• Any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident
• Any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g. feeling dazed, disoriented or confused: and
• Focal neurological deficit (s) that may or may not be transient
but where the severity of the injury does not exceed the following:
• Post traumatic amnesia (PTA) not greater than 24 hours
• After 30 minutes an initial Glasgow Come Scale (GCS) of 13 to 15 and
• Loss of consciousness of approximately 30 minutes or less.
Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury
The symptoms that are often associated with TBI are as follows:
1. Forgetfulness
2. Fatigue
3. Depression
4. Sleep issues
5. Attention deficit
6. Reduced ability to concentrate
7. Speed at which one can gather and understand information
8. Mood swings.
Symptoms resulting from a traumatic brain injury in an Orange County car accident can often be subtle or overlooked. Very often we see a client complaining they went to the grocery store to pick up certain items, but when they got to the store they couldn’t remember what they had intended to buy. Another common complaint is becoming disoriented or forgetting how to get home after living in the same location for years. TBI victims may have trouble remembering what they were supposed to do each day. They are often unable to follow the events in a book or article that they are reading.
My name is Rivers Morrell and after more than 40 years as a personal injury attorney I can tell you it is very important for your attorney recognize and appreciate these complaints (and inquire about them), and ensure that they are seen by the appropriate medical professional. Insurance companies fight to pay you less than what you are entitled to receive as full and fair compensation under California law. If you or someone you love have suffered a traumatic brain injury in an Orange County we invite you review the strong recommendations of former clients and the legal industry and contact us or call to speak with Rivers Morrell personally for a free, private and confidential consultation at (949)305-1400.
