According to Brainline, 153 people die in the United States each day due to injuries traumatic brain injury, and brain injuries carry a societal cost in this country of $60 billion per year. If you or your loved one have suffered a brain injury in Michigan due to someone else’s negligence, you may qualify for compensation through either a third-party insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. Contacting a lawyer with experience in brain injury cases may be able to help.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
The U.S. National Library of Medicine explains that a traumatic brain injury happens when a bump, jolt, or other head injury causes damage to the brain. Half of all traumatic brain injuries are suffered in car accidents. When someone seeks medical attention for a brain injury, they’re generally assessed on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). GCS is a common scoring system used to describe a person’s level of consciousness following a traumatic brain injury. The GCS measures and scores functions such as the patient’s ability to open his or her eyes spontaneously or on command; whether the patient can offer oriented verbal responses; and whether the patient can perform appropriate motor responses on command.
Types of Brain Injuries
Not all brain injuries are created equal. Some produce more severe or long-lasting consequences than others. Here is an overview of the types of brain injuries:
- Concussion: This is typically the mildest and most common form of brain injury, producing symptoms such as a lingering or worsening headache, nausea or vomiting, slurred speech, the inability to awaken from sleep, dilated pupils, and numbness or weakness in the arms or legs.
- Diffuse axonal injury: While not as visible as some types of brain injuries, diffuse axonal injuries are among the deadliest as they cause damages to brain cells and make them unable to function.
- Hematoma: The clotting of blood outside the blood vessels. This conditions can be very serious as it causes pressure to build within the skull.
- Edema: Swelling within the brain due to injury that causes pressure to build and presses the brain against the skull.
- Hemorrhage: Uncontrolled bleeding. When the hemorrhage occurs in the brain, it can result in blood collecting in the space around the brain or within the brain tissue itself.
- Skull fracture: The skull, which doesn’t contain marrow, is a very strong bone. If the head is hit hard enough to break it, there is likely going to be damage to the brain.
- Anoxic brain injury: Occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen and cells begin to quickly die. Within the first 30 seconds of oxygen deprivation, brain damage begins to occur. A person who is deprived of oxygen for two minutes almost always suffers brain damage. A brain can only survive up to about four minutes without oxygen. Anoxic brain injuries are often caused by near-drowning, anaphylactic shock due to allergies, choking, stroke, oxygen deprivation during birth, drug overdose, or a sudden blow to the windpipe.
The damage that is caused by a brain injury depends on the portion of the brain that is injured. For example, injuries to the brainstem may lead to the inability to control such functions as breathing, swallowing, and heart rate. Some of the other problems caused by injuries to specific parts of the brain include:
- Frontal lobes: May cause a person to have issues with the ability to control emotions and impulses, language, memory, and social behavior
- Temporal lobes: May result in a loss of hearing, language problems, and difficulty with sensory skills such as recognizing familiar people.
- Parietal lobes: May cause a person to have difficulty recognizing and locating parts of the body.
- Occipital lobes: Can lead to visual field problems as well as defects in the perception of size, color, and shape.
- Cerebellum: May lead to loss of muscle tone and uncoordinated movement.
What Causes a Brain Injury?
Brain injuries can be caused by any activity that involves a jolt or bump to the head. Some of the most common causes of this type of injury include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Sports injuries
- Construction site accidents
- Bicycle or pedestrian accidents
- Near drowning or deprivation of oxygen
- Accidents in the workplace
Did You or a Loved One Sustain a Brain Injury?
If you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, your first step to getting the compensation you need to pay your medical and related expenses is filing a third-party insurance claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Because insurance companies are in the business to make money, they will often try to deny your claim or offer you a fast, low-ball settlement for your damages. The problem with these quick settlements is that they often do not take into consideration the long-term complications that arise from brain injuries. Once you settle your claim, you will be unable to go back and ask for more money. Other services an experienced personal injury attorney may provide as you seek compensation for your injuries include:
- An accurate valuation of your case that considers not just what your medical expenses are now, but what they will be in the future.
- Legal guidance that can help you to make an informed decision as to whether to accept a settlement.
- Assistance in dealing with bill collectors while you are in the settlement process.
- An investigation into the cause of your accident, to identify at-fault parties and potential sources of insurance to ensure that you get an amount of money that is sufficient to cover your expenses.
- The hiring of medical and other experts who will testify on your behalf if your case goes to court.
- Professional representation if your case goes to court, as well as procedural services pertaining to the payment of your award and/or representation if you or the at-fault party choose to appeal the court’s decision.
Because of Michigan’s strict timelines regarding the filing of personal injury lawsuits, it is important to contact an experienced attorney to look at your case as soon as possible.
Call Thurswell Law if You or Someone You Love Suffered a Brain Injury
If you sustained a brain injury because of someone else’s negligence, please call Thurswell Law today to find out how our attorneys can help you recover the compensation you need to move forward with your life. You can reach us at (248) 354-2222 or email us using our online contact form.
