Long-Term Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

CALL (800) 863-5312 TO SPEAK with a lawyer about the long-term effects of mild traumatic brain injuries

A traumatic brain injury (TBI), even a mild one, can change how you function day to day. You may not be able to participate in recreational sports that you used to enjoy because you now lack the ability to balance yourself. You may lose a friendship because you now have depression and are unable to meet up and appreciate time with your friend.

The long-term effects of TBIs might leave you feeling hopeless and out of options. While these emotions are common, causes of mild TBIs often link to an incident; sometimes, those incidents are the fault of someone else. If this is true of your case, you could potentially recover.

If someone caused your mild TBI, call the Zinda Law Group accident attorneys at (800) 863-5312 to receive a free case evaluation. Learn whether there are options for seeking compensation, especially if your injuries were caused by someone else.

What is a mild traumatic brain injury?

A TBI occurs when an outside force strikes the head or body. Even a shock wave from an explosion can produce enough force to cause a TBI, as can an object that pierces brain tissue. TBIs can be mild, moderate, or severe.

Mild TBIs (80% of all TBIs) are concussions. An impact to the head causes the brain to rapidly accelerate then decelerate in motion, hitting the skull. It is most likely that a mild TBI will only affect your brain cells temporarily, but in many cases, it is difficult to gauge the severity of a TBI without knowing the long-term effects.

In the United States, many concussions go unreported, especially by athletes. College football players and other athletes do not want to risk being taken out of games that they are contracted to play and losing their scholarships.

What are the long-term effects of a mild tbi?

While many concussion symptoms can go away within days or weeks after the impact, some may stay with you indefinitely. These are called persistent post-concussive symptoms.

A few persistent post-concussive symptoms include

• inability to coordinate movement as you did before the concussion,
• inability to balance,
• reduced attention span,
• poor judgment,
• slow reaction time,
• and inability to concentrate.

You may also experience continuous headaches, depression, anxiety, and memory loss.

How to handle a mild TBI

If you suspect you have a TBI, you will want to visit your doctor to confirm that. Only around 12% of concussions are reported, and it can be risky to leave a concussion undiagnosed and untreated. A concussion does not require for you to be knocked out, so you may not be able to tell with certainty whether you have a TBI.

Diagnosis

Fortunately, a doctor will be able to use modern imaging technology to help you confirm whether you have a TBI. Your doctor will likely use either a computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

A CT scan will take a series of X-rays that together form a detailed image of your brain. With a CT scan, you can quickly see any fractures, hemorrhaging, blood clots, swelling, or bruised brain tissue. Usually, you get a CT scan when you enter the emergency room right after receiving the initial impact that caused your suspected TBI.

You are more likely to receive an MRI later once your condition has stabilized, especially if you continue to have serious symptoms weeks or months after the initial impact. An MRI uses strong radio waves and magnets to form an image of your brain.

Medication

If the symptoms of your concussion do not persist, you may not need any specific treatment other than time to rest and recover. If your doctor prescribes something different, you should be sure to follow the doctor’s advice. Keep in mind that drugs and alcohol can slow the recovery process and increase chances of re-injury.

However, there are medications that can help treat TBI either right after the initial impact or later during your recovery. Medications that can help improve your brain injury symptoms include:

• Antidepressants
• Anti-anxiety medication
• Muscle relaxants
• Stimulants
• Anticonvulsants
• Anticoagulants
• Diuretics

Therapy

If you need to relearn certain skills or recover functions that have been affected by your TBI, your doctor may recommend therapy; there will usually be a program at the hospital to allow you to begin therapy there. You may need to re-learn your daily routine of self-care in order to accommodate your injuries. For example, occupational therapy could help you find a new way to put on your clothes that corresponds with the limited movement you now experience from your mild TBI.

Rehabilitation can also include speech therapy if your TBI has affected your ability to communicate and physical therapy if you have lost the ability to balance. You might also benefit from psychological counseling to learn how to handle chemical imbalances that have resulted from your TBI or from cognitive therapy to help you regain your attention span and memory.

Symptoms of a tbi

Since a knock-out is not necessary for a concussion, you may be curious about some of the additional tell-tale signs of a mild TBI. There are particular categories—mental, sensory, and physical—under which your symptoms can fall that can help you organize the ailments you are experiencing. There are also possible indicators your infant or young child has had a TBI.

Mental Symptoms

First, you could suffer from the mental symptoms of a mild TBI. Upon the initial impact, you will probably experience either a loss of consciousness for a few seconds to a few minutes, or you will be disoriented, dazed, or confused. After the impact, you could have

• difficulty sleeping or begin sleeping more than usual,
• difficulty concentrating or remembering,
• sudden changes in mood, or
• anxiety and depression.

Physical Symptoms

Physical symptoms are also common after a mild TBI. You might experience

• persistent headaches,
• dizziness or loss of balance,
• difficulty speaking,
• nausea, and

Sensory Symptoms

Sensory symptoms are less common for mild TBIs. However, in rare cases, the patient experiences a bad taste in the mouth or a loss of smell. Other sensory symptoms include

• blurred vision,
• ringing ears, and
• sensitivity to light and/or sound.

Children’s Symptoms

Since very young children who are not yet able to speak communicate differently than older children and adults, it is important to watch for signs that your child has suffered a TBI. Watch for whether your child is unusually irritable or has otherwise unexplainable changes in mood, changes in sleeping or eating habits, or seizures.

Common causes of a mild tbi

If you are still unsure whether your symptoms are indicative of a TBI, you might be interested in some of the common causes of a mild TBI. TBIs are usually caused by a blow or other traumatic injury to the head or body. The degree of damage can depend on several factors, including the nature of the injury and the force of impact.

Sports Injuries

We have already discussed the ways in which some athletes fail to report their concussions. High-impact and extreme sports such as football, hockey, boxing, skateboarding, soccer, and lacrosse can lead to TBIs because they involve fast-moving people and objects that can hit players in the head or cause them to fall down.

Falls

Falls are the most common cause of TBIs. Children and older adults who have a slower or less coordinated reaction in bracing themselves for the fall are most susceptible to a concussion from falling.

Car Crashes

Car crashes, especially those involving motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians, can lead to TBIs. Those who are not protected by the airbags and seatbelts of a vehicle during the crash experience the impact more acutely than motorists who have had those protections.

Combat Injuries

Explosions, penetrating wounds, and impacts from debris can cause TBIs in military personnel, especially those who are in the line of active duty.

Violence

Physical violence from child abuse (including shaken baby syndrome), domestic violence, and other assaults can cause TBIs.

If I struggle with a mild tbi, should I get a lawyer?

Whether you should get a lawyer will depend on how the TBI occurred. Under any of the causes of a mild TBI listed above, there is a large chance that your TBI resulted from someone else’s negligence.

A lawyer may be able to help you recover against the negligent person or entity who caused your long-term injury. A brain injury lawyer can file your claim, negotiate a settlement for you, and know the compensation amount to which you are entitled.

Discuss your options with a Brain injury lawyer at Zinda law group

If you are suffering with a mild TBI, you should consider getting a lawyer. At Zinda Law Group, there will be not cost for you bring your brain injury story to us to see whether one of our accident lawyers can help. Contact our brain injury attorneys at (800) 863-5312 and we will schedule a time for your free consultation.

You deserve to be compensated for the suffering you have experienced from your TBI. Our accident attorneys are ready to hear about your experience at no financial risk to you. We have a No Win, No Fee Guarantee so that you will not pay us unless we win your case for you.

Meetings with attorneys are available by appointment only.