Personal Injury Newsletter

Focus: Traumatic Brain Injury

Every year there are hundreds of thousands of accidents that result in head injuries. Most of these injuries are mild to moderately severe. In some cases, however, people sustain traumatic injuries to their brain. Such injuries can have long-term effects that significantly impact every aspect of a person's life.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is typically caused by a sudden physical force to the brain. Because the human skull is ribbed and has pronounced bony structures on its inner surface, any impact with these features has the potential to cause serious damage. The greater the force, the more likely it is that such damage can occur. As a result, the brain can suffer tearing and bruising, and depending on the area of the brain that is damaged, a person can experience a wide range of problems.

In many cases, damage to the brain is caused by the brain abruptly smashing against the inside portion of the skull as a result of momentum. This can happen in many different ways. Typically, TBI is caused by the head impacting some sort of object. Examples of this include the head hitting a dashboard, windshield, or any other hard surface. Such injuries are referred to as closed head injuries, where the skull has not been fractured. In addition to blunt force trauma, closed head injuries can also occur when the head undergoes a severe forward or backward shaking motion. In either case, closed head injuries can present unique challenges at trial due to the fact that there are usually no external symptoms that would indicate the severity of the damages.

Another way in which TBI can be caused is penetrating head trauma. Penetrating head trauma is a wound caused by an object that penetrates the skull, but does not exit, thereby becoming lodged in the person's brain. This particular type of head trauma can occur either by missile wound, or stab wound. A missile wound is a wound that results from any type of bullet, whether it is from a high-powered rifle, or an air-powered pellet gun. These types of wounds can cause damage not only to the tract in which the bullet entered, but also to surrounding areas depending on the speed of the bullet, as well as other factors. A stab wound, on the other hand, is caused by objects such as glass, nails, and even metal. The damage inflicted in these types of wounds is more localized to the tract in which the object entered the skull, and typically occurs in the skull's thin bones.

Whether an injury sustained is a closed or penetrating head trauma, it is imperative that you seek medical attention immediately. Additionally, it is equally important that you or your family talk to an attorney as soon as possible. In cases involving Traumatic Brain Injury, it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, to prove the nature and extent of your injuries, and to enable expert medical witnesses to evaluate and support the cause of your injuries. If you, or a loved one has suffered what you believe may be a Traumatic Brain Injury, call Crary, Clark & Domanico now at (509) 926-4900.

Proving Traumatic Brain Injury

In all personal injury cases, it is essential that the attorneys be able to prove that the injuries you have received arose out of the facts that you allege. One of the most difficult aspects of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) case is that the brain damage cannot always be visibly confirmed. Instead, the attorneys rely on complex medical evaluations to illustrate to the jury that the individual has sustained the specific purported injuries.

Typically, the more severe the injury, the easier it is to prove in court. When TBI is less severe, the symptoms may not be as readily apparent to the jury because they did not see how the plaintiff functioned prior to the accident in question. Severe injuries often include skull fractures, loss of consciousness, or a coma. These types of TBI have features that are easily verified by members of the jury. Because the injuries themselves are so severe, the resulting impairments are often accepted as having been caused by the accident. However, not all serious injuries are obvious. Less apparent damages that may result from such an accident include:

  • Decreased muscle control
  • Paralysis
  • Weakness
  • Seizures
  • Sensory loss
  • Complications with speech
  • Problems swallowing
When an individual suffers from decreased muscle control on one side of the body after an accident, it is likely that the injured person suffers from hemiparesis. In such a situation, it is likely that the person will have difficulties balancing themselves, will not be able to plan or coordinate movements, and will experience a lack of endurance.

A person may suffer from seizures or a burst of abnormal electrical energy in the brain, immediately after the accident or much later in the future. In either situation the body will stiffen and shake severely, there will be loss of consciousness, breathing will likely be irregular, and the individual will have difficulty controlling both the bowel and bladder. Other types of seizures include jerking movements or twitching without the loss of consciousness.

Individuals may also lose sensitivity to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. It is even possible to completely lose such sensations. It is further possible for a person to lose sensation in certain parts of the body, or conversely become hypersensitive in other areas. TBI can interfere with a person's perception of the world by doubling of vision, loss of depth perception, and temporary or permanent blindness.

Some individuals may also suffer from speech disorders as a result of a TBI. This usually happens when there has been damage to the cranial nerve, which enervates the face. The resulting disorder is Dysarthria, which causes difficulty in pronouncing words, slurred speech, or even loss of the ability to vocalize period. These symptoms are the result of weak muscles or reduced coordination of the muscles that are required in producing speech. Similar results occur with the person's inability to swallow and chew properly.

Another indication of TBI is a person's memory loss. Typically, only the short-term memory is affected and the ability to recall older information is left intact. In cases where the individual has not been able to remember things that have occurred after the accident, the person has suffered anterograde amnesia. Loss of the ability to recall events that happened prior to the injury is retrograde amnesia. Either scenario can present problems when trying to procure facts for the case.

In addition to memory loss and other symptoms of TBI, a person can suffer from impaired communication skills such as aphasia. Aphasia is the inability to understand or recall simple words. It is caused by cell damage in the brain, not weakness of the muscles. Those who have a difficulty in understanding the simple words are diagnosed with receptive aphasia. Those who have problems remembering simple words, expressing ideas, or naming certain objects have expressive aphasia.

Survivors of TBI may also be unable to understand feelings and have a hard time controlling their emotions. Indications of such impairments include agitation, depression, frustration, mood swings, insensitivity, selfishness, tantrums, and lack of impulse control. If there are any preexisting conditions prior to the TBI, it is possible that these conditions will be amplified.

To measure the extent of the individual's injuries, doctors will sometimes use a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The GCS provides a scale from 3 to 15, 3 being the worst and 15 being the best. The scale is simple, yet telling, as to the individual's injuries. The doctor rates the patient's eye, verbal, and motor responses based on the provided scale and uses the sum of each response's score to achieve an objective result. The GCS looks like this:

Best Eye Response

  1. No eye opening
  2. Eye opening to pain
  3. Eye opening to verbal command
  4. Eyes open spontaneously

Best Verbal Response

  1. No verbal response
  2. Incomprehensible sounds
  3. Inappropriate words
  4. Confused
  5. Orientated and converses

Best Motor Response

  1. No motor response
  2. Extension to pain
  3. Flexion to pain
  4. Withdrawal from pain
  5. Localizing pain
  6. Obeys commands

In cases involving Traumatic Brain Injury, it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, to prove the nature and extent of your injuries, and to enable expert medical witnesses to evaluate and support the cause of your injuries. If you, or a loved one has suffered what you believe may be a Traumatic Brain Injury, call Crary, Clark & Domanico now at (509)926-4900.

Damages

Monetary damages are a very important part of any personal injury case, as they are generally the only type of restitution that a person can receive. Typically, once injury to the body has been done, there is no way to reverse it. Thus, these persons are left to contend with the injuries they have sustained for the rest of their lives. Individuals who have been in an accident and suffered from Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) should speak with an attorney to make sure they get the compensation to which they are entitled.

Due to the nature of Traumatic Brain Injuries, it is very likely that the amount of damages will extend into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. The main reasons for these large payouts are that such injuries usually entail long hospital recoveries and can often result in the individual losing the ability to maintain the same earning potential as they did before the accident. As with any personal injury case, there are many different factors that are calculated into the final assessment of TBI damages.

In TBI cases, the victim is likely to accrue substantial hospital bills due to the length of time that is necessary for recovery and rehabilitation. Depending on the severity of the injury, a patient may have to stay in the hospital for a week or longer. The longer the stay, the more expensive the hospital bill will be, and the more a victim should receive to compensate for his loss.

In addition to the initial hospital costs, a person who suffered a TBI may have to receive lifelong care. Even if these future medical expenses are not accrued inside a hospital or nursing home, a person is still entitled to compensation for whatever type of care may be required.

Furthermore, a person may receive damages for any ongoing pain and suffering they are forced to endure as a result of the trauma. Although this is often a very difficult type of damages to calculate, an individual who has suffered a TBI still has the right to receive compensation for such a burden. Typically the value of the damages requested reflects the magnitude of other types of damages, but the amount received is largely dependent on the values and determinations of the members of the jury.

Aside from damages rising out of medical bills and physical suffering, an individual suffering from a TBI has the right to receive compensation for lost earning capacity, both past and future, and any loss of the ability to enjoy particular pleasures in life. For example, a person may receive any lost wages from time spent in the hospital for recovery or rehabilitation. If the individual has lost the ability to work in the field in which they previously worked, they have the right to receive wages they would have received over their working life, including any increase in pay. Similarly, if the individual is able to return to the workforce, but in a different field, they are entitled to receive the difference between what they earn now, and what they could have earned had they not been injured. Furthermore, the individual may receive compensation for any loss in the joys of life. For example, if a person liked to golf, but is not able to continue doing so because of the injuries sustained, the jury would factor the extent in which that joy was previously experienced, and the person's ability to find joy in that activity both in the present and future. Essentially, the jury will focus on the quality of life that the injured person had prior to the accident, and the quality of life that is possible for that person afterwards.

Regardless of the justification for damages, it is important to have expert witnesses testify, where necessary, as to the extent of the individual's loss. Experience in quantifying such matters will give the individual a better chance of receiving the compensation they deserve.

In cases involving TBI, it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, to prove the nature and extent of your injuries, and to enable expert medical witnesses to evaluate and support the cause of your injuries. If you, or a loved one has suffered what you believe may be a Traumatic Brain Injury, call Crary, Clark & Domanico now at (509)926-4900.