Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries

WASHINGTON, D.C., MARYLAND & VIRGINIA

The brain is responsible for everything we do and say; your life experience depends on your brain's ability to receive process, store, retrieve and transmit sensory information. Thinking, seeing, smelling, feeling, remembering, and behaving appropriately are all dependent on an intact and properly functioning brain. Even minor brain damage can result in permanent impairment to seemingly basic functions; any brain damage, regardless of the severity, can drastically change your life.

Brain injuries come in all degrees of severity, but even minimal brain injury can cause lasting problems in functionality.

• Severe brain injury is extremely life threatening, typically causing extensive limitations such as paralysis and extremely limited mental clarity.
• Moderate brain injuries usually produce some functional limitations, mostly in the form of diminished mental skills.
• Mild brain injury, typically occurring in the form of a concussion, can also cause impairments in mental functioning. Oftentimes, mild brain injuries are not treated by a medical professional and can cause mental and/or cognitive changes weeks or months later.

Most brain injuries are caused by a type of head injury from a non-penetrating blow to the head and/or a violent shaking of the head. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) results from damage to brain tissue caused by an external force such as:

• Motor vehicle accident
• Acts of violence
• Falling
• Sports and recreational injury
• Lightning strike
• Electric shock
• Direct blow to the head

According to the Brain Injury Association of America, falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (28%); motor vehicle crashes account for 20% of all TBI; blows to the head account for 19% of all brain injuries; and assaults make up 11% of all traumatic brain injuries.

An extreme danger of TBI is that it can also occur without any outward physical evidence of injury, such as in cases of whiplash and shaken baby syndrome.

Most people suffering from TBI experience only a mild or moderate head injury; thus, their injury is usually seen as inconsequential. However, these small injuries can cause lasting mental impairments and should not be treated lightly. One such example is the phenomenon of Second Impact Syndrome (SIS):

• Repeated mild brain injuries occurring within a short period (i.e., hours, days, weeks) can be catastrophic or fatal
• Repeated mild brain injuries occurring over an extended period (i.e., months or years) can result in cumulative neurological and cognitive deficits that many people would never associate with the initial head injury

In instances of SIS, you may experience a mild concussion but would never think to seek medical treatment – that decision can be life threatening.

Brain injuries are not always the result of a head injury from external force. Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) results from damage to the brain caused by:

• Stroke
• Tumor
• Anoxia/hypoxia
• Toxins
• Degenerative disease
• Near drowning

If you or someone you love has experienced any type of traumatic brain injury resulting from another person’s negligence in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C., let the dedicated brain injury lawyers at Chaikin & Sherman, P.C. put their skills to work for you. Please call or email today for a free consultation. We are committed to obtaining justice for you - the victim.

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