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Brain Injury
There are three principal types of brain injury:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Anoxic brain injury
- Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI)
Together they account for approximately two million reported cases of brain injury in the United States each year.
1. TBI
Approximately three quarters of these brain injuries are TBIs. About 50,000 people in the U.S. die and another 85,000 suffer long-term disabilities from TBIs each year. The leading cause of TBI is blunt trauma to the skull, and about half of them occur in automobile accidents. Other leading causes of TBI include firearms and falls. TBI results in bruising, swelling, or tearing of the brain.
There is no cure for TBI and recovery is functional in nature. Symptoms may take days or weeks after the injury to appear and the victim may not even be aware that he or she has suffered a brain injury.
2. Anoxic brain injury
Anoxic brain injury results from a prolonged lack of oxygen, causing brain cells to die. It can occur as the result of choking, drowning, strangulation, or other respiratory difficulties. Hypoxic-ischemic injury (HII), the most common type of anoxic brain injury, can be caused by inadequate blood flow to the brain due to an ischemic stroke or a cardiac arrhythmia or arrest.
Both TBI and anoxic brain injury can leave a victim in varying states of debilitation, so the emotional and financial impact on the victim’s family can be devastating. Both types of brain injury often lead to:
- Loss of sight, hearing or speech
- Loss of voluntary and involuntary motor functions
- Loss of memory and reasoning abilities
- Anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder
- Paralysis
3. MTBIs
MTBIs, the third type of brain injury, are more commonly referred to as concussions. Concussions often occur in contact sports. In fact, over 300,000 sport-related head and brain injuries occur in the U.S. each year.
A severe concussion can lead to a coma. But physicians are just beginning to discover how serious successive concussions can be. It is already known that damage from successive concussions is cumulative and may lead to Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and premature senility.
Types of possible compensation
- When brain injuries occur due to the negligence of another, as may be the case in an auto accident, the victim may be entitled to recover compensation.
- Present and future medical costs
- Present and future earnings
- Pain and suffering incurred
- Possibly even punitive damages
If someone in your family is the victim of a brain injury, you may be entitled to compensation for having to change your lifestyle in order to care for your loved one. A qualified and experienced brain injury attorney can help both you and your loved one recover the maximum compensation you may be entitled to. So don’t delay. Give us a call here at the Law Firm of McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates in South Carolina, or send us an email. We’ll give you a free case evaluation.
Free Case Evaluation
Our South Carolina medical malpractice attorneys will evaluate your case at no cost or obligation to you. You should know that there are strict deadlines that apply to how long you have to pursue a claim.
If you believe you may have a claim, you should have it evaluated by our medical malpractice team right away. Click here for a free case evaluation>>>