Articles Posted in Traumatic Brain Injuries

According to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in the year after sustaining a traumatic brain injury, about half of TBI survivors experienced an eight times greater risk of suffering from serious depression accompanied by greater mobility problems, more pain, and a harder time accomplishing their usual tasks.

559 people took part in the study. All of them displayed brain trauma signs and complications, such as disorientation and loss of consciousness. Researchers interviewed the participants over the phone several times over the course of the first year after each TBI was sustained to assess their ability to function and mood.

During the study follow-up, 53.1% of participants experienced major depression and were also more inclined to suffer from anxiety disorders. Yet only 44% of TBI patients who suffering from depression received care for this condition. Charles H. Bombardier, the lead author of study and a University of Washington School of Medicine professor, says that depression often began during the first three months and went on for at least a year or longer.

Boston Traumatic Brain Injury Cases
Our Boston, Massachusetts traumatic brain injury lawyers are familiar with the havoc that having a TBI can wreak on the patient and his/her loved ones. Living with a TBI and its resulting consequences can be traumatic, debilitating, financially draining. Personal relationships are often affected.

Car accidents, fall accidents, blunt injuries to the head, penetrating head injuries, and medical mistakes, such as birthing errors, are some of the more common causes of TBIs. Unfortunately, depression is just one of the many effects that can result from living with a TBI.

Major Depression Often Follows Brain Injury, Businessweek, May 18, 2010
Traumatic brain injuries linked to depression, Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Journal of the American Medical Association

Brain Injury Basics, Nolo Continue reading

During Brain Injury Awareness month, our Boston traumatic brain injury lawyers would like to remind you that you may have grounds for a Massachusetts personal injury lawsuit if your TBI was caused by another party’s reckless or negligent actions. Sustaining a traumatic brain injury can be extremely traumatic and challenging. Living with a permanent TBI is life-altering, as well as devastating for the patient and loved ones.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fall accidents and traffic crashes are the two primary causes of TBIs. About 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries happen every year, resulting in 52,000 fatalities. In its current report, “Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Death,” the CDC presents its latest figures on TBIs, including:

• TBIs are a factor in 1/3 of injury-related deaths.
• Assaults and getting hit by or hitting an object are among the other leading causes of TBIs.
• Seniors, teenagers in the 15-19 age group, and children under the age of 5 are at highest risk of suffering from a TBI.
• 75% of TBIs are mild traumatic brain injuries.

A brain injury is an injury that should be taken seriously. In some cases, failure to provide immediate treatment can result in death. Some brain injury victims may not even be aware that they are suffering from one. For instance, some people are diagnosed with having a concussion, which in most cases is a mild TBI. Findings from a recent study showed that kids who were diagnosed with a concussion, as opposed to a mild TBI-even though that is in fact what they were suffering from-were more likely to go back to school and resume their normal physical activities than children who were told that they had a TBI. This can lead to permanent disabilities.

There are ways to prove that your traumatic brain injury would not have occurred if only the responsible party hadn’t been negligent.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, Brain-Aware for Life
Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Death (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page

Brain Injuries Overview, Justia Continue reading

While traumatic brain injury experts have known for some time that a TBI can cause personality changes, a new study has revealed that brain injury patients exhibit a higher incidence of emotional processing problems than previously thought. This can make recovery even challenging while causing conflicts in the TBI victim’s relationships.

According to head injury specialist Professor Roger Woo and colleague Claire Williams, traumatic brain injury patients can exhibit a loss of emotional attachment with family and friends, which suggests a connection between empathy problems and traumatic brain injuries.

Per neurology literature, there are three broad categories for empathy:

Movie Star Natasha Richardson’s death from a traumatic brain injury she sustained when she fell during a beginner’s ski lesson is a tragic reminder of not just how important it is to use a helmet when skiing or snowboarding, but of how what might appear to be a simple head injury can quickly turn into one that is catastrophic.

The actress was injured on Monday while skiing at a Quebec resort. Though Richardson appeared to be fine after the fall, laughing and talking and walking, she began to complain of feeling pain after arriving back at her hotel room.

She was rushed to the local hospital before being flown back to the US. Richardson died today. She was 45.

A CNN.com article quotes Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino, of Duke University Medical Center’s Neurosciences Critical Care Unit, as explaining how patient might look “deceivingly normal” after hitting his or her head when in fact the person is experiencing bleeding in the brain.

The delay in exhibiting traumatic brain injury symptoms can range from five minutes to three hours after an accident. This type of injury is called an epidural hemorrhage, and doctors have been known to refer to this experience as the “talk and die” syndrome.” It is important that a patient receive medical attention right away to decrease the chances that the brain injury might become permanent or fatal.

If you have hit your head during a car accident, a slip and fall accident, during an assault, or any kind of accident where you suffered a blow to the head-even if you feel fine-it is important that you seek medical attention so that in the event that you are suffering from a more serious brain injury, steps can be taken to treat you immediately . You also may be entitled to personal injury compensation from a negligent party.

Natasha Richardson dies after ski fall, CNN, March 18, 2009
‘Minor’ head injuries can turn serious rapidly, experts say, CNN Health, March 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Natasha Richardson, IMDB
Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes
Continue reading

Some 2,000 Massachusetts nursing home residents suffering from traumatic brain injuries may soon leave the homes. The move could be the result of an all-but-final court settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed last year by advocates estimating that at least 25% of the 8,200 TBI patients residing in nursing home want to live somewhere else.

The plaintiff’s contended that federal law grants TBI residents the right to live as normal a life as they can. However, until recently, brain injury patients that needed Medicare to cover their long-term intensive support could only receive that care at nursing homes. That is, except for the Medicaid “wavier” granted to 100 people to receive community care.

The settlement is expected to increase how many people can receive this community care exception and redirect Medicaid funds from nursing homes to community care. New living arrangements for TBI patients could range from group homes to residing with families, as well as in special apartments.

The settlement is expected to be approved soon. The settlement would give the state of Massachusetts six months to get permission from the federal government to grant 300 TBI nursing home residents the option of moving into new living situations. Some 200 other residents would receive help from a broader Medicaid program each year.

Some specialists say that nursing homes don’t necessarily provide TBI patients with the resources they need for their condition to improve. Thrust into nursing homes because there are no other options, the condition of some TBI patients may even suffer.

Approximately 5 million Americans are suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Many of these injuries are a result of personal injury accidents that are caused by other parties’ negligence, including motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, construction accidents, and medical malpractice accidents.

Many brain injury patients poised to quit nursing homes for freer lives, Boston.com, August 14, 2008
Settlement would move some brain-injured from nursing homes, BostonHerald.com, June 2, 2008

Related Web Resources:

NINDS Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Traumatic Brain Injury, CDC Continue reading

Every year, around 44,000 Massachusetts residents suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) caused by accidents. Car accidents, truck accidents, pedestrian accidents, fall accidents, sporting accidents, shaken baby syndrome, and physical assaults are some of the common accidents that can lead to TBIs.

A traumatic brain injury from an accident is usually caused by a jolt or blow to the head area. A brain injury can be located in just one area of the brain or diffused over more than one area. Traumatic brain injury symptoms can range from mild to severe and will vary depending on the degree of damage sustained by the brain.

TBI symptoms can include:

• Numbness • Problems communicating • Difficulty swallowing • Difficulty thinking clearly • Difficulty paying attention • Poor judgment • Problems sleeping • Headaches • Nausea • Fatigue • Balance problems • Ringing in the ears • Amnesia • Mood swings • Sexual dysfunction • Seizures
Traumatic brain injuries can be temporary or permanent-again, depending on the seriousness of the TBI. Paralysis, coma, behavioral and emotional problems, the impairment of regulatory functions in the body, psychological trauma and difficulties, and death can also result.

TBI’s can be life altering and traumatic for TBI victims, their family, and friends. The recovery services and/or long-term care required to treat a TBI can be very expensive. This is why it is so important that you speak to an experienced Massachusetts traumatic brain injury lawyer right away. Your TBI attorney can prove that your brain injury was sustained in an accident that was caused by another party’s negligence or carelessness. You may be entitled to receive personal injury compensation for your TBI.

You cannot afford to handle this type of case without a personal injury lawyer. TBI injuries are complicated to prove, and your TBI attorney can work with experts who know how to determine the extent of your injuries and how much medical care and recovery you will need.

Brain Injury Survivors Come to Grips with New Lives, Boston.com, November 18, 2007
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury, Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts

Related Web Resources:

Brain Injury Types, Head Injury.com
Traumatic Brain Injury, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes Continue reading