What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

Within personal injury law, head injuries are usually referred to as “TBIs,” which stands for traumatic brain injuries. A TBI is typically caused by a blow, jolt, or bump to the head that temporarily or permanently disrupts your brain function. TBIs can range in severity depending on how hard your head was struck, or whether your skull was penetrated or not. The most common mild type of TBI is a concussion, which can briefly disrupt your consciousness. If you ever experienced a concussion in childhood or watched a movie involving one, you may be familiar with the medical suggestion to not fall asleep with a concussion.

However, many TBIs are severe enough to lead to permanent disability or death and are classified as catastrophic injuries as a result. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61,000 people died from a traumatic brain injury in 2019 alone.

Examples of serious TBIs and complications to be aware of include:

  • Contusions: Bruises to the brain tissue are called contusions, which can occur when your brain is directly impacted in an accident. Some are minor, but severe contusions can cause swelling in the brain and prevent proper oxygenation.
  • Hypoxic brain injuries: This injury occurs when your brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen in accidents such as near-drownings or exposure to carbon monoxide or toxins. As a result of the lack of oxygen, the brain can be permanently damaged.
  • Brain hemorrhage: Hemorrhages refer to internal bleeding that can result from high-force impacts and are also known as strokes when they occur in the brain. This is a common injury that a person can experience when they fall on their head or their head is hit by a flying object.
  • Skull fractures: Severe traumatic brain injuries often result in a broken, crushed, or cracked skull. If not treated quickly, this type of injury can lead to infection, pressure on the brain, or leaking cerebral spinal fluid.
  • Cerebral Edema: Swelling of the brain.

death stats about traumatic brain injuries

Damages We Recover From a Traumatic Brain Injury in Indianapolis

At our law firm, our Indianapolis brain injury lawyers have over 120 years of combined experience handling serious injury claims, including TBI claims. We know that brain injuries can prevent a person from talking, moving, or forming memories, all of which are traumatic consequences that will likely change your future. Because of that, you might be entitled to compensation in a claim.

These injuries tend to lead to major financial setbacks for victims. If you have to be hospitalized for your brain injury, or an axonal injury, you’ll be footed with hefty medical care and deal with missing days or weeks of work. If you or a loved one can no longer take care of themselves, you may have to consider hiring a full-time nurse or caretaker. The costs add up, but you shouldn’t bear the weight of another person’s mistake. Whether you were harmed by a drunk driver or a negligent property owner, you can expect us to get to the bottom of your accident and get the compensation you are entitled to receive.

A personal injury lawyer can help you pursue compensation for a wide range of damages, including:

  • Medical bills and medical treatments
  • Pain and suffering
  • Lost wages and other income
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Emotional distress
  • In-home care
  • Physical therapy
  • Loss of consortium
  • Wrongful death (if a loved one died due to a TBI)

It’s important to know, if your injury was caused by someone else’s recklessness or negligence, you may be able to pursue punitive damages. In Indiana, punitive damages are designed to punish a wrongdoer for their egregious behavior and deter others from similar actions in the future.

If you want to pursue action against a liable party or insurance company, please call our Indianapolis TBI Attorneys today for a free case evaluation.

Call us after a serious traumatic brain injury at 317-488-5500. Our Indianapolis traumatic brain injury lawyer can get you the compensation you need to cover medical expenses and other related costs.

How Does a TBI Affect Your Brain?

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious injury to the brain that can have long-term, life-altering effects. TBIs are caused by a sudden blow or jolt to the head or body, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts normal brain function. Causing physical pain and long-term effects, a TBI can actually tear the lining, tissue, and blood vessels inside the skull.

How TBIs Occur in Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents are among the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries in the United States – more than 6 million car crashes occur every year and injure millions of drivers and passengers alike, as well as bicyclists and pedestrians. Head-on collisions specifically can lead to TBIs because the accident involves two cars colliding with one another from the front. Drivers can injure their heads when the impact of a collision sends their head flying against their window or wheel, or when their cars roll over.

Individuals can also receive severe brain injuries when they fall. Slip and fall accidents are a common type of premises liability claim and can occur anywhere for a variety of reasons, whether the floor is wet or slippery or an office’s carpeting is torn. TBIs can be fatal or lead to permanent brain damage when a person falls from a building or down a flight of stairs.

TBIs can involve a variety of common symptoms that impair our ability to feel, think, and even communicate. Some sensory symptoms include blurred vision or sensitivity to sound, while cognitive symptoms can include loss of memory, depression, or difficulty in forming sentences.

Other common causes of TBI include a slip and fall accident, sports injuries, pedestrian accidents, nursing home abuse, motorcycle accidents, workplace accident, negligent medical care, and physical violence.

 

Contact our Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney Today

If you were a brain injury victim, please contact us at 317-488-5500 to schedule a free consultation. Our attorneys at Christie Farrell Lee & Bell have over 120 years of combined experience and can assist you in seeking maximum financial compensation for injuries caused by negligent individuals or entities. We will provide you with honest legal advice and legal strategies.

Our law firm handles serious injury cases – it’s not one thing we do, it’s all we do. We want to help our Indiana clients get the justice they deserve because “it’s all about justice.”