Answering Questions About Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

 

Traumatic brain injuries can result from any of the following:

  • Car and truck accidents, especially when the victim is a pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcycle rider
  • Falls
  • Blows to the head from falling or flying objects
  • Boat and personal watercraft crashes
  • Surgical errors, and especially mistakes involving anesthesia
  • Errors by OB/GYNs and nurses during labor and deliver that result in interrupting the flow of oxygen to the newborn’s brain

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As brain injury attorneys practicing in Virginia and North Carolina, we work every day with TBI victims and their family members to help them understand their situation, as well as to hold the people who inflicted the injuries accountable. Every case presents its own challenges, but we also hear many of the same questions each time.

Here, we provide brief responses to three of our most frequently asked questions. Anyone who suffers from a TBI that resulted from one of the scenarios listed above is invited to contact us for a free, no pressure consultation.

How Are Traumatic Brain Injuries Diagnosed?

Specialist physicians, psychiatrists and occupational therapists use a variety of diagnostic tools to identify the existence and extent of a TBI. Neurologists may perform MRI, CAT and PET scans to asses physical damage to the brain and the impairment of brain function.U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Julianne Showalter -- https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/699610/military-brain-injury-expert-everyones-ability-to-recover-is-different/

Neuropsychiatrists will conduct tests of memory, communication skills and the ability to recognize and process new information. A psychiatrist or psychologist will also be able to gauge whether a brain injury has led to negative changes in the victim’s ability to control, express and respond to emotions.

An occupational therapist will ask a TBI sufferer to perform a range of manual and verbal tasks. The result will demonstrate whether the brain injury left the person unable to work and care for themselves. Often, a TBI will induce some degree of permanent disability.

What Are the Potential Long-Term Effects of a Brain Injury?

People who suffer TBIs usually experience headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises, nausea and problems sleeping. These symptoms can last for weeks or months, and they may be compounded by irritability, fatigue and loss of coordination.

The most-severe TBIs cause memory loss, mood swings, difficulties with learning and retaining new information, and short- and long-term memory loss. In the worst cases, TBI victims go into comas and require extensive personal care when the regain consciousness. Sometimes, a family must arrange for around-the-clock care for their loved one who can no longer feed, clothe and bathe themselves.

Which Experts Are Needed to Present Evidence in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case?

At a minimum, a TBI victim who files an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit will need medical records and reports from the doctors, mental health care professionals and therapists involved in their diagnosis and treatment. Reports and testimony from independent experts in the fields of neurology, neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry and rehabilitation can prove helpful, as well.

In our TBI cases, we often bring in vocational experts and economists to offer opinions on whether our client can return to work and how much our client may lose in earning from work over a lifetime. Last, we will hire forensic experts to create accident reconstructions.

EJL