Near-Drowning And Brain Injuries | Virginia Brain Trauma Attorney | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

When we think of traumatic brain injuries, we often think of traffic accidents, serious falls, or physical assaults. However, one common cause of brain trauma doesn’t involve a blow to the head at all: near drowning, water accidents, and swimming pool accidents.

When a person is drowning, it only takes four to six minutes for brain damage to occur. Though a person’s life might be saved, many near-drowning victims suffer irreversible brain damage because of their water accident.

Brain damage due to almost drowning is an example of an anoxic brain injury – a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. Other examples of anoxic brain injuries could include suffocation accidents, choking accidents, heart attacks, exposure to poisonous gases, and anesthesia mistakes.

Each year in the United States, almost 4,000 people die in drowning accidents and thousands more suffer from near-drowning brain injuries. The most common causes of drowning are swimming pool accidents, bath tub accidents, ocean accidents, boating accidents, and alcohol-related swimming accidents. In some cases, a near-drowning might take place because a body of water had inadequate security or inadequate lifeguard activity. In other cases, a near-drowning accident might take place after a boat accident or diving accident.

If you or someone you love has suffered brain damage due to a near-drowning accident, and if that accident could have been prevented if not for the negligence or carelessness of someone else, talk to a brain injury attorney today. Anoxic brain injuries are not only absolutely devastating, they often require daily care and ongoing medical expenses. Make certain that the person or entity responsible for the anoxic brain injury in your family has compensated you for these costs.