Symptoms To Look Out For When You May Have Suffered A TBI
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, aren’t always obvious at first. Even if they are, not all symptoms come on quickly and may develop in the weeks to months after your accident has occurred. Traumatic brain injuries are one common type of injury suffered in both car accidents and slip and falls, and may even be experienced during a boating accident or accident at work as well. Mild, Moderate, and Severe
Traumatic brain injuries are typically put into one of three categories – mild, moderate, and severe. A mild traumatic brain injury doesn’t require one to bump or hit their head at all and is often caused by the brain being jostled and bumped by the skull after experiencing an extreme force. Moderate and severe traumatic brain injuries typically involve a loss of consciousness and depending on the part of the brain affected, what may seem like a “run of the mill” concussion during a child’s sports match could result in a severe brain injury.
The severity of a traumatic brain injury cannot be accurately assessed until seeking the assistance of a medical professional. Doctors will examine the injury, the symptoms, and run any necessary tests to determine the amount of damage that may have occurred to the brain in the injury. In some cases, what may have been considered a mild brain injury with only a couple seconds of consciousness loss after bumping one’s head could be determined to be a moderate brain injury after being assessed by a medical professional.
The Symptoms Experienced
Not all symptoms of a traumatic brain injury will come on straight away, and experiencing nausea a few weeks after a traumatic brain injury could be a symptom popping up when its least expected. Some common symptoms of a mild brain injury include:
• Headache
• Lightheadedness
• Dizziness
• Ringing in the ears, or tinnitus
• Nausea
• Mood changes
• Excessive sleepiness or fatigue
• Blurred vision
These symptoms might begin to develop immediately or within the hours following a mild traumatic brain injury, or they may develop in the coming weeks after the injury has occurred.
With moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries, a person will typically experience more severe symptoms. In the most severe cases, their injury and subsequent symptoms may impact their quality of life in the long-term. Some of the symptoms of a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury include:
• Constant headache
• Slurred speech
• Numbness in arms and legs
• Increased confusion or agitation
• Loss of coordination
• Seizures
• Enlargement of the pupil in one or both eyes
• Consistent vomiting or nausea
With the severity of these symptoms and the possibility that they could be long-lasting, it’s easy to see how this level of traumatic brain injury can affect one’s life in the long-term. When faced with a traumatic brain injury for any reason, it’s imperative that ongoing medical care is sought.
What To Do After Suffering A Traumatic Brain Injury
If your traumatic brain injury has been caused by another party’s negligence in a slip and fall, workplace injury, boating accident, or car accident case, there are a few paths one can take to seek compensation. If the traumatic brain injury is deemed moderate or severe and will impact their day to day lives on a long-term basis, they may be able to seek a lawsuit for compensation covering a long-term or permanent disability. It’s always important to contact a personal injury attorney to determine what you can do to make your traumatic brain injury recovery the most successful and fair process possible.