Mild Brain Injury: What You Need To Know

Traumatic injury to the brain physically injures brain tissue causing temporary or permanent loss of brain function. Diagnosis is confirmed by a CT scan results and/or an MRI testing results. The most important thing to know about head injuries is that no injury to the head is insignificant. If there has been an accident resulting in an injury to the head that injury must be taken very seriously and given the appropriate emergency medical treatment as soon as possible after the injury takes place. Even a mild head trauma can suddenly and unexpectedly deteriorate with severe, even fatal, health consequences for the injured person. Most physicians will order a CT scan of the head just to make sure there is no serious injury even in a mild head or brain trauma situation. The CT scan will at minimum assure a treating physician that no dangerous hematomas have formed. Life threatening hematomas can result from even what might be considered a mild the blow to the head.

Auto Accidents to Shaken Baby Syndrome

Brain trauma injuries are categorized as “closed head injury” or an “open head injury.” An open head injury involves penetration of the scalp, skull and meninges or underlying brain tissue by some sharp object such as a piece of metal in a car accident and this type of injury will often include a skull fracture. Closed head injury is where the head is struck or shaken violently, like in a shaken baby syndrome, causing rapid brain acceleration and deceleration injuring tissue at the point of impact. Axon, blood vessels can be sheared and torn producing contusions, hemorrhages and hematomas. There are approximately 1.4 million head trauma injuries in the U.S. each year from motor vehicle accidents, bicycle accident, pedestrian accidents, falls in children and elderly people, assaults and sports injuries and whether the injury is gross or microscopic in nature they are all serious and need immediate treatment.

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family has suffered a brain injury due to a motor vehicle accident, a fall or due to a physical conflict or attack situation and you would like have information about filing an action against the person responsible for the head injury it would be helpful to contact a personal injury attorney and to discuss the circumstances of the injury with him. An attorney can provide helpful direction on the steps necessary to recover lost work time, medical expenses incurred due to the injury and related damages.

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