Head injuries can come in a variety of forms, from scalp injuries, such as cuts scrapes or bumps, to skull fractures, hemorrhages and traumatic brain injury. While each is quite painful, we are often concerned with traumatic brain injury due to the lasting effects.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI’s) include any type of injury to the brain that is caused by sudden trauma. Like all head injuries, TBI’s can be mild, moderate, severe or fatal.
Generally, people prefer to place traumatic brain injury in three discrete categories. However, others believe that there are four classifications. Common groupings for TBI’s include: contusions, concussions, penetrating brain injuries and diffuse axonal injuries.
Contusions occur when areas of the brain are bruised and swollen. Almost any type of head trauma can cause these types of injuries and cover the range of severity. In some cases, surgery may be necessary to alleviate pressure and stress on the specific area of the brain.
Concussions are one of the most common TBIs. The brain is essentially a free-floating mass with a gelatin-like consistency floating in fluid. Concussions occur when the brain is sent into a sudden motion, striking the inner cavity of the head. These injuries can occur due to a direct blow to the head or a blow to the torso that causes the head to snap forward or backward.
Penetrating Injuries occur when the outer lining of the brain is pierced. This can occur from a projectile or sharp object forced into the brain by a violent impact. Piercing injuries are extremely serious, as they are open wounds, requiring immediate emergency care.
Diffuse axonal injuries occur when the skull is forced forward or backward at rapid speed (i.e., acceleration-deceleration injuries), causing shearing of the brain’s white matter. Diffuse axonal injuries cause widespread neurological destruction and impairment, which can lead to or coma. Unfortunately, operation is not a treatment option. DAI brain injury
Most of the above referenced injuries are “closed head” wounds. These types of injuries often have no visible effects, unless you use medical imaging technologies to find them. It’s important to have these issues diagnosed immediately. Certain TBI’s can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. TBI and Alzheimer’s link
Injuries to the brain can present difficulties not only for the victim, but also for the families of such individual. I recently wrote an article on this subject: Caring for victims of brain injury
If you are in need of the services of a brain injury attorney in Clearwater, call the injury lawyers of the Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA at: (727) 451-6900 for a consultation and free case evaluation.
