September 11, 2020

Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Personal Injury Claims

Posted in Brain Injury

If you’ve been involved in an accident that resulted in a TBI, you understand the pain and devastation it inflicts on both you and your loved ones. Here at Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C., our accomplished team of personal injury lawyers help restore a sense of normalcy to New Yorkers’ lives, and you could be our next success story. Call (212) 490-5700 today for a free consultation.

Types of TBIs

TBIs are caused by some sort of external force, and they can be either closed or open. The most typical TBIs are contusions, concussions, penetration injuries, and diffuse axonal injuries. Let’s take a closer look at each of these TBIs to understand how they work.

• Contusions – Contusions are localized bleeding in the brain, and they can be deadly if the blood starts clotting too much. They’re a type of direct impact trauma, and some get so bad they need to be surgically removed. Sometimes contusions are so powerful they knock your brain to the other side of the skull, where it sustains injuries there as well; this is called a coup-contrecoup contusion, which essentially refers to any contusion suffered in a place other than the impact site.
• Concussions – These are another type of direct impact trauma to the head, and they’re actually the most common TBIs people sustain in personal injury cases. Not everyone who suffers a concussion will be knocked out; sometimes other symptoms, like confusion and dizziness, are signs that you’ve suffered a concussion, too. Most people will get concussions from whiplash in a car accident, falling, or being punched or shot, to name a few. If you have any doubts whether you’ve suffered a concussion, see a doctor immediately, as untreated concussions can cause long-term brain damage.
• Penetration Injuries – As you may be able to guess from the name alone, penetration injuries happen when a sharp object pierces the skull and enters the brain. Once inside, the object can rip, tear, or rupture the brain matter, which can either be fatal or at the very least, cause long-term brain damage.
• Diffuse Axonal Injuries – These injuries are essentially you jostling your brain to the point where it damages internal structures in your skull. What’s more, all the shaking and rotational force disrupt the delicate balance of neurochemicals in your brain, which could land you in a coma or even kill you. However, symptoms of a diffuse axonal injury vary widely, mainly because injuring different areas of the brain will impair different thought and motor functions. You might have trouble with one or more of your senses, or cognitive or motor function as a result of a diffuse axonal injury.

There are also something called acquired brain injuries (ABIs), which is secondary brain damage sustained as a result of a lack of oxygen (e.g. strangulation, drowning, etc.).

There are two types of ABIs:

• Anoxia – Anoxia is when the brain is deprived of oxygen, and it causes serious brain damage very quickly. Oxygen deprivation irreversibly damages the brain’s systems and may even kill the person if not treated swiftly enough. There is standard anoxia, toxic anoxia (when toxins are blocking the oxygen), and anemic anoxia (when there’s no oxygen in the blood), among others.
• Hypoxic Brain Injury – These types of brain injuries are similar to anoxia in that there’s still oxygen deprivation, but not totally, as it is with anoxia. Even though cell death happens at a much slower rate with these injuries, they could still cause long-term brain damage if left untreated.

How Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C. Can Assist You

At Hecht, Kleeger & Damashek, P.C., we know just how much havoc a TBI can wreak on a person’s life. But our team’s intimate understanding of New York City personal injury law has helped hundreds of our clients get the restitution they deserve. Call us today at (212) 490-5700 to learn more about how we can serve you.