St. Louis Car Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injuries

More than 53,000 Americans die each year due to traumatic brain injuries resulting from car accidents.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a life altering injury and statistics from the Brain Trauma Foundation show that there are over 5.3 million Americans who live with disabilities caused by TBI. There are over 53,000 Americans who die each year due to brain injuries resulting from car crashes.

Traumatic Brain Injury

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Traumatic brain injuries are equally complicated and can alter the life of the survivor within seconds. Thinking ability, body functions, and the personality of a person can change severely due to a serious brain injury. There are various factors such as the cause of injury, location of injury in the brain, and force of impact which determines how the injury affects the victim.

The severity of a brain injury is measured by the duration of coma, duration of loss of consciousness, and duration or length of post-traumatic amnesia. The location of the injury is also an indicator of the severity. An injury to the front portion of the brain can have debilitating effects as the most important functions such as memory, problem solving, judgement, spontaneity, and motor functions are controlled by the frontal lobes.

No Visible Symptoms

The severity of brain injury sustained in a car crash is considered in terms of loss of ability or changes in the day-to-day life of the victim. Not all brain injuries cause any visible physical symptoms, and the effects can vary from being quite obvious to extremely subtle. A person may suffer certain health problems caused by a brain injury. These can be subtle to severe personality changes, loss of memory, and the onset of depression and malaise. These changes become more apparent when the person undergoes severe emotional trauma or multitasking requirements.

The Effect of Traumatic Brain Injury

The effects of brain injuries cannot be generalized as each injury may affect each individual in a different way. The disabilities caused by a brain injury may vary from person to person. The effects on the victim’s previous abilities, day-to-day functioning, and personality may change. This change can be moderate to adverse. The most important consideration is that the effected person should be treated with the utmost love, support, patience, and understanding.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, contact a support group for additional help during recovery. The Brain Injury Association of America provides support groups and information about treatments available. If the brain injury sustained has been due to the negligence of another person, call The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. at (314) 361-4242 to learn how to file for compensation.