Chicago Personal Injury Attorneys - Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries can affect a victim’s life for days, months, or even years. The symptoms, effects, and the recovery time depends on the severity of the injury, and on other factors such as age and overall health of the victim. The effects of a TBI can cause problems and difficulties in many areas of a victim’s life leading to physical, emotional, and financial losses. In this post, our Willens Brain Injury Lawyers will discuss some of the effects of traumatic brain injuries:

Cognitive Impairment

The brain is responsible for thinking and cognitive functions. When the brain is injured, cognitive functioning can be easily impaired. Cognitive impairment can take many forms, and may affect various aspects of an individual’s life. Some ways in which TBIs can affect cognitive function is:

• Inability to focus, or difficulty maintaining concentration through the end of the task at hand
• Communication problems
• Difficulty understanding and following basic information
• Struggles with high pressure or timed tasks
• Other comprehension impairments

TBI victims who experience these effects may find it difficult to return to work, attend school or even engage in normal activities that require social understanding or communication.

Physical and Sensory Impairment

Traumatic brain injury may cause physical symptoms such as:

• Difficulty maintaining balance
• Trouble walking straight
• Coordination problems
• Slurred speech
• Others

Apart from these, the victims may also experience sensory impairments with speed, vision, hearing, and other sensory abilities. In case of severe TBI, the affected part of the brain may stop controlling organ function, and the victim may have to live on a ventilator or life support.

Emotional Effects of TBIs

Apart from the cognitive and physical functions, our brain also regulates the emotions and helps us express them at appropriate time. When a person suffers a traumatic brain injury, he/she may face emotional difficulties. The victims may experience episodes of irritability and moodiness, and may have aggressive outbursts too. Some TBI victims are unable to express appropriate emotions during social interactions and conversations and may appear awkward or insensitive to others. The emotional effects of TBI are often overlooked, even though they affect the victim’s life in ways more than one. Just like physical impairment, emotional effects too can leave the victim unable to return to work or lead a normal life.

TBI can have varied effects on an individual, which can affect his/her abilities and everyday functioning. TBIs are also known as silent injuries, because it is often difficult to identify whether or not the person has suffered a TBI. In fact, sometimes the effects of TBI such as slurred speech and lack of balance are attributed to other factors such as intoxication.

Seeking legal help for a traumatic brain injury in Illinois

TBIs are expensive to treat, and the victim may need lifelong care. If the injury is a result of someone else’s negligence, you should contact a competent Matthew Willens personal injury lawyer and seek help in making a claim for compensation.

The attorneys at Willens Law Offices have years of experience and a proven track record of successful case results for cases involving brain injuries. Call us today at (312) 957-4166 today to schedule a free and private consultation.