Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often a consequence of motor vehicle accidents. TBI’s range in severity from mild to severe, and often require long-term medical care including rehabilitation. If you have been in a motorcycle accident, it is important that you contact an experienced motorcycle injury lawyer to find out what your rights are. Your motorcycle injury lawyer will guide you through the process of a personal injury settlement. One of our motorcycle injury lawyers at the Chester Law Group in Ohio can assist you through this difficult time to help you get your bills paid.
Contact the Chester Law Group at (800)218-4243 to learn more about our Motorcycle Accident Lawyers, plus read more content on brain injuries.
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Suffering from a brain injury after a motorcycle accident? Contact Chester Law Group today.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often occurs with motor vehicle accidents that require immediate medical attention. TBI is also referred to as intracranial injury and occurs when external forces traumatize the brain during some form of accident. TBI’s are classified based on severity, whether you have a closed or penetrating head injury, and whether the brain damage that is localized or widespread. This also includes damage to the skull. Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death and disability worldwide.
About 50% of reported TBI’s occur from vehicle accidents and the rest primarily occur from falls and violence. Remember that it is important to wear seat belts and sports helmets where appropriate, stick to the traffic laws and take in educational coursework as new technologies are introduced into the vehicles you are driving.
Brain damage can be caused by a direct impact to the brain and spinal column or by changes in acceleration. A traumatic brain injury can occur instantaneously or as a secondary injury. A secondary injury involves a series of events that take place in time over days and months down the road. These processes include changes in blood flow around and within the brain and changes in pressure within the skull that occur from the initial injury. TBI can cause a wide range of physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral problems and the outcome of these effects range from permanent disability to death.
How Will I be Diagnosed and What are Treatments after a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Advances in current technologies have improved diagnosis and treatment of TBI’s that have lowered the death toll and overly improved your prospects for recovery. New techniques in imaging systems such as CT scans, MRI scans, DTI scans, Pet scans, and X-rays are providing greater resolution and allowing physicians to provide better interpretations and do so quickly. Your treatment may include medications or emergency surgery initially followed by physical therapy, speech therapy, or occupational therapy for proper rehabilitation.
Brain injuries are generally classified into mild, moderate, and severe types. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most commonly used system for classifying TBI severity. GCS is a scale that grades an individual’s level of consciousness on a scale of 3-15 that is based on your verbal, motor skills as well as your eye-opening reactions to various stimuli. Scale interpretation is listed below:
- A GSC number of 13 or above is considered mild damage
- A GSC number of 9-12 is considered moderate damage
- A GSC number of 8 or below is considered severe damage
The GSC number is limited in predicting outcomes. Therefore, other systems are used in conjunction with the GSC number that provides more information. These include the time length of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and loss of consciousness (LOC). The PTA and LOC times are listed below for mild, moderate, and severe brain damage.
- Mild brain damage tends to occur with post-traumatic amnesia that lasts for less than a day and a loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less
- Moderate brain damage has a post-traumatic amnesia for 1 to 6 days and a loss of consciousness between 30 minutes and 24 hours
- Severe brain damage has a post-traumatic amnesia greater than 7 days and a loss of consciousness greater than 24 hours
The GSC scale, post-traumatic amnesia times, and loss of consciousness times are used along with any scans that have been taken to provide a more complete picture of brain injury. It is important that you get documented proof of your diagnosis as this will provide evidence for a legal settlement.
Consult with an Experienced Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney
If you have been seriously hurt in a truck, car, or motorcycle accident and experienced any traumatic brain injury symptoms, you may be entitled to financial compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills and lost wages. These types of accidents often involve long-term inflammation and severe pain, so you need to consider receiving continued medical care and the potential loss of your ability to earn wages in the future.
The Chester Law Group is an Ohio personal injury law firm experienced in truck, car and motorcycle accidents involving brain and spinal injury and can guide you through a personal injury settlement. It is important that you consult with a brain injury lawyer before you attend a Defense Medical Exam (DME) and don’t ask a doctor for advice. Your brain injury lawyer will advise you every step of the way.
Call our experienced Motorcycle Injury Attorneys at Chester Law Group today to get the help you want from people you can trust (800) 218-4243.
For more information about this subject, request a copy of our free book entitled The Insider’s Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims. You can also order another free DVD entitled What You Should Know About Motor Vehicle Injury Claims. Both the free Book and free DVD describe in more detail what you need to know to protect your rights NOW.