How is a Brain Injury Claim Evaluated?
Posted on March 16th, 2018 by Oddo & Babat, P.C.
An external traumatic brain injury occurs when a force penetrates or fractures the skull. A brain injury is unlike any other injury. A broken arm can usually heal and get back to work again soon, but brain injuries do not heal in the same manner.
Common Brain Injury Causes
There are quite a few possible causes of a traumatic brain injury, some of the most common are:
- Auto Accidents
- Sports Injuries
- Falls
- Blows to the head
- Bullet wounds
Common Brain Injury Symptoms
Common symptoms of a traumatic brain injury include:
- Physical: headaches, chronic pain, fatigue, dizziness, sensitivity to light, loss of motor skills, speech impairment, disturbed sleep patterns
- Emotional: changes in behavior, changes in personality, changes in emotional expression, frustration, irritability
- Psychological: depression, anxiety, PTSD, social avoidance, uncontrollable behavior
- Cognitive: memory loss, confusion, mental fatigue, difficulty with concentration, easily confused, impaired language communication
Brain Injury and Auto Accidents
Auto accidents are one of the top three leading causes of traumatic brain injuries. While riding in car, the head is exposed to any number of objects that could cause arm if struck with force, including the steering wheel, the windshield, the back of the head rest, etc. Even if the head doesn’t strike an object, the sheer force of the collision can cause the brain to collide against the internal hard ones of the skull, resulting in a brain injury.
Personal Injury Claim v. Brain Injury Claims
In evaluating a brain injury claim, often the most difficult task is to prove that a brain injury even occurred. In addition, there is no normal pattern for traumatic brain injury, everyone responds differently to such an injury, making it difficult to compare and value. To help your claim, you’ll want to make sure that evidence of the brain injury is well established. If you’ve been injured in an auto accident:
- Seek Immediate Medical Attention: this may include MRIs and CT scans
- Establish Loss of Consciousness: you don’t necessarily need to lose consciousness if you sustained a brain injury, but if you did, make sure it is documented in medical records
- Get an Early Diagnosis: this isn’t always possible, but the more you seek treatment, the sooner medical professionals should be able to diagnosis a brain injury
- Consistent Treatment: if you are experiencing any of the above-mentioned symptoms, continue to seek medical and psychological treatment
How you brain injury claim is evaluated has a lot to do with how much evidence of brain injury you can produce. If you think you may have suffered a brain injury due to an auto accident, contact the a lawyer, like a brain injury lawyer Phoenix AZ relies on, today.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Kamper Estrada, LLP for their insight into brain injury claims.
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