Traumatic Brain Injury Help:

Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury is responsible for the long-term disability of over 80,000 Americans.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) occurs when sudden trauma to the brain causes damage ranging from a mild concussion to severe injury, coma, and/or death. In some cases, a Traumatic Brain Injury can also be caused by medical malpractice due to a negligence to properly treat or diagnose an injury, such as an overdose of radiation provided to treat an underlying condition. 1.5 million brain injuries occur each year and are a major cause of death or disability in children and adults. An estimated 80,000 to 90,000 people with a traumatic brain injury experience permanent disabilities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that approximately 5.3 million Americans living with long-term or permanant brain injuries need assistance to perform tasks of daily living. Brain injury can have a severe impact on family, work and social interaction. If you or a loved one believes that you may have a case involving a Traumatic Brain Injury and need to speak with a brain injury attorney, fill out our free case evaluation form.

Brain Injury Facts

Traumatic Brain Injury effects nearly 1.5 million Americans every years, resulting in 50,000 deaths..
Car Accidents and slip and fall accidents account for about half of the TBI cases each year.
The primary cause of hospitalizations for TBI is related to motor vehicle traffic; this rate is highest among teen drivers.
Damages from auto crashes total $60 billion annually.

Injuries in almost half of the patients suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury may require some type of surgery to repair the damaged section of the brain.

These injuries can be caused by hitting your head during a fall, a car accident, planes crashes, firearms, a sports-related collision, medical malpractice, or a motorcycle accident among others. Automobile accidents make up half of traumatic brain injuries, while slip and fall accidents are the top cause for people over 65. In children, physical abuse is the number one cause of traumatic brain injury.

Brain Injury Verdicts and Settlements

The accident lawyers at Morgan & Morgan litigate numerous lawsuits to trial involving Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other personal injury cases annually nationwide. We are extremely proud of the results that we have obtained and look forward to sharing them with you.

Slip and Fall | Dade County | $6 million
Premises liability claim resulting in severe brain damage to husband and father.
Failure to Diagnose | Lake County | $3.5 million
Brain injury to 62-year-old man caused by failure to diagnose brain hemorrhage.
Negligent Brain Injury | Hillsborough County | $3.265 million
Obstetric negligence brain injury and death of newborn.
Brain Injury Following Surgery | $3.25 million
Brain injury to 53 yr old due to overdose of drugs administered by hospital ICU nurse postoperatively.
Newborn Brain Injury | Volusia County | $2.5 million
Severe brain damage to a newborn, brought on by negligent obstetric care.
Untreated Infection | Pinellas County | $2.0 million
Brain Injury due to untreated MRSA infection of 31 year old nursing home resident.

For a more complete listing, please visit our Verdict and Settlements page.

Types of Brain Injury

Not to be dismissed simply as "head injuries", the following is a list of several types of traumatic brain injuries specific to the location of the trauma:

Concussions occur after a blow to the head. This type of brain injury pushes the brain violently against the skull, which may cause bleeding or nerve damage.
Contusions cause bruising on the brain after the head impact.
Diffuse axonal injury occurs when the brain moves around the skull, mostly caused by car accidents, falls and child abuse. 90% of those with severe diffuse axonal injury remain unconscious, while the remaining 10% live severely impaired lives.
Coup-Contrecoup injury causes brain damage both to the side of the head injury and the opposite side of the brain.
Recurrent traumatic brain injury arises when a brain injury occurs before a prior one has healed. This is often found in athletes who return to sports before symptoms from a first brain injury have cleared, where even a slight blow can cause ocular and respiratory failure.

Brain Injury Symptoms

Approximately 10% of all brain injuries are classified as severe. Effects of a traumatic brain injury include problems with the senses, as well as cognitive impairment of perception and speech. Victims of traumatic brain injury may also suffer from physical and socio-emotional changes, including physical paralysis, sleep disorders, lack of control over the bowels and bladder, changes in appetite, depression, aggression and dependent behaviors. Symptoms of a mild brain injury may include the following:

Unconsciousness or confusion, lasting less than 30 minutes
Headache
Blurry vision
Dizziness
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating

These symptoms may be present directly after the traumatic incident, but also may not appear for weeks. As a result, many mild brain injuries go undetected. An estimated 15% of brain injury victims have mild symptoms that last for a year or more. These minor injuries can disrupt simple, everyday activities.

Symptoms of a more serious brain injury may include the following:

Unconsciousness, lasting more than 30 minutes
Nausea
Vomiting
Abnormal speech

Loss of coordination
Memory loss
Emotional irritability
Seizures

The effects of a brain injury can last for months, years, or even a lifetime. Many victims of traumatic brain injuries will require rehabilitation in order to regain the most independent level of functioning possible, while some may never return to work or independent living. This can leave the victim's family with extreme emotional and financial burden. If you have fallen victim to a traumatic brain injury, contact a brain injury lawyer today.

Traumatic Brain Injury Consumer Help

For brain injury consumer information on injuries to the head, please view the following articles: