Traumatic Brain Injuries in DC Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycles are a fun and convenient way to get around, but they can also be dangerous. Due to the lack of protection that a motorcycle offers, motorcycle accident injuries can be quite severe. Broken bones and brain injuries are two of the most common injuries in motorcycle accidents.

A traumatic brain injury is an injury to the brain that is caused by trauma. Traumatic brain injuries occur when someone hits their head. Traumatic brain injuries in DC motorcycle accidents can have far-reaching consequences for an individual. If a person has sustained a traumatic brain injury(a TBI) in a motorcycle accident, they should speak with a capable motorcycle accident attorney that could help them recover damages for their injuries.

The Significance of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries in DC motorcycle accidents are serious because of the way that TBIs impact communication, memory, emotion, and cognition in general. There is grey matter and white matter in the brain and the grey matter needs the white matter, so they are basically receptors. What could happen is the white matter will shift in the event of an accident and the brain will actually move and it will cause membranal injuries to the cortex of the brain.

The shift of white matter and the ensuing membranal injuries to the cortex are referred to as diffused axonal injury. An axonal injury affects the way the neurons communicate in the brain. People can have very seemingly minor symptoms that progress over time and someone can go over from being fully functioning with high intelligence to losing a lot of the basic skills that they had while still maintaining their ability to function in everyday life.

Seeking Medical Attention Following a TBI

If somebody has a serious brain injury, the window is light to stop the bleeding, or if there is internal organ damage, time is of the essence, but typically there is not that level of catastrophic injury in urban, low-speed accidents.

Some steps to take following traumatic brain injuries in DC motorcycle accidents include seeking medical treatment. One of the things that a doctor might do is give the person a CT-scan and look to see if there is any bleeding going on in the person’s head. If there is bleeding in the brain, that is a significant thing. Doctors also look for any diffused axonal injury, any evidence of shearing along the way, grey matter junction. Lastly, doctors typically ask if a person had memory problems or trouble doing everyday tasks, in order to gauge the impact of the TBI on someone’s day to day life.

Difference Between Motorcycle Accidents and Car Accidents

When riding a motorcycle, a person is exposed to the elements. In a seemingly minor car accident, typically, no one is going to get hurt but there could be the same minor impact in a motorcycle accident and since a person is on a motorcycle, it can become catastrophic. Paralysis would be the biggest injury someone can sustain and then traumatic brain injuries would be next. Death, disfigurement, dismemberment, paralysis and soft-tissue injuries also occur in motorcycle accidents.

Consulting a DC Motorcycle Accident Attorney

If you have been injured in a serious motorcycle accident, it is imperative that you retain the services of a motorcycle crash lawyer. A capable attorney may have dealt with cases involving traumatic brain injuries in DC motorcycle accidents before and could help you pursue legal action. Your attorney could devote the time and resources necessary to help you recover the compensation that you deserve.