Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries in DC
The primary cause of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is when someone hits their head. People rehabilitate from brain injuries in different ways depending on the type of brain injury. The specific brain injury dictates the way that the treatment proceeds in the future. If you have sustained a TBI, it is imperative that you work with a skilled TBI lawyer that has experience handling cases involving different types of traumatic brain injuries in DC. An experienced attorney could work towards a positive outcome for you.
Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injury
There are many different types of traumatic brain injuries in DC. A mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is a common type of brain injury. Other injuries to the brain include the anoxic brain injury, hypoxic brain injury, skull fractures, subdural hematomas, subdural hemorrhages, and subarachnoid hemorrhages. These are the most serious brain injuries.
What is a Secondary Traumatic Brain Injury?
A secondary traumatic brain injury occurs after another injury. It can involve a trauma to the head. For example, when someone is in a car accident and hits their head, they can suffer a shearing injury. The injury is called shearing because the grey matter and the white matter in the brain separate, leaving marks on the grey/white matter junction. Those are called traumatic axonal injuries.
Treatment of Different TBIs
The treatment of a TBI depends on the specific brain injury. Treatment can be anything from a craniotomy to speech therapy or vestibular dysfunction therapy. With some TBIs there is no treatment and other TBIs require emergency surgery. It is important to understand the difference.
The Glasgow Coma Scale is used to assess the conscious state of a person following a traumatic brain injury. The person may undergo a head CT and if the head CT shows no signs of trauma, that is usually the end. If there is an objective injury on the head CT, there is a whole differential of actions that might take place on the person’s behalf.
Differences Between Anoxic and Hypoxic Brain Injuries
An anoxic brain injury is an injury to the brain where the brain is deprived of oxygen. A hypoxic brain injury is where the brain is deprived of adequate amounts of oxygen. The prefix “hyp” means not enough. Hypothermia is not enough heat; a hypoxic brain injury is not enough oxygen to the brain causing the death of brain cells. Usually, doctors do not draw a hypoxic or anoxic distinction. They typically draw the distinction based on severity, imaging studies, and blood that is demonstrated in those studies.
Aspects of Anoxic Brain Injuries
An anoxic brain injury is an injury sustained by the brain because of lack of oxygen to the brain. Individuals who suffer anoxic brain injuries probably have their loved ones get a lawyer for them. An anoxic brain injury deprives the brain of oxygen causing the brain cells to die with horrible results. Anoxic brain injury can create palsies, leukomalacia, or hypoxic-ischemia. Many conditions can arise because of anoxic brain injury.
A TBI lawyer must prove that their client suffered an anoxic brain injury and the anoxic brain injury was caused by the event in question. There is a negligence standard. When someone does something that falls below the standard of care and it causes a brain injury, they are liable for it.
Impact of a Hypoxic Brain Injury and Treatment Options
Hypoxic brain injury is a situation where the brain is deprived of sufficient amounts of oxygen to properly function. An individual who suffered hypoxic brain injury should get a lawyer when there is a precipitating factor if it is someone else’s fault because it is an event that could significantly alter someone’s life.
Hypoxic brain injury can kill the brain and affect everything the person does every day. Treatment for a hypoxic injury depends on the lasting symptoms. The best course of action is to talk to neurologists or someone who specializes in head trauma who can identify the appropriate treatments available.
Working With a DC Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney
When someone has a documented brain injury, they must prove that the brain injury was caused by an event and that event was negligence. A good example is childbirth. When a baby has non-reassuring signs during birth and the child has a brain injury, a personal injury lawyer must prove that the doctors’ behavior fell below the standard of care.
A traumatic brain injury lawyer is tasked with the same duty. They must prove that due to certain negligent behavior, you have sustained a TBI. Your attorney must be familiar with the types of traumatic brain injuries in DC because different brain injuries are treated in various ways and need to be presented in different ways. An MTBI is substantially different than an anoxic brain injury. A seasoned TBI lawyer could take those differences into account when filing your claim and advocating for you. Speak with an attorney today and know that you are in capable hands.