Miami Personal Injury Lawyers Can Handle Brain Injury Suits

This year, reports show that an estimated 1.4 million Americans will suffer brain injuries (sometimes referred to as traumatic brain injuries).  This could be caused by a range of accidents from a major auto accident to a simple fall at the park.  Some are unexpected while others come from risky activities like football or other contact sports. Not all brain injuries are immediately apparent.  So-called“mild” brain injuries can be hard to detect even for experts – so they can easily be misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all.

If your loved one has suffered a brain injury in Miami, you should always call personal injury lawyers early. Brain trauma can have serious lifelong effects, and you don’t want to be stuck footing the bill later on. Many NFL players are among those just now finding out how serious head injuries are when they affect the brain.

What’s a Brain Injury for a Personal Injury Lawyer in Miami?

Many people use similar terms like “brain injury” and “head trauma” interchangeably (and less often the term “traumatic brain injury”).  Sometimes, the injuries can overlap, but it doesn’t always work this way. These all refer to trauma or damage to the head.  Miami personal injury lawyers can evaluate your case and review medical records to see what diagnoses have been made thus far.

Head injuries cause damage to the brain in the process and can range from mild to severe.  Unfortunately, neither you or a loved one may even notice the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury at first.  Brain injuries aren’t always caused by big events like a car accident.  A simple slip and fall or even a non-contact sport like bicycling could cause a brain injury in the wrong circumstances.  A few examples include:

• Concussion: A concussion is the most commonly talked about traumatic brain injury. We’ve seen an uptick in the conversation as we talk about concussions in the NFL.  It iss caused when the brain is violently shaken or jolted.  Contact sports are full of concussions, and they can cause permanent brain damage.  This is worse if patients have more than one or get another one before the first concussion is fully healed.
• Traumatic Brain Injury:  Traumatic brain injury, also called craniocerebral trauma, occurs when an external force causes some type of dysfunction to the brain, which usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. According to the Mayo Clinic, mild traumatic brain injury may cause temporary dysfunction of brain cells. More serious traumatic brain injury can result in bruising, torn tissues, bleeding and other physical damage to the brain that can result in long-term complications or even death.
• Closed Head Injuries: Head injuries aren’t always immediately obvious. If you’re bleeding out of a gash in your skull, you can’t miss it. Closed head injuries don’t have this benefit. So they’re easier to underestimate, especially early on. Things like whiplash might cause no visible injuries, but can consist of serious internal damage.
• Acquired Brain Injury: An acquired brain trauma isn’t caused by physical head trauma.  Instead, it’s caused when the brain cells are deprived of oxygen for an extended time.  Near-drowning accidents in a pool are a common example.  Toxic substances and the wrong mix of medications can also play a part.  Depending on the circumstances behind it, this could be medical malpractice.  This can also be associated with sports like wrestling.

How Does a Personal Injury Attorney in Miami Recognize Head Injuries?

Symptoms of a head injury vary between patients.  A personal injury lawyer in Miami relies first on a doctor’s expertise to diagnose.  Then we look at the whole problem in the coming months.  Some are more obvious with many symptoms making them apparent.  Others have virtually no symptoms at first. You’ll only notice the problems later on.  After a traumatic head injury, common symptoms are persistent headache, a temporary moment of clarity, bleeding, blurred vision, bone fracture, bruising, depression, loss of smell, nerve injury, post-traumatic seizure, ringing in the ears, or stiff muscles.  However, you might experience the following dysfunction after a brain injury: