Traumatic Brain Injury - What is it?

October 13, 2016, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

A recent video of an interaction between a man who suffered from TBI and police in America highlighted many tragedies. What wasn’t clear is if the officers heard the man’s wife yelling ‘he has a TBI” and whether they understood it.

We hear the terms TBI and concussion regularly but to many of us it’s still not really clear what they are. Traumatic brain injuries usually result from a blow to the head, but can be sustained by body blows or explosive forces as in a battlefield setting or industrial accident. TBI are most commonly linked to football, boxing, skiing, hockey and car accidents. They are also commonly sustained in soccer play, slip and fall accidents, and as a result of violent physical assaults.

TBI occur when a blow to the head causes the brain to shake inside the skull bouncing back and forth. This results in bruising of the brain, swelling, and can also result in tears of the brain. Results of the shaking can be swelling, bleeding, scarring of the tears. This can result in a wide variety of physical symptoms in the victim ranging from headaches and blurred vision, to sensitivity to light, ringing in the ears, and cognitive decline. Severe mood swings and even PTSD are associated with TBI. They are linked to Parkinson’s and other irreversible and fatal neurological diseases.

Once a person sustains a TBI they are more likely to suffer a second one from a lesser blow. The subsequent TBIs will be more serious and have increasingly longer recovery times. The more often a TBI is sustained the more likely negative outcomes are. They are particularly damaging to children and youth whose brains have not completed development.

Mild TBI Symptoms include:

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Loss of balance
• Fatigue or insomnia
• Concentration and memory problems

Moderate to severe TBI Symptoms include:

• Loss of consciousness from seconds to hours
• Inabliilty to wake up
• Headaches that increasingly worsen
• Numbness and tingling in extremities
• Confusion
• Agistation
• Slurred speech
• Nausea, vomiting
• Seizures/convulsions
• Fluid draining from ears and nose, dilated pupils

It is important to remember that symptoms can be delayed, and may not all occur. Untreated brain injury can lead to bleeding on or in the brain, and to death.

It is important to seek immediate medical care in the event of any suspected TBI.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

The opinions expressed here, while intended to provide useful information, should not be interpreted as legal recommendations or advice.