Every year, over a million people in Florida and across the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury. The CDC says that three-fourths are usually mild TBIs, otherwise known as concussions, but the fact is that even mild TBIs, when repeated, can have as much of a long-term effect as a one-time severe TBI.
Effect on the senses
TBI victims may lose one of their senses. Most often, they partially lose their hearing and suffer a limiting of their peripheral vision as well as visual acuity. They may even begin to perceive what is not there: in other words, have hallucinations.
Next, patients may not be able to balance themselves as well as before. Dizziness can become a chronic symptom. Slow, slurred speech and other signs of a language difficulty are not uncommon among TBI victims.
Mental and emotional effects
Perhaps the most wide-ranging and most persistent effects will be on one’s cognitive skills, such as one’s ability to process and retain information, concentrate on a task and make plans and decisions. TBIs may even wreak havoc on the patient’s personality, causing mood swings, passive-aggressive behavior, anxiety, depression and inappropriate behaviors in a social settings.
Legal representation for TBI victims
Perhaps you suffered a traumatic brain injury on account of another’s negligence. Maybe a drunk driver crashed into you, but whatever the situation, you may be burdened with one or more of the impairments mentioned above. Crucially, the injury may be hindering you from working again. After all, a TBI can even make dressing and cooking difficult.
In such a case, you deserve compensation not only for your medical expenses but also for your diminished capacity to earn a living, loss of consortium, emotional suffering and any other general damages. A lawyer may help you file a personal injury claim and may negotiate on your behalf, too, so that you focus on healing. Most personal injury lawyers can call in third-party investigators and medical experts to help with their cases.