Just about any blow to the head may result in a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), even if it is relatively minor. These sorts of injuries commonly occur in car accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, or even contact sports, and may wreak havoc on the personal and professional lives of victims, even if they do not realize they suffered any injury at all.
Mild TBIs are often devastating to victims, because they are difficult to identify and may last for up to a year without proper treatment. The symptoms of mild TBI vary, and may range from inconvenient frustrations to career and relationship destroying alterations to a victim’s personality and cognitive functions.
If you do find you suffered a mild TBI, be sure to consider the circumstances of the injury and whether you have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit against some other party. You may be able to recover damages to cover your medical expenses and other losses, allowing you to focus on your physical recovery while protecting your rights and your professional opportunities.
Career ending symptoms
In the wake of such an injury, the victim may find that his or her mind simply cannot function with the speed or clarity that it did previously. In some cases, this is roughly equivalent to the cloudiness of mind one may experience when they are sleep deprived, but maybe much worse.
Victims also often experience difficulty performing tasks that were once easy or at least familiar to them, and may find that they grow uncontrollably frustrated and angry. To coworkers or employers who do not understand the severity of the injury, this may seem like childish, destructive behavior that indicates a character flaw rather than a physical injury. It is easy to understand how such behavior could quickly cost a victim his or her job if an employer does not understand the seriousness of the matter and the steps the victim must take to recover.
Another common symptom of a minor TBI is a loss of contextual understanding when reading text or having conversations. English (and many other languages) use complex systems of context to convey meaning greater than the definitions of individual words. Unfortunately, a mild TBI often scrambles these contextual connections in the mind of the victim, often causing them to misunderstand and miscommunicate when they read and speak with others, even though they may understand each individual word.
Don’t fight this injury alone
The most important step in recovering from a mild traumatic brain injury is seeking medical attention to receive proper diagnoses and treatment. Once a victim knows that he or she suffers from this injury, it is much easier to communicate to employers, coworkers and friends about the matter, allowing them the time and space to understand how the injury may affect many areas of the victim’s life.
An experienced personal injury attorney can also help a victim in other crucial ways. Not only can a Chicago brain injury attorney aid the victim in building and pursuing a personal injury claim, he or she can help make sure that the victim’s community understands the severity of the injury and work with the victim’s medical care provider to ensure that the victim receives the care he or she needs to make a complete recovery.