North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates
Brain injuries occur anytime the brain does not get the oxygen it needs to support its functions. If the brain fails to receive enough oxygen, even for justice a few minutes, this can lead to the cells inside the brain tissue dying. Anoxic brain injuries occur in a variety of ways, including traumatic incidents as well as complications caused by internal medical emergencies.
If you or a loved one have sustained an anoxic brain injury caused by the actions of somebody else, seek assistance from an attorney as soon as possible. A Chicago brain injury attorney will be able to help investigate the incident and secure maximum compensation on your behalf.
What Can Cause An Anoxic Brain Injury?
There are various ways that anoxic brain injuries occur. Here, we want to review the types of anoxic brain injuries and their causes.
- Hypoxic-ischemic injury: This is also referred to as stagnant anoxia and occurs when the oxygen-carrying blood in our arteries is unable to reach the brain, resulting in oxygen deprivation. This type of anoxic brain injury is typically associated with strokes, but can also be caused by conditions such as cardiac arrest and cardiac arrhythmias.
- Toxic anoxia: This type of anoxic brain injury happens when there are chemicals or poison inside of a person’s body that prevents the brain from receiving enough oxygen.
- Anoxic anoxia: The name of this brain injury sounds repetitive, but anoxic anoxia is caused by a person not receiving enough oxygen due to suffocation.
- Anemic anoxia: The type of brain injury occurs when the blood is unable to properly carry enough oxygen or if there is not enough blood inside the body to support the oxygen requirements of the brain and other tissues. This type of injury is often the result of a traumatic incident that causes massive blood loss.
Can You Recover From An Anoxic Brain Injury?
Our brains are very complicated organs, and recovering from a brain injury could take a significant amount of time. Typically, the longer the brain goes without oxygen, the more severe the anoxic brain injury will be. In some cases, anoxic brain injury victims are able to make a full recovery after significant periods of physical therapy and rehabilitation. However, it is not uncommon for an anoxic brain injury victim to not be able to make a full recovery. Often, anoxic brain injury victims and their family members will have to adjust to a new normal and arrange their lives in a way that accommodates the brain injury victim’s physical or cognitive limitations.
How Long Does Anoxic Brain Injury Heal?
As we mentioned above, it is not uncommon for an anoxic brain injury victim to sustain permanent physical or cognitive disabilities as a result of the injury. However, if an anoxic brain injury victim sees good improvement after the first month of physical therapy and rehabilitation, their prognosis will be more favorable. Typically, the most rapid recovery from an anoxic brain injury happens during the first six months. Doctors will have a good idea about the likelihood of total recovery about a year after the anoxic brain injury occurs.
Can You Sue For An Anoxic Brain Injury?
It may be possible for an anoxic brain injury victim or their family members to file a lawsuit in order to recover compensation for what happened, but only if it can be proven that somebody else caused the injury. Some of the ways in which other people may be held liable for an inactive brain injury include the following:
- Car accidents
- Birth injuries
- Pools or hot tub accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Dangerous property conditions
- …and more