Types of Virginia Beach Traumatic Brain Injuries

There are several different types of Virginia Beach traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) that require different treatments. The prognosis for a traumatic brain injury is also hugely dependant on the type of injury.

Therefore, if someone else caused your injury, it is important to work with a well-versed attorney with experience handling traumatic brain injury cases. Our attorneys at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers know all the different types of injuries and can explain the differences to make sure you get the compensation necessary for the care you need.

What Are Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries?

Traumatic brain injuries can range from minor to extremely severe, depending on the cause of the injury. The type of injury will determine the extent a person will be able to recover and the treatment they will need.

Open Fractures

One of the most severe traumatic brain injuries occurs when the person’s skull is fractured and there are bone fragments or foreign objects that enter the brain space. This may result in active bleeds that have to be surgically repaired as soon as possible to prevent permanent damage. Often, this may also result in a coma.

Concussions

A concussion is a more common form of traumatic brain injury. A concussion means that the person has suffered some kind of effect on their brain either from a direct blow or from a severe shaking of the head. Any shaking of the head, which is similar to whiplash where an individual gets their head thrown about forward and backward in a car wreck, can result in a traumatic brain injury. More commonly, they are caused by trauma to the head.

The main symptom of a concussion is either a loss of consciousness or disorientation or feelings of being dazed or confused. For example, retrograde amnesia can happen very commonly after a concussion. A doctor will diagnose a concussion by determining whether there was a loss of consciousness or altered mentation.

Sometimes, the symptoms from a concussion will disappear in a few days but other times they may linger or even be permanent. The symptoms that often linger can include cognitive problems, memory problems, depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, speech difficulty, and stuttering.

Diagnosing TBIs in Virginia Beach

The ambulance driver at the scene of a Virginia Beach car wreck might use the Glasgow Coma Scale to distinguish between types of traumatic brain injuries. This scale helps determine how severe the initial loss of consciousness was.

However, it cannot tell if there is going to be permanent effects. When there is a relatively normal Glasgow Coma Scale score, it simply means the person is not in a coma or probably does not need emergency surgery. However, it does not mean that they are fine. They can still have a significant closed-head injury or a mild TBI. The word “mild” is somewhat misleading because, although the person is not in a coma, the effects of the injury can be very significant and long-lasting. A lawyer can further explain the differences in brain injuries and how they are diagnosed.

Seeking Treatment for Brain Injuries

To diagnose a concussion, the doctor will order a CAT scan. The CAT scan, which is a series of X-rays of the brain, is only able to see major bleeding in the brain or a large tumor. The CAT scan in the emergency room is more of a diagnostic test to exclude some of the more severe possible outcomes. The fact that there is a negative CAT scan does not mean that there are no concussion or TBI symptoms.

People often experience dizziness, nausea, headaches, and other mental fuzziness in the days following the event. Either they go back to the emergency room or they go to their family doctor to ask what to do. However, someone with a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury needs to be treated by someone who is a traumatic brain injury specialist. A specialist can get a person on the right medications and get the help they need to adjust to any permanent symptoms.

Discuss the Types of Virginia Beach Traumatic Brain Injuries

The type of brain injury a person suffers can impact the treatment necessary as well as the amount of recovery that will be possible. However, when a TBI is caused by someone else’s negligence you can bring a claim for compensation. Call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers to discuss your options after different types of Virginia Beach traumatic brain injuries.