Articles Posted in Brain Injury

Those people who are injured as a result of a direct blow to the head or a car accident are often checked for traumatic brain injury (TBI). In many cases, TBI can be diagnosed shortly after the injury and because doctors are looking for the injury, they are more likely to find it. However, mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is often overlooked. Often caused by less obvious head injuries, MTBI is a personal injury that causes devastation in many lives.

One reason why MTBI is often overlooked is because the symptoms are so mild. Victims of this type of injury may experience short-term memory loss, brief loss of consciousness, focal neurological deficits, and an altered mental state at the time of the injury. A brief time after the accident or injury, the patient may seem to be physically fine and this leads many patients and physicians to assume that all is well.

MTBI, however, is a serious medical problem. Sufferers may experience changes in cognitive abilities, personality changes, depression, and other serious symptoms. MTBI can cause blurry vision, double vision, difficulties with coordination, balance, and motor skills. It can also impact strength and endurance and can cause headaches, seizures, and ringing in the ears.

A traumatic brain injury can be one of the most devastating injuries that can be sustained in a car accident, boating accident, workplace injury, or other accident. Despite the fact that brain injuries cause debilitating injury for years and sometimes for a lifetime, many victims of such injuries are under-compensated or even not compensated at all for their injuries. This is because many injuries are slow to show symptoms and many victims delay seeking medical help, mistakenly assuming that a bump on the head is not serious.

Florida personal injury attorneys have seen this situation far too often. If you receive any head trauma or any bump on the head, please seek medical help at once. A doctor can properly diagnose your condition and can help you heal properly. If you do not seek medical help, you may simply not be able to convince an insurance claims adjuster that a brain injury was caused by an accident. This is a situation where it is much better to be safe than sorry.

If you have been in any sort of accident or have suffered any injury to your head, see a doctor at once. Report your injury or accident to your doctor and ask your health care provider to check for brain injury. Then, keep a sharp lookout for symptoms such as pain or bruising around the head, headaches, loss of memory, dizziness, ringing in the ears, bleeding in the ear canal, seepage of fluid from the ear canal, or any other symptoms.

A number of recent product recalls have been reported by the CPSC. Many of these defective products can cause burn injuries and some have already caused personal injury to consumers:

*On May 4, Coast Spas with Franklin Electric Motors were recalled. 30 reports of fires caused by the motors have been reported, although no reports of burn injuries have been reported at this time. Customers can call Coast Spas at (877) 534-5255 for more information about the recall.

*On May 2, Char-Broil two-burner gas grills were recalled. The affected models have an incorrect heat shield, which poses a burn injury risk to customers. The grills were sold across the country between January and March of this year. Customers who may be affected by this recall can call Char-Broil at (866) 671-7988 for assistance.

*On April 26, 300 000 Holmes Oil-Filled Electric heaters were recalled when it was found that an inadequate electrical connection can cause the unit to overheat. The company has received numerous complaints about the heaters and reports of four home fires caused by the units. Holmes models with the model numbers HOH2505 and HOH2520 are affected by the recall.

*On April 26, a new laptop battery recall was issued. The battery affected is an Acer Incorporated lithium-ion battery made by Sony. The product may overheat and cause fire. Acer laptop computers sold in the United States and Canada between May 2004 and November 2006 are affected by the recall. Customers can get more information by calling Acer at (800) 503-2330. Since last year, more than 10 million notebook batteries around the world have been recalled. Laptop customers may want to check their laptop battery manufacturer’s website or contact the CPSC just to be on the safe side.

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Yesterday, we reported about the frightening statistics concerning summertime childhood injuries. One excellent way to prevent these injuries, as we pointed out, is to wear a bicycle helmet while bicycling. The advice is not just for kids. According to the Centers for Disease Control, bicycling is the third most popular form of recreation for both adults and children in this country. Unfortunately, this form of recreation is also a leading cause of injury each year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, bicycle accidents cause brain injuries that cause more than 150 deaths and 450,000 injuries among children in the nation annually. Only 24% of US child bicyclists wear helmets regularly, even though this has been proven to be one of the best ways of preventing serious brain injuries and other personal injuries in the event of a bicycle accident. The CDC has reported that more than 75% of bicycle-related deaths among children could be prevented if all children wore helmets each time they rode a bicycle.

Children who use a proper helmet while bicycling, skateboarding, or in-line skating can dramatically improve their chances of surviving any injury. There are many helmets bicyclists can choose from:

The Brain Injury Association of Florida, Inc.(BIAF) is developing an awareness campaign to educate Florida residents about the realities of brain injuries, after Governor Crist proclaimed March as Brain Injury Awareness Month. The BIAF is being helped in its efforts by ABC News journalist Bob Woodruff, who has recently gone public with his experience dealing with a traumatic brain injury. With Woodruff’s coverage and Governor Crist’s support, the BIAF hopes to raise funding and increase awareness about brain injuries.

The BIAF hopes its campaign will raise much-needed money for injured soldiers who have suffered traumatic brain injury while on active duty. The organization also hopes that increased awareness will help families and victims cope with injury more effectively. Currently, the BIAF website and members provide support and information, but the association hopes that this high-profile campaign will prove even more effective.

The BIAF is proud of the fact that Florida has one of the biggest and best-funded associations for brain injury awareness and support in the country. The state is able to provide a number of excellent care options for victims, including cognitive therapy. Unfortunately, according to the BIAF, there are still far too many patients not getting the care they need. Also, as both the BIAF and as Florida attorneys know, there still seem to be far too many brain injuries occurring, in car accidents, workplace accidents, and in other situations. Many of these injuries seem to be preventable.

The BIAF hopes that the new campaign will warn people to be more careful and will show them that brains are things that must be cared for. The BIAF has been working with Florida’s Brain and Spinal Cord Injury program to offer counselling, programs, resources therapy and other types of support for brain injury survivors and their families. The BIAF hopes that more people will become aware of these programs and will make use of them during the month of March and beyond.

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A brain injury occurs when an external trauma or hit to the skull damages the brain. The State of Florida officially defines brain injury as:

An insult to the skull, brain, or its covering, resulting from external trauma, which produces an altered state of consciousness or anatomic, motor, sensory, or cognitive/behavioral deficits.

There are actually two types of brain injuries: “closed brain injuries” and “open brain injuries.” Both can be serious. In a closed brain injury, a fall or a car accident can cause a person’s skull to come into contact with a hard surface. When the skull hits an object, the brain inside the skull moves and can become injured. The brain can rebound against the skull or can twist on its axis. This can result in widespread or localized damage. If the brain is bruised or damaged in more than one area, the patient has suffered from what is known as diffuse damage.

An open brain injury occurs when an object penetrates the skull and damages the brain. This can occur from a gunshot wound or even from a car accident in which the impact of the skull against a hard surface actually causes the skull to break. In an open brain injury, trauma or injury usually occurs to one part of the brain.