After a Truck Accident: The Categories of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Truck accidents can lead to all types of injuries for the individuals involved, but perhaps the scariest type of injury is a brain trauma.
Traumatic brain injuries, also known as TBIs or head traumas, occur when the head violently hits an object or an object penetrates through the skull.
Depending on severity (which can vary widely in truck accidents) TBIs may lead to permanent brain damage, completely stealing a victim’s personality and leaving him struggling physically and mentally for the rest of his life.
Categorizing Brain Trauma
Brain injuries can range in severity and permanency depending on the type of injury sustained. The three main categories of severity are mild, moderate, and severe.
- Mild traumatic brain injuries. Mild TBIs are the least severe type of brain injury. TBIs are identified as being mild when damage either causes no loss of consciousness or loss of consciousness is very brief…measured in seconds to a few minutes. Additional diagnostics include whether the individual’s mental status changed at the time he was injured—was he dazed or confused?)—and whether he recovered soon after the incident. Concussions are good examples of mild brain injuries.
- Moderate traumatic brain injuries. Moderate TBIs occur when a person loses consciousness anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Confusion can last for days or weeks, and physical, cognitive, and behavioral impairments can result and last for months…or become permanent.
- Severe traumatic brain injuries. Severe TBIs are typically characterized by injuries of the head that crush, rip, or shear brain tissue. They typically involve major surgery and prolonged periods of hospitalization and rehabilitation. Thinking, memory, sensation, emotions and language can all be severely affected.
Symptoms of TBIs
After suffering a catastrophic truck accident, even if you feel fine, it is extremely important that you seek medical attention to verify or exclude possible brain damage. Some symptoms may not manifest immediately, and if you wait until they do, you may wind up suffering additional harm.
Some TBI signs to be aware of include:
- Memory loss
- Headache
- Confusion
- Slurred speech
- Depression
- Vision problems (pupil dilation)
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Irritability and ringing in the ears
TBI Help and Resources
As truck accident attorneys, we want to help you obtain compensation for your TBI, but also find ways to make life more manageable and enjoyable following your injury. Luckily, there are many resources available for TBI victims, including the Texas Brain Injury Alliance (TexasBIA) right here in our state. The TexasBIA is a nonprofit organization, and it is a Texas-wide community of people with brain injuries, their families, friends, and dedicated professionals. Its mission is “to empower and support brain injury survivors, their families, and caregivers with a lifelong and enduring quality of life.”
If you know of any helpful resources for victims of traumatic brain injuries, please feel free to share the information in our comments section.