The 2 primary categories of brain injury
When you think of paralysis and severe disabilities, you usually think about spinal cord damage; however, brain damage can result in severe and permanent disabilities too. These life-long disabilities can result in people not being able to earn a living or care for themselves. As such, they’ll also result in astronomical costs related to medical treatments, in-home care services, and general living expenses.
Some brain injury victims may be able to pursue a personal injury claim to pay for these expenses. For the purpose of receiving the right amount of financial compensation, victims will also want to understand the type of brain injury they have.
There are two primary types of brain injury: (1) traumatic brain injuries and (2) acquired brain injuries. Here is a little more information about both of these categories.
Traumatic brain injury: A traumatic brain injury is caused by trauma. These injuries may be caused by a blunt force blow to the head, violent shaking or jerking. They are often the result of different kinds of car, bicycle or pedestrian accidents, trips and falls or sports injuries. They can be “closed” injuries or “open” injuries. In an open injury, victims will have externally visible signs of the brain injury. In a “closed” injury, victims might not show any external signs of the injury at all.
Acquired brain injury: An acquired brain injury doesn’t happen as a result of force, though they could happen in the case of a strangulation. They relate to the amount of oxygen the brain is receiving. Our brains require a steady stream of oxygen, but if the heart stops pumping or someone gets strangled, the brain will quickly start to die when it can’t receive the oxygen it requires.
Brain injury victims, who were hurt by the negligence of another party, will have the strongest cases to pursue financial damages. When pursuing a claim like this, plaintiffs will want to fully understand the circumstances of their accident, why the other party was at fault, and what their legal rights and options are.