The Hidden Impact of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

Brain injuries are one of the most unpredictable outcomes of a car accident, slip and fall, or workplace injury. This is because the brain itself is inherently unpredictable. Neuroscientists often describe the brain as plastic, meaning that it can adapt to trauma and form new neuronal connections to make up for losses in other areas. As a result, a brain with a high degree of plasticity may recover completely from a major traumatic brain injury—but because plasticity varies from person to person, someone may suffer a much more minor TBI and suffer permanent deficits.

If you’ve suffered a mild traumatic brain injury in an accident and you’re unsure of your legal options, don’t let the insurance company decide how much your injury is worth. Until you see how your TBI may affect your life going forward, it’s impossible to know how much compensation you deserve. Working with a brain injury lawyer can put you in a better position to demand what you deserve. Call Carmody and Ging, Injury & Accident Lawyers to set up a consultation now.

When is a traumatic brain injury considered “mild”?

The vast majority of traumatic brain injuries are mild. It’s not surprising that the brain can be affected by car accidents, falls, and work accidents—the brain is incredibly complex, and any form of trauma can cause bruising or other types of damage. On the flip side, its complexity also allows it to recover from many injuries fairly quickly.

There are several different ways to categorize brain injuries. The Glasgow Coma Scale combines a variety of assessments to determine if a TBI is mild, moderate, or severe. Physicians look at the eyes, ability to communicate verbally, and motor control to figure out the GCS rating. A mild TBI is one that falls between 13 and 15 on the GCS; patients at this level are awake and may have some mild confusion, but can communicate. Another way of measuring TBI severity is timing how long symptoms last. A mild TBI results in mental status change or a loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less. Across the board, concussions are the most common type of mild traumatic brain injury.

Common symptoms—and why they’re overlooked

Mild traumatic brain injuries can cause a variety of painful, uncomfortable, and unfamiliar symptoms. Physically, a victim may experience a brief loss of consciousness, a persistent headache, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, speech difficulties, sleep disturbances, and poor balance. They often report ringing in their ears, odd or unpleasant tastes in their mouth, sensitivity to light and sound, and blurred vision.

You must also watch out for cognitive symptoms when dealing with a TBI. Mild TBIs may result in disorientation, losses in memory and concentration, mood swings, feelings of anxiety and depression, and irritability.

Why are these symptoms so often overlooked or ignored? Right after a car accident, victims may not even notice that they’re injured or in pain. When the body goes through significant trauma or a grave threat, as is the case in car accidents, it releases a massive flood of adrenaline. Adrenaline numbs the pain sensors in an effort to allow you to escape the danger you’re in. After an accident, you may feel completely fine—even euphoric. This doesn’t mean you’re not injured. It just means that your body is good at masking symptoms to protect you.

When the symptoms of a mild TBI appear later on, they’re often assumed to be a natural and normal part of a car accident. People write off these symptoms, believing that they will simply pass without any medical intervention. But in reality, any type of damage to the brain can have a profound impact on your health and wellbeing—and it must be taken seriously.

How a mild TBI can affect your health long-term

The brain is impressive in its ability to recover from trauma, but that doesn’t mean a mild TBI can’t have a significant impact on your health and wellbeing. While there are cases of people recovering from severe TBI with no noticeable deficits, the opposite is also true. There are also people who have experienced mild TBIs and then noticed permanent minor deficits.

Once you’ve experienced one concussion, you have an increased risk of suffering a second one. Additionally, each concussion you have increases the likelihood of your next concussion being more serious. Multiple concussions can permanently change the structure of your brain, affecting how you think, move, and communicate.

A major factor that determines how your concussion may affect you long-term is how quickly you receive care. Mild traumatic brain injuries respond best to lots of rest, limited physical and mental exertion, and minimal exposure to bright lights and sounds that may affect your brain during recovery. People who try to “push through” a concussion by jumping right back into their normal lifestyle may actually weaken their chances of recovery.

Why it’s so hard to get fair compensation

Accident victims with mild traumatic brain injuries often have an uphill battle when it comes to securing compensation. This is largely because most people with mild traumatic brain injuries ultimately make a full recovery with minimal financial losses. Obviously, insurance companies will readily accept an explanation that benefits them financially—especially when it’s backed up by research indicating that most mild traumatic brain injuries don’t result in permanent deficits.

That’s why it’s so crucial to work with a brain injury lawyer after a car accident that leaves you with a mild TBI. If you’ve suffered loss of cognitive function, irrational mood changes, difficulty with your memory and concentration, and other injury-related symptoms, you may be entitled to compensation. Your attorney can negotiate on your behalf with the at-fault party’s insurance provider.

Recovering from a traumatic brain injury? Find out how we can help

At Carmody and Ging, Injury & Accident Lawyers, we’ve helped many brain injury victims fight for fair and full compensation after they were denied by insurance companies. Let’s discuss your injuries during a free consultation. Set up a meeting now by contacting us online or calling us.