Everything You Need to Know about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

As the name suggests, traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a brain injury caused by some traumatic harm, generally to a person’s head. These injuries can include:

• Open-head injuries
• Closed-head injuries
• Deceleration injuries, which deal with the rapid deceleration and acceleration of the skull;
• Chemical and toxic injuries
• Hypoxia or lack of oxygen
• Tumors
• Infections
• Strokes.

Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injuries Defined

All TBI cases are serious, but moderate to severe traumatic brain injury includes some of the most serious cases.

By definition:

• Moderate TBI is TBI that causes loss of consciousness anywhere from 20 minutes to six hours and ranks from nine to 12 on the Glasgow Coma Scale.
• Severe TBI is TBI that causes loss of consciousness for more than six hours and ranks from three to eight on the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Causes of Moderate to Severe TBI

People can suffer traumatic brain injuries due to, but not limited to, reasons such as:

• Car accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Construction accidents
• Falling objects
• Slip and fall accidents

Moderate to Severe TBI Symptoms

Symptoms of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury vary by patient and can include:

• Problems with attention spans and concentration, memory, confusion, impulsiveness, and processing language.
• Speech and language issues, such as difficulty speaking and being understood, slurred speech, speaking fast, and problems reading and writing.
• Sensory problems, including interpreting touch, temperature, and movement.
• Perceptual problems, such as an inability to develop psychologically meaningful information.
• Vision issues, such as partial or complete loss of vision, weakened eye muscles, blurred vision, involuntary eye movement, and sensitivity to light.
• Hearing issues, including a decreased or increased sensitivity to sound or a ringing in the ears.
• Loss or diminished function of smell and taste.
• Seizures.
• Physical changes, such as paralysis, chronic pain, and sleep disorders.
• Social and emotional changes, such as lack of motivation, irritability, aggression, depression, and dependent behaviors.

Remember, these are just a few of the symptoms of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Your doctor can help you better understand the effects TBI has had on you physically, mentally, and socially.

Seek Legal Counsel After a Traumatic Brain Injury

If you or a loved one is injured in an accident, visit www.glotzerlaw.com or contact Glotzer & Kobren, P.A. at 561-361-8677 to discuss your rights. Serving Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach & throughout Florida.