Southern California Brain Injury
By Lou Cutrone
One of the most devastating injuries a person can experience is an injury involving the brain. That is because when the brain is injured, a person’s memory, concentration, emotions, personality, and comprehension may be affected. With the basic faculties of the mind compromised, understanding and coping with the realties of a brain injury is all the more difficult. For someone who has suffered a brain injury as a result of an accident, experienced, skilled legal counsel is an invaluable part of any support team.
Southern California Traumatic Brain Injury
A traumatic brain injury refers to any sudden trauma that causes damage to the brain. Traumatic brain injuries range from mild to severe and are accompanied by a spectrum of symptoms from headache and dizziness to permanent memory loss and even coma or death. Anyone who has sustained trauma to the head is at risk for traumatic brain injury, and very little can be done to reverse the initial damage caused by trauma, which is why immediate medical treatment is essential to stabilize the injury and prevent further damage.
Diagnosing and Treating Traumatic Brain Injury
Determining whether or not a person who has suffered trauma to the head has indeed sustained traumatic brain injury can be difficult. Loss of consciousness does not always accompany traumatic brain injury. Oftentimes a person may behave normally immediately following an accident, and symptoms may not appear until several minutes to many hours or even days later. Common indicators of a traumatic brain injury include headache, dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, confusion, memory problems, fatigue, mood changes, and insomnia or difficulty sleeping. Many people who suffer traumatic brain injury experience difficulty finding the right words to express what they want to say or find that their behavior becomes impulsive. They may find that they are more easily angered or irritated or more easily distracted and disorganized.
To determine whether or not a person has sustained a traumatic brain injury and the extent of that injury, doctors may order imaging studies such as MRI or CAT scans. While these studies may be helpful in showing damage to the brain in some cases, most instances of traumatic brain injury do not cause a positive finding on an MRI or CAT scan. Doctors must rely heavily on a patient’s symptoms as reported, before and after histories taken from family members and close friends, as well as the doctor’s own observations during a clinical examination. Often special diagnostic tests from a neurologist and a psychologist are necessary to diagnose, monitor and treat a traumatic brain injury.
Coping With Traumatic Brain Injury
In some cases, the effects of a serious traumatic brain injury are permanent and life-changing. A person might suffer from serious memory and concentration problems that affect his or her ability to work, to engage in hobbies, or to relate to friends and family. He or she may suffer a dramatic change in behavior or a diminishment of mental faculties that interferes with activities of daily living. A very serious traumatic brain injury can result in a coma or vegetative state. In each of these cases, ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitation costs can be staggering, especially with the injured person is missing work or becomes unable to work at all as a result of a traumatic brain injury. Whenever damages are considered in any traumatic brain injury case, future medical care, daily living assistance and future lost wages must be calculated and presented along with past medical and lost wage expenses.
Southern California Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers
The team of southern California traumatic brain injury lawyers at Cutrone & Associates knows that such trauma can be sustained as result of many different types of accidents. Car accidents frequently produce traumatic brain injury, be it from the head striking some portion of the vehicle or as a result of a whiplash injury in which the front and back of the brain is bruised when the head is violently thrown back and forth. Slip or trip and fall accidents involving head and neck trauma are another common cause of injury to the brain. In some instances, exposure to toxic chemicals or other hazardous materials cause injury to the brain over time. Finally, if the brain is deprived of oxygen, as can happen to a baby during a complicated delivery, serious traumatic brain injury can result.
Traumatic brain injuries make for complex and often costly legal cases. Expert medical testimony is almost always required in court and this is not only expensive, but finding the right expert who can intelligently articulate the medical issues to a jury is often hard to find. The Los Angeles traumatic brain injury lawyers at Cutrone & Associates have handled numerous brain injury cases, from mild to severe, and are skilled at advocating for the rights of their TBI clients. They have the resources necessary to handle your California traumatic brain injury case, and routinely work with a group of top medical experts in the fields of neurology, psychology, physiatry, occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy and life care planning to ensure the best possible outcome of such cases. If you or a loved one has sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of an accident, the lawyers at Cutrone & Associates would be honored to join your support team. Let these skilled and caring professionals help ensure that you and your family get the compensation you require to see you through the difficult weeks, months and years that lie ahead. Please know that our sincere thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as you navigate these difficult decisions and obstacles. We are here if and when you feel you need us.
Contact Cutrone & Associates for a free, no-obligation consultation.
