A brain injury can be devastating, even if it is relatively mild. The brain controls not only conscious thought and voluntary actions, but also all the involuntary functions that your body must perform to keep you alive. Because neural tissue is so specialized, it does not regenerate the way that other tissues of the body can. Therefore, recovery from a brain injury can be slow. While other parts of your brain can sometimes compensate for the area that was damaged, you may never be able to return to your pre-injury condition.
There are two types of brain injuries. Acquired brain injuries occur because of an underlying medical condition. Traumatic brain injuries occur because of an outside force of some kind. Here are some of the most common causes of traumatic brain injury.
- Falls
One of the most common causes of traumatic brain injury is a fall that causes you to strike your head against the ground or another object. Hitting the back of your head can result in a fracture at the base of your skull, which is the most serious type. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls were the leading cause of all hospitalizations related to TBI in 2014. They are one of the most common reasons for emergency room visits among people younger than 17 and older than 65.
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
The second most common cause of TBI requiring hospitalization is motor vehicle accidents. There are many hard objects in a vehicle against which you may strike your head in an auto collision. There may also be loose objects flying around by the force of the collision that could potentially cause a penetrating injury through the skull and into the brain.
- Strike with an Object
Sometimes you do not hit your head on an object, but the object hits you while you are still. Sometimes a heavy object can fall and strike you from above, such as fruit from a tree or an object placed carelessly on a windowsill on an upper level of a building. Other times, another person may make contact by swinging an object at your head, whether accidentally or intentionally.
When a TBI results from someone else’s negligence or willful malice, you have the right to pursue damages from the responsible party. Contact a lawyer, like a brain injury lawyer from John K. Zaid & Associates, to find out how an attorney may be able to help you with recovering damages from a traumatic brain injury.
