Physicians and neuropsychologists classify brain injuires into specific categories.  The most serious classification is the severe brain injury.  The causes leading to a severe brain injury include a violent hit on the head, a fall, violent assault on the head, car or bike accidents and accidents during any sporting or recreational activity.

The intensity of the impact can pierce the skull injuring the underlying brain tissues. Severe brain injury can also happen when the car in which the victim is traveling either accelerates or decelerates suddenly, causing the brain to crash against the inside wall of the skull. Mass lesions like hematoma (blood clot in or on the surface of the brain) and contusions (laceration of brain tissues) are the usual internal damages of such traumatic events. These damage the message-transmitting neurons of the brain, impairs its normal functioning, leaving the victim disabled.

The typical symptom of a closed brain injury like that sustained in a severe brain injury is characterized by loss of consciousness and subsequent coma. The length of time during which the victim remains unconscious is a deciding factor of the severity of the trauma. Symptoms include:

• Pain in the head
• Feelings of giddiness, nausea and vomiting
• Lethargy
• Mentally perplexed
• Dilatation of pupils
• Vision impairment
• Leakage of cerebrospinal fluid through orifices like ears or nose
• Impairment of cognitive faculties
• Breathing problems
• Impairment of speech and verbal expression
• Swallowing  problems
• Alteration of mental and behavioral traits

Extent and speed of recovery would entirely depend on the severity of the condition. The degree of recovery as well as the time during which the patient remain unconscious in the first month after the trauma is indicative of complete recovery in the long run.

We all know that a trauma to the head can cause a closed head injury. We also know that the cost of medical expenses for the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of a traumatic brain injury patient can reach enormous proportions depending on the severity of the condition.  Brain injuries are often placed into classifications and one such classification is the Moderate brain injury.

A Moderate brain injury is usually caused by a sudden and unexpected jerk or a bang on the head. Because the symptoms of a moderate brain injury remain hidden by other manifestations of a closed brain injury, the diagnosis of the specific condition is often delayed.

While the result of a sudden jerk on the head causes a traumatic brain injury, a moderate brain injury can also occur when the brain crashes against the inside wall of the skull. When does such an incident occur? Common situations include vehicular crash or collisions, falls, assault on the head or head injuries sustained during a sporting activity.

The symptoms of moderate brain injuries are usually not as clearly defined as those after severe traumatic brain injuries. The usual symptoms are often misleading since the victim may go about life normally, though feeling uncomfortable and unsettled inside. Some of the more common expressions of the condition include:

• Pain in the head
• Forgetfulness
• Lightheadedness
• Feelings of giddiness
• Lethargy
• Inability to focus on any issue
• Changes in overall mood and disposition

Treatment of moderate brain injury, a type of closed brain injury usually includes a multi-therapeutic approach. It includes a combination of neurosurgery and therapies to improve physical mobility, speech/language skills, occupational, psychological aspects and even social services. At the end of the day, most victims of moderate brain injuries recover and all aspects of their brain functions return to normal.

In case you are the victim or have someone in your family who has suffered  mild traumatic brain injuries due to the negligence of others, its advisable top seek professional legal help.  As a victim or member of his family, you need to know that you have every right to file for damages in case the condition of traumatic brain injury is the result of carelessness or negligence of another person.

The diagnosis of a  mild traumatic brain injury does not mean that the patient does not have a severe injury, but rather is a classifcation of the type of injury.  Brain injuries termed as ‘mild‘ by doctors, can also disrupt the normal functioning of the brain. Contrary to popular belief, mild brain injuries are not the after effects of a disease or a medical condition like stroke, tumor, encephalitis, etc. S uch a type of closed brain injury could be a result of vehicle crash, assault on the head, slip and fall and more.

When is a closed brain injury termed as ‘mild’ brain injury? This type of traumatic brain injury is signified by loss of consciousness, inability to remember events preceding or following the accident as well as an altered emotional state. The closed brain injury is termed ‘mild’ when the victim suffers amnesia for more than 24 hours and remains unconscious for more than half an hour.

Accidents that impact the brain are the primary causes of mild brain injuries. For example, traumatic brain injuries can be caused during:

• Vehicular collision or crash
• Head Injury caused by assault or accident
• Falls
• Accidents resulting from any sporting activity
• Sudden deceleration of vehicle causing whiplash

Mild traumatic brain injuries usually show up after 24 hours have lapsed from the time of the trauma and include:

• Pain in the head
• Feelings of nausea and vomiting
• Visual impairment
• Listlessness and lethargy
• Dilatation of pupils
• Impairment of cognitive abilities
• Alteration of emotions and behavior

What happens to the victim who has suffered mild traumatic brain injuries? While some symptoms like pain the head, inertia and lethargy as well as cognitive impairment continue for up to a year after the traumatic event, the condition does improve gradually over a period of time. People can continue to lead normal lives if they have recovered fully.  However, many times, the symptoms do not fully improve and the patient can have residual effects for many years and even for a lifetime.

Cerebral palsy caused by medical errors

Cerebral palsy, striking at the time of birth is one of the most distressing situations for a newborn and his family to suffer. The condition is characterized by the victim’s complete inability to control his movement and disposition, because his brain does not allow him to live normally. The condition is usually caused by a brain injury sustained in the motor response area of the brain.

To understand the medical meaning of the word cerebral palsy, take one word at a time. ‘Cerebral‘ refers to the two sides of the brain while ‘palsy’ relates to the subsequent dysfunctional aspects like inability for body coordination like mobility, etc. Birth injury lawyers of Michigan can deftly handle such cases where the children are victims of cerebral palsy from birth, caused by medical negligence.

One of the primary reasons that result in cerebral palsy is negligence of healthcare providers before and during labor. This condition can result in life-long impairment of the brain. The worst news about cerebral palsy is that till date there is no cure for this distressful condition. While the damage caused to the brain cannot be rectified, the post-injury condition of the child, that follows immediately after, can be improved through the use of right medicines, therapeutic procedures and sometimes even by surgical intervention.

Since most of the functional abilities are destroyed or damaged during an attack of cerebral palsy, the victim would normally need a range of medical, physiological and psychological assistance to live his daily life.

Managing a victim of cerebral palsy requires enormous amount of money. The costs include that required for therapy, medicines, adaptive equipment and gadgets, special schooling and conveyance, catering to his other personal needs, etc.  All add up to an enormous amount. Moreover, let us not forget that care and support of this proportion continues till such times that the child is alive.

The clauses and regulations related to medical malpractice cases are not uniform across all states. If as a parent or as a member of a family you feel that cerebral palsy in the new born has occurred due to medical ignorance or error, you need to get in touch with professionals. The experienced and attentive lawyers here would soon attend your case gathering all the relevant medical records and other related information or evidence that can help you win the difficult legal battle.

To understand what hematoma is, why it happens and how to treat the condition, we have to understand some basic protective mechanism of the brain that we are born with. Nature has endowed the brain with some intrinsic protective powers to protect itself against brain injuries that may affect it during our daily living. This natural protection is offered by a fluid, which most of the time acts as a protective buffer against any impact. However at times, the fluid is incapable of or inadequate in offering this protection. The impact, be it from a tough blow or an accidental event, causes the brain to crash itself against the skull and get badly damaged. The after effect of such an event is a type of brain injury called intercranial hematoma. The three types of intercranial hematoma include: subdural hematoma, epidural hematoma, and intraparenchymal hematoma.

When does Hematoma happen?

Brain injury due to a head collision is the principal cause for hematoma to happen. This can result from any kind of accident, involving a motor cycle, a car or any other type of mishap where the head has received a fatal blow. Older adults are often victims of mild head trauma that also result in hematoma.

Signs and Symptoms of Hematoma

Hematoma either starts to show almost immediately after a severe head injury or may take several days or weeks for manifesting itself. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of hematoma include:

• Pain in the head
• Dizziness, nausea and vomiting tendency
• Lethargy of limbs of one side of the body
• Pupil dilatation
• Confusion
• Speech difficulties and slurring

Treatment and life after Hematoma

Treatment of hematoma mostly involves surgical intervention. Post hematoma, patients usually have problems with their concentration abilities, mental health and often become victims of amnesia and suffer from headaches for sometime. Though recovery is not entirely impossible, it depends on a range of factors including the extent of brain injury, the timing of diagnosis and start of treatment of the condition, etc. It has also been seen that after hematoma the patient is unable to recover fully. Interestingly children suffering from hematoma tend to recover faster and more comprehensively than adults, majority of who may take more than 6 months for full recovery.