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Watch Out for the Most Common Causes of Brain Damage

By Dallas Personal Injury Attorney on January 12, 2021

While we all know there is a chance we might be involved in a car accident, or slip at the swimming pool and slam into the wet pavement, most of us go through life assuming we will never suffer serious injuries.

The truth is, you could very well suffer a permanent brain injury in the blink of an eye. After all, there are countless ways that your brain could become injured.

The Danger of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Your brain is responsible for the operation of your entire body. From your heart pumping blood to your hands typing on your keyboard, it all comes down to your brain. That is why a brain injury can be so traumatic. These kinds of injuries can lead to:

• Memory loss
• Mood swings
• Shifts in personality
• Seizures
• Balance difficulties
• General confusion
• Difficulties speaking

That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the consequences of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Any level of brain damage can have an impact on your ability to live your day-to-day life, and may leave you unable to work, enjoy your favorite hobbies, or take care of yourself. Sadly, there are a number of ways that your brain could become injured.

Auto Accidents

When two cars collide, a great deal of force is exerted. This force is more than enough to cause extreme injury to the people inside of the cars. While your brain is protected by your skull, even the thick bone of the skull may not be enough to withstand the force of the accident, which could tear or bruise your brain. In particularly violent car accidents, shrapnel, such as slivers of metal or glass, could even penetrate your skull, tearing into your brain and causing catastrophic damage.

Blows to the Head

A hard blow to the head, such as being hit by a falling object, is more than enough to cause serious bruising to your brain. You may be walking down the street, and a potted plant suddenly falls from a windowsill and knocks you out. Or you could be passing by a construction site, and a bit of debris from the building strikes you hard in the back of the head. However it happened, you could find yourself suffering from a concussion, or worse — permanent brain damage.

Falls

We all fall. It’s simply part of being human. But slip-and-falls are a particularly dangerous kind of fall and can often lead to serious brain damage. When you slip, your feet fly upward, making you fall backward. By falling backward, you are unable to brace yourself with your hands or stop the fall by grabbing on to a nearby object. That means the full impact of the fall will hit the part of your body that lands first, which is often your head. This can lead to bruising and bleeds in your brain, which in turn can result in permanent damage.

Near-Drownings

Not all brain damage comes from blunt force trauma, however. The brain, like the rest of the body, runs on oxygen. Without a constant supply of oxygen, brain cells will begin to die. When you are submerged in water, you are unable to breathe and supply your brain with the oxygen it needs. If you are submerged for too long, then the lack of oxygen (called “anoxia”) can, and will, lead to permanent damage. Near-drownings, especially in swimming pools, commonly lead to serious and irreversible brain injuries.

How Can You Seek Compensation?

A brain injury is not easy to recover from. It requires a lengthy rest period, multiple check-ups with doctors, physical therapy, and even surgery in severe cases. On top of that, a brain injury could also lead to a permanent disability, such as vision loss, hearing loss, and even paralysis.

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, such as in a car accident that wasn’t your fault or a slip-and-fall due to wet, unmarked floors, then you deserve compensation. Thankfully, with help from the right attorney, you can get just that. Call our firm, The Lenahan Law Firm, at (214) 295-1008 to speak with an experienced Dallas brain injury attorney and find out what your legal options are.