Brain injuries are serious, potentially life-changing events.
A brain injury can cause memory problems, personality changes and impairment of everyday functions. These injuries can mean real changes in a family, causing issues with independence, affecting the ability to earn or work and impacting relationships with a spouse, partner or children.
We’re a dedicated firm of solicitors for the brain injury charities Headway – The Brain Injury Association for the North East. Here at True, we have a specialist team which has many years of dealing deals with the most serious traumatic brain injuries, as well as other neurotrauma and catastrophic injuries.
Causes of brain injuries
Brain injuries can be caused by a lot of different types of accidents including the following:
There are many different types of brain injury. Head trauma can affect the brain in different ways, sometimes injuries can affect just one specific functional area or, in cases of major trauma, can impact the entire brain functionality.
Common types of brain injury
The most common types of brain injury include:
- Acquired Brain Injury (ABI): This is the term used to describe any form of brain damage acquired since birth. An ABI can happen as the result of physical impacts such as a blow to the head, or a non-traumatic event. Non-traumatic ABIs typically happen due to pressure on the brain caused by the growth of a brain tumour or neurological condition such as a stroke, brain haemorrhage or infection such as encephalitis.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): When an external force is applied to the head this can cause a traumatic brain injury. A TBI causes the brain to move inside the skull, which in turn causes nerve and tissue damage. A TBI can occur due to a road traffic accident, a fall from a height, an accident at work or an assault.
- Concussion: A concussion is a temporary injury to the brain caused by a high impact to the head. Symptoms of a concussion include vomiting, dizziness, headaches, memory loss, double vision and trouble with balancing. The cause of a concussion is usually due to an assault, a road traffic accident or a slip, trip or fall.
- Anoxic Brain Injury: This occurs when the brain is starved of oxygen for a period of time. The longer the brain is without oxygen the worse the long-term effects will be. Short-term symptoms can include dizziness or issues with concentration, to long-term issues including permanent memory loss, and loss of vision, speech or movement. Anoxic brain injury can be caused due to carbon monoxide poisoning, head trauma, medical negligence and suffocation.
- Diffuse Axonal Injury: Results due to the brain rapidly being moved inside the skull as the injury occurs. The rapid movement causes the connecting fibres in the brain (axons) to be sheared as the brain shifts inside the skull. DAI injuries can occur due to an assault, road traffic accident or fall. People affected by DAI can be left with minor symptoms such as drowsiness and headache, to being left in a completely vegetative state.
- Haematoma: Blood collects between the barn and the skull, usually from severe head trauma such as a road traffic accident. Symptoms can include headaches, vomiting, drowsiness and loss of consciousness.
For serious brain injuries, your recovery can be long and difficult and may change your life. Some injuries result in changes needing to be made to your home and work and can even affect your ability to work.
Physical impacts of a brain injury
A brain injury can affect physical abilities, including:
- Balance and coordination
- Mobility
- Sensory abilities including sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste
- Muscle strength, tone and control
Impacts of a brain injury
Brain injuries may also cause:
- Headaches
- Bladder/bowel changes
- Increased fatigue
- Sleep disturbance
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Personality changes
- Confusion and difficulty communicating effectively
