Bobby Jones Law explains the types of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Greenville, SC.
We hope this guide to TBI and related claims in Greenville, SC, helps victims and families who have experienced brain injury. Please contact our experienced Greenville personal injury lawyer for a personal consultation about your case.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury is a disruption to brain function caused by physical injury. The injury is traumatic, meaning it results from a sudden event or force on the brain. It disrupts the brain’s functioning.
A Plain-Language Definition for Accident Victims
A brain injury is a sudden trauma that interferes with brain function. The interruption of brain function may be momentary, long-lasting, or permanent.
If you’re in a car accident, you could sustain a brain injury, similar to broken bones or bruises. Brain injuries can happen even without bleeding or visible signs of damage.
How Are TBIs Classified by Severity in South Carolina Personal Injury Cases?
TBIs in South Carolina personal injury cases are classified as mild, moderate, and severe.
Mild TBI and Concussions: Why They’re More Serious Than You Think
Even a mild TBI can significantly impact a person’s life. A common, mild TBI is a shaking of the brain, usually without loss of consciousness. This trauma to the brain causes chemical changes, even without structural damage. These changes can impair cognition, physical function, and emotional regulation. Long-term neurological degeneration may occur, even without immediate signs of harm. A secondary injury may be especially harmful.
Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury: Symptoms, Treatment, and Recovery
A moderate traumatic brain injury causes significant, measurable symptoms. Loss of consciousness may last for a few moments to 24 hours. The person may have memory loss and confusion. They are likely to have symptoms like headache, confusion, vomiting, dilated pupils, and slurred speech. The person may also have behavioral changes.
A moderate type of TBI requires significant healing. A person may need six to 12 months to recover and may experience long-term effects.
Severe TBI: What Victims and Families in Greenville Need to Understand
A severe TBI causes significant and long-lasting, often permanent, changes. The person will likely experience the physical, cognitive, and emotional impact from this type of TBI for years to come. It will likely affect their work, relationships, and personal care needs. A person may achieve some healing with proper treatment, but damage may be irreversible. Severe TBI may even be fatal.
Brain Contusions: What They Are and How They Affect Your Injury Claim
A brain contusion is a cut on the brain and may cause bleeding and bruising. Swelling may increase in the days following, so the injury may be more serious than it initially appears. Brain contusion is structural damage. While it is not a concussion, it may occur with a concussion.
Diffuse Axonal Injury: One of the Most Devastating and Overlooked TBI Types
Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is the shearing of the brain’s axons, which are the connecting fibers that make the brain work. DAI occurs when shearing, tearing, or twisting breaks apart critical brain matter. Diffuse axonal injury causes severe functional impairment and has a high fatality rate.
Penetrating Brain Injuries: Causes, Consequences, and Compensation
A penetrating brain injury occurs when an object travels through the skull or other tissues and touches brain matter. Rather than damage from shaking, like a concussion, the injury is from contact with an object.
Penetrating brain injury may cause bleeding, swelling, and tissue destruction. There may be a risk of infection. Compensation for penetrating brain injury may reflect the cost to treat, disability, and other losses.
Coup-Contrecoup Brain Injuries: Why Car Accidents Are a Leading Cause
A coup-contrecoup brain injury is two injuries – one to the point of impact and another on the opposite side of the brain. Car accidents are a leading cause of coup-contrecoup brain injury because the body can be thrown forward and backward as strong forces decelerate in a crash.
TBI Severity Comparison: Mild vs. Moderate vs. Severe and What Each Means for Your Settlement
In a car accident claim, an injured person may receive compensation for their injuries, regardless of their severity. South Carolina doesn’t have a minimum injury threshold to receive compensation. The victim must show what total compensation should be, given the severity of the brain injury, its personal impact, and financial costs.
TBI claims often seek future damages. Types of compensation can easily be overlooked, but a lawyer can make sure your case is complete.
Why Mild TBI Victims Are Most Likely To Be Underdiagnosed and Undercompensated in SC
It may surprise you that one of the traumatic brain injury types that frequently leaves victims undercompensated is mild TBI. Changes from mild TBI, such as irritability, cognition deficits, and anxiety, may go unnoticed or be excused.
An attorney can help ensure that your claim for compensation is complete.
How TBI Type Affects the Value of Your Greenville Personal Injury Case
A traumatic brain injury case will consider:
- Type of brain injury
- Severity of brain injury
- Physical and mental impact
- Medical bills and immediate losses
- Long-term care
- Pain and suffering
- Long-term impact, financial and personal losses
The more severe and impactful a traumatic brain injury is, the more compensation the person may qualify to receive. There are other factors, such as the strength of the legal case and how you pursue your claim, that may impact the value of a claim.
Each claim is valued individually.
Why Greenville TBI Victims Need an Experienced Greenville Personal Injury Attorney Who Understands the Full Spectrum of Brain Injuries
An experienced Greenville personal injury attorney can build your case while you focus on recovery. They understand how brain injury claims are compensated and what mistakes victims make that can lead to an undervalued or unpaid claim.
Don’t miss out on key types of compensation, including pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and future medical expenses. Get legal help today.
Talk to a lawyer
Bobby Jones Law handles all types of traumatic brain injury cases. You can have an experienced lawyer fighting for you. We handle claims in Greenville, SC, and throughout South Carolina. Call or message us now.
