A serious accident in Michigan can cause several types of injuries, ranging from mild to severe. Some injuries heal on their own with treatment, but others are prolonged or permanent. An example of a common serious injury that often has lasting effects is a traumatic brain injury or TBI.
TBI overview
Statistics show that around 2.5 million traumatic brain injuries occur annually, with 50,000 being fatal and around 80,000 causing permanent disability. A TBI is a serious injury occurring from blunt force trauma to the brain. The damage may cause a closed TBI, which doesn’t puncture the skull, or an open TBI, which punctures the skull.
A concussion is an example of a closed TBI, which may cause fatigue, confusion, headaches, nausea, light sensitivity, vomiting, and dizziness. Concussions don’t always cause loss of awareness and can heal on their own with proper treatment with no lingering effects. A more serious TBI is a coup-contrecoup, which causes damage to both sides of the brain when it hits the skull.
TBI causes
Falls are the second most common cause of TBIs according to data between 2006 and 2010. People 65 and older and children aged 4 and under are at most risk of falling from beds or in bathtubs.
The most common cause of TBIs in young adults aged 15-24 is motor vehicle crashes, including motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. The impact of the accident can cause the head to hit a hard object, such as a dashboard, or cause it to get hit with flying debris. Military personnel are also at high risk of TBIs from blasts, shrapnel, and other weapons.
Injured parties should seek medical attention even if they don’t feel any symptoms. Sometimes, adrenaline masks the symptoms as part of the body’s fight-or-flight response and delays symptoms. Injured individuals will need evidence of the damage to pursue compensation from at-fault parties.
