{"id":38054,"date":"2016-03-31T19:26:23","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T00:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/uncategorized\/what-to-do-if-a-relative-or-friend-suffers-a-closed-head-injury.html"},"modified":"2016-07-07T13:35:37","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T18:35:37","slug":"what-to-do-if-a-relative-or-friend-suffers-a-closed-head-injury","status":"publish","type":"corporate","link":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/litigation-disputes\/what-to-do-if-a-relative-or-friend-suffers-a-closed-head-injury.html","title":{"rendered":"What to Do If a Relative or Friend Suffers a Closed Head Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two Million Americans suffer closed head injuries annually with 100,000 requiring hospitalization. In automobile wrecks, the force of impact causes the victim’s head to strike an object in the car, such as a window, the frame or the windshield. Even people wearing seat belts can strike their head against an airbag with such force that they suffer a closed head injury. The injury occurs when the brain, which is basically a jelly like substance, is thrust against the rough edges inside the skull causing a bruise or tearing of brain tissue<\/a>. Depending upon the force of impact, a large number of brain cells die causing irreversible damage. The signs and symptoms of closed head injury are sometimes quite apparent; substantial loss of memory, depression, speech disorder, or loss of motor function in the limbs. However, in many cases the symptoms are far subtler. The purpose of this article is to warn you of the more subtle signs and symptoms<\/a> so that medical and neuro-psychological help can be used to treat these victims of a silent but often debilitating injury.<\/p>\n

If someone has sustained a closed head injury in an automobile wreck, friends or family members may see some or all of the following symptoms:<\/p>\n

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  1. Excruciating headaches;<\/li>\n
  2. Dizziness;<\/li>\n
  3. Vertigo;<\/li>\n
  4. Irritability;<\/li>\n
  5. Anxiety;<\/li>\n
  6. Depression;<\/li>\n
  7. Confusion;<\/li>\n
  8. Unusual fatigue;<\/li>\n
  9. Insomnia;<\/li>\n
  10. Memory deficit;<\/li>\n
  11. Impaired concentration and attention;<\/li>\n
  12. Slowing of reaction time;<\/li>\n
  13. Slowing of information processing time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Many of these signs and symptoms are not noticed until weeks or months after the wreck. Family members and friends should remain vigilant for expression of signs and symptoms. Once noticed, family members or friends should record them in a diary so that they may be reported to a physician. It is imperative that the physician knows all of the symptoms as soon as possible so that he or she may make the appropriate referral. Although an emergency physician is usually the first to recognize the signs and symptoms of a closed head injury, a neurologist or neuro-psychologist<\/a> is usually responsible for making the diagnosis. Friends or family must keep the health care providers aware of all mental or behavioral changes observed in the closed head injury victim.<\/p>\n

    Finally, here are some thoughts about litigation. Closed head injury cases are very complex and require great technical skill on the part of the trial lawyer. Insurance companies and large corporations have unfortunately attempted to poison our jurors and potential jurors by portraying these brain-injured victims as "fakes" or "lottery winners". In today’s litigation environment, juries are skeptical and require substantial proof before awarding a fair and reasonable verdict. It is important for family members and friends to document all signs and symptoms, not only for medical treatment but also to preserve the records for litigation.<\/p>\n

    Closed head injury victims often fail to maintain their job and suffer devastating and permanent limitations on their ability to care for themselves and enjoy life. As a result, these unfortunate people will require a costly life-care plan<\/a> to meet their needs as they grow older. The Tennessee Legislature has designated the 90s as "the decade of the brain". It is vital that all citizens monitor persons who have suffered a closed head injury in an accident and seek help for them as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Two Million Americans suffer closed head injuries annually with 100,000 requiring hospitalization. In automobile wrecks, the force of impact causes the victim’s head to strike an object in the car, such as a window, the frame or the windshield. Even …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"corporate_categories":[6523,6522,6524,6520,6528],"class_list":["post-38054","corporate","type-corporate","status-publish","hentry","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__civil-litigation__business-torts","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__civil-litigation","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__civil-litigation__civil-procedure","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes","corporate_categories-litigation-disputes__civil-litigation__professional-malpractice"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate\/38054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/corporate"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"corporate_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_categories?post=38054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}