Atlanta Traumatic Brain Injury Attorneys
Proving TBI
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause long-lasting or even permanent impairment of both body and brain functions. Even a mild TBI can cause months of problems with pain, nausea, thought, concentration, memory, and mood. Moderate or severe TBI can cause permanent impairment or even death.
The more "mild" a TBI is, the more difficult it becomes to find objective evidence of the injury. However, the fact that proof is harder to come by does not mean the effects are not real, or that they do not severely impair the injured person's daily life. If you've suffered a traumatic brain injury and need help establishing what happened to you, the skilled Atlanta TBI attorneys at the Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. can help. For a free consultation, please call (404) 995-3955.
Symptoms
One of the primary ways TBI is diagnosed is through an evaluation of the injured person's symptoms. Head or neck pain, nausea, loss of coordination, and problems with memory, concentration, or mood can all be signs of TBI. In order to correctly diagnose traumatic brain injury, medical providers must be well-versed in the signs of brain injury and know how to ask detailed questions that help the injured person remember as well as possible what caused the harm.
Mild traumatic brain injuries can be difficult to establish in this way because symptoms may not develop for days or even weeks after the injury occurs. The injured person may appear to walk, talk, and function fine, but may have difficulty thinking straight, controlling emotions and expressions, or remembering things. By the time the injured person sees a physician, the brain may have healed enough that no damage shows in a brain scan - but this does not mean the damage has not been done.
Imaging
After an accident in which a blow to the head is suspected, a physician might send a TBI patient for an imaging study of the brain. Computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are two of the most common types of imaging used to seek evidence of traumatic brain injury, bleeding or swelling, or other brain-related problems.
The difficulty with using imaging alone to prove TBI is that many mild brain injuries don't show up on imaging scans. This is especially likely when the injury was caused not by a blow to the head, but by the force of the brain "rattling around" inside the skull, such as during whiplash. Imaging and studies of the patient's symptoms should be used together to establish whether a TBI has occurred and how it is affecting the patient's life.
Understanding and Proving TBI
If you've suffered a mild TBI, you may face an uphill battle getting the compensation you deserve. Insurance adjusters and courts tend to view mild brain injuries with suspicion, especially if you appear to be walking and talking normally. However, the fact that they are skeptical does not mean you haven't suffered real damage, and it does not mean that your injuries can't be proven. At the Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C., our focused Georgia traumatic brain injury lawyers make it a point to understand TBI inside and out. We can help you demonstrate that your injuries are real and fight for the compensation you need. Contact us today for a free and confidential case evaluation.
