Georgia Injury Law Blog
A brain injury is one of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer in an accident. Brain injuries are not only debilitating to the victim, but they can have a tremendous impact on the victim’s family as well.
Car accidents as well as slip, or trip, and fall accidents are two of the most common causes of brain injuries. And as serious as brain injuries are, they are also, surprisingly, one of the most difficult and complicated injuries to diagnose and treat. According to the International Brain Injury Association, approximately 1.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year. Of these, 75% are classified as mild TBI. Unfortunately, a mild TBI is often unnoticed or misdiagnosed because many victims do not have visible symptoms that most people associate with a brain injury. Because of this, the mild TBI has been called a “silent epidemic.” However, the term “mild” can be misleading as these injuries can still have long-term and devastating complications on a victim’s life.
Many times a person may have been involved in a slip and fall or a car accident and, although he or she may not think they sustained serious injuries, could very well be overlooking some classic symptoms of a brain injury or mild TBI. Symptoms of a brain injury or mild TBI include (1) any period of loss of consciousness, even if just for a few seconds, (2) any loss of memory immediately before or after the accident, (3) any altered state of mind such as confusion or disorientation at the time of the accident, (4) any neurological problems including speech, vision or hearing, (5) headache, nausea or vomiting, and (5) fatigue, sleepiness or dizziness.