Automobile and other accidents may result in a closed head injury, which is an injury serious enough to damage the brain. This can occur when the head strikes an object (possibly the windshield) or sometimes even when the head is simply jarred. A closed head injury can cause significant damage to the brain and brain swelling following the injury may cause additional damage.
Victims of brain injuries frequently require assistance from rehabilitation specialists. The friends and family of the victim may also require assistance to ease the stress and anxiousness following this type of injury.
Head injuries may affect physical abilities, thinking, and emotions and behavior. Physical difficulties may include headaches, paralysis, and loss of muscle control. Victims of brain injuries may have difficulty with their memory and may find themselves unable to concentrate. Personality changes often follow the injury including mood swings, depression, and fits of anger.
Treatment involves diagnostic testing, drugs, and, at times, surgery, but rehabilitation is a very important aspect to the injured person's maximum recovery. Quite often a patient's treatment team will include a neurologist and/or neurosurgeon, a physiatrist, a neuropsychologist, and various therapists to include physical, occupational, and speech therapists. It is important that friends and family of the patient also actively participate in their care by establishing a routine and communicating with the injured individual to help them overcome their frustration.
The friends and families of head-injured patients often suffer almost as much as the victim because the injury to a family member will affect the entire family. It is important that they help themselves too by become as educated as possible on head injuries and by participating in support groups as a means of sharing the frustrations inherent with dealing with a loved-one who has suffered a brain injury.
The lawyers and staff of Joseph Smith, Ltd. are dedicated to receiving the proper training to be knowledgeable about these devastating injuries and to help our clients, and their families, in achieving the fullest possible recovery. Our staff has been specially-trained to deal with brain-injured clients and their families and friends.
This information is intended to be informational in nature and should not substitute for a detailed discussion between a patient and a health care provider. Additional information can be obtained from the Brain Injury Association, Inc. at (800) 444-NHIF or locally from the Brain Injury Association of Virginia - Southeast Chapter (757) 928-8440 or from the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, Inc. (804) 355-5748. We are members of these organizations..