Brain Injury
Brain injuries can be painful, debilitating, and fatal. With side effects like loss of cognitive function, sensory changes, and seizures, victims may experience a reduced quality of life. Whether your injury is minor or severe, you have a right to medical care, followed by ongoing treatments and therapy.
Learn more about the causes and common types of brain injuries and how our lawyers can help maximize your recovery.
Understanding Brain injuries
Brain damage often occurs during surgery, but it can happen during several routine or emergency medical treatments.
Common brain injuries include:
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). Oxygen deprivation in the brain during childbirth can lead to HIE, causing lifelong damage to the child if not properly treated.
- Hypoxia or Anoxia. Improper anesthesia dosage or incorrect surgery practices can lead to oxygen deprivation in the brain, also known as hypoxia or anoxia. Prolonged oxygen deprivation can cause irreversible brain damage.
- Infections. Certain infections, like meningitis and encephalitis, can damage the brain if left untreated. Infections can result from poor medical care like retained foreign surgical instruments and improper surgery.
- Closed Head Injuries. Sometimes, brain damage is invisible from the outside, like with closed head injuries. Closed head injuries can happen to babies during childbirth if the medical team improperly uses tools.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Sudden blows, head movement, or penetrating head injuries can disrupt brain functions and cause traumatic brain injuries. In the case of medical procedures, TBI can occur when doctors misuse forceps or extractors during childbirth.
- Chemical or Toxic Exposure. Exposure to certain chemicals, toxins, or drugs can cause brain damage. Victims of pharmacy, anesthesia, and surgical errors are at risk for chemical brain damage.
Causes of Brain injuries
There are several causes for brain injuries, including:
- Birth injuries
- Anesthesia and medication errors
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Surgical errors
- Failure to monitor patient
- Failure to address risk factors
- Inadequate postoperative care
- Failure to respond to complications
- Falls and patient handling errors
- Nursing home negligence
- Hospital-acquired infections
Implications of Brain Injuries
Brain damage can cause several side effects, including:
- Reduced Quality of Life. Brain injuries cause temporary and permanent physical, emotional, and cognitive damages that lower overall quality of life. Victims may struggle to work, socialize, and take care of themselves.
- Headaches and Blurred Vision. One of the most common side effects of brain damage is severe and persistent headaches that worsen with exposure to light and sound. Vision problems, like blurred or double vision, often accompany headaches.
- Dizziness, Difficulty Balancing, and Sensory Changes. After a brain injury, some people experience trouble balancing or standing, intense dizziness, and sensory changes like numbness or tingling.
- Impaired Cognition. Brain damage harms cognitive functions like attention, memory, concentration, focus, and problem-solving. Tasks requiring mental focus are much more difficult after a brain injury.
- Fatigue and Sleep Disturbances. Many victims get fatigued easily, and they struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep.
- Seizures. Seizures, or episodes of abnormal electrical brain activity, sometimes occur after brain trauma. Seizures can make driving, socializing, and completing normal functions challenging.
- Emotional and Behavioral Challenges. Mood swings, depression, irritability, and anxiety can increase due to interrupted emotional and behavioral regulation.
- Speech and Communication Issues. Some people struggle to speak and communicate normally after brain damage. They experience slurred speech, delayed language recall, or comprehension and expression challenges.
- Impaired Motor Skills. Tasks that need precise movements can be hard after a brain injury because of damaged motor skills. Poor motor skills make completing daily and work functions uncomfortable or impossible.
- Death. Because the brain is critical to every function, severe damage can cause permanent disability and even death.
Recovery for Brain Injuries
Recovery for brain injuries depends on severity, accountable parties, and complications. If you’ve been injured, you have a right to seek compensation. An experienced lawyer can help you maximize compensation.
Damages awarded typically include:
- Past and future medical costs
- Lost wages and lower earning potential
- Rehabilitation costs
- Ongoing pain and suffering
Who is Responsible?
Preventing brain injuries requires safety measures, training, and following regulations. Medical providers should conduct risk assessments, implement safety protocols, and provide appropriate training to reduce the risk of accidents and medical malpractice. Medical providers can be held responsible if they do not take these steps to protect people.
When brain injuries result from negligence, seeking legal help is important to hold them responsible.
If no one is responsible, you can still receive damages from workers’ compensation.
How We Can Help
If you or a loved one has experienced complications from an injury, Golitko & Daly can help. Our experienced medical malpractice lawyers fight for the compensation you deserve and hold the responsible parties accountable.
To schedule a free consultation, call us at 317-566-9600 (Indianapolis), 765-865-9300 (Bloomington), or 812-566-2600 (Kokomo), or complete our online inquiry form to schedule an appointment* with one of our medical malpractice attorneys who will review your case.