Traumatic Brain Injury

The consequences of a brain injury are unpredictable and can affect the way we think, feel and act – essentially affecting who we are. Everything in one’s life could change in the space of an instant. When dealing with a person who has suffered a brain injury, there are several primary factors to consider:

• Each brain injury is unique.
• Brain injuries involve complexities that will vary from patient to patient.
• The effects are directly related to the location and severity of the injury.
• A person with even a serious brain injury is a person first and foremost.

The Healthy Brain

The best way to understand the physiology of an injured brain, would be to know what makes up a healthy brain and how it functions. The brain matter is soft and encased inside the skull which serves as a protective covering. The brain tissue, itself, is made up of nerve cells (neurons) that form pathways throughout the brains. These pathways carry electric-based information which determines our actions and thoughts. These actions will also include involuntarily functions such as metabolism, heart rate and breathing. Our senses (hearing, taste, vision, touch, smell) are also functions of our brain.

While the brain is necessary to control and maintain the body’s functions, the most complex thing that our brain deals with is our behaviour and personality. When these are affected, the way in which the person relates to others and the outside world can be unalterably changed.

The Injured Brain

Should a brain injury occur, the affected portion of the brain can involve a change in the functions of nerve tracts and neurons can impede their ability to carry necessary messages that will tell the individual’s brain what it should do. This may alter the injured person’s ability to think or interfere with basic body functions such as body temperature regulation and bladder and bowel control. This can cause impairment ranging from slight to a complete inability to function. This may lead to the need for long term care that can involve lifetime hospitalization. In some cases, the patient may need to be placed on life support equipment.

Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

You can contact the Jodat Law Group, personal injury lawyer Gary R. Jodat, serving Sarasota, Florida for any questions that you may have regarding traumatic brain injury cases.