Serious brain injuries are obvious and profound. They typically involve impaired movement, loss of sensation, coordination, and intellectual capacity. The more difficult cases, which are often overlooked, are those that involve subtle neurological and mental changes. These may happen in what looks to be a minor accident, but one in which the brain is jarred or
” concussed “. Symptoms called ” soft signs ” may begin to appear days or weeks after the accident.
Mild traumatic brain injuries ( TBI ), may include one or more of the following symptoms:
Physical symptoms — dizziness, loss of balance, headaches, nausea, blurred vision, drowsiness, and confusion.
Mental cognitive symptoms — amnesia, intermittent disorientation, short term memory loss, poor judgement, and poor concentration.
Emotional symptoms — depression, agitation, irritability, apathy, confrontational attitude, outbursts of temper, fearfulness, impatience, and personality changes.
Mild TBI is often difficult to diagnose. Symptoms are often attributed to something else, e.g. stress, or ignored altogether. Family and friends are often not good historians.
Different specialties treat TBI. A short list includes neurosurgeons, neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, and speech therapists.
If you suspect a loved one may have a TBI following a traumatic event, keep a detailed log of your observations. This may reveal patterns which will be helpful to medical providers. Convince him or her that ” toughing it out ” is not a good option for head injuries. Consult your primary care physician and share yor concerns.
The injury attorneys at Schmidt Kramer in Harrisburg are available to help you with you injury caused by another person.