Las Vegas Brain Injury Prevention, Awareness & Resources
Each year, about 2.8 million Americans visit an emergency room for a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although many of these injuries are relatively mild, even mild injuries can cause serious repercussions. At Ladah Law, we want the public to realize that protecting the brain should be a top priority, so we have written this guide to raise awareness.
Causes of Brain Injuries
Any traumatic blow to the head can cause injury to the brain. Even blows to the body can cause the head to shake back and forth, jiggling the brain inside the skull. Any brain trauma can cause changes to how the brain operates. Many people suffer a traumatic brain injury after:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Slip and falls
- Trip and falls
- Sports injuries
- Violent crimes
If you suffer a traumatic brain injury, you might be entitled to compensation. Please reach out to a brain injury lawyer today.
Types of Brain Injuries
Brain injuries can be roughly divided into two categories,—closed injuries and open injuries. These categories refer to whether something penetrated a victim’s brain to cause damage. With a closed injury, the brain suffers damage although nothing broke the skull. With an open injury, something (like a bullet) penetrates the skull and damages brain tissue directly.
Although people assume an open injury is more serious, victims can suffer devastating brain damage even with a closed injury. Brain injuries are typically classified as mild, moderate or severe:
Mild: a victim suffers confusion or a loss of consciousness very briefly at the time of injury.
Moderate: a victim loses consciousness for a few minutes to a few hours and suffers confusion for days or weeks.
Severe: a victim often suffers an open injury that shears brain tissue and can be unconscious for days.
Symptoms of Traumatic Brain injuries (TBIs)
Sometimes you might not realize that you have suffered a brain injury, especially if it is relatively mild. Symptoms often do not manifest until 24 hours have passed, when you suddenly experience head or neck stiffness, often accompanied by neck & back pain. Other symptoms include:
Dizziness
Convulsions
Slurred speech
Double vision
Ringing in the ears
Increased sensitivity to light or sound
Difficulty remembering
Impaired sleep
How to Protect Your Brain
No one can walk around all day with a helmet on, so 100% prevention is not possible. Nevertheless, there are some simple steps you can take to reduce your chances of a brain injury. Consider the following:
- Wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle. Remember, it is the law.
- Always wear a seat belt when riding in a car.
- Make sure your children have age-appropriate child safety seats or booster seats.
- Make sure that your children participate in sports leagues that prioritize safety. Demand that coaches and officials follow the rules for safe play and discipline anyone who violates them.
- Check out your child’s school before the school year starts and note any obvious hazards that haven’t been fixed or cordoned off from students. For example, lose tiles could cause someone to trip or slip.
You should also rest if you feel that you have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Evidence suggests that someone who has already suffered a concussion once will have a harder time recovering from a second or subsequent brain injury. Indeed, repeated mild TBIs over a long period of time can cause serious cognitive and neurological problems, as has been illustrated by the concern over the health of NFL football players.
Brain Injury Treatment
The treatment you need will depend on the relative severity of your TBI, along with other factors, like age and overall general health. It should be no secret that those in better health generally achieve better recoveries than those who are already sick.
If the TBI is relatively mild, like a concussion, then it usually will clear up on its own after a couple of months. Your doctor might prescribe rest, massage, light exercise, and pain killers to manage stiffness and pain. Many people make full recoveries from a concussion, though a small number will still be struggling with aftereffects for months and possibly years.
If a TBI is moderate or severe, then a patient might be immediately hospitalized and kept in intensive care to monitor his or her vital organs. The patient will slowly transition out of the ICU and often begins physical therapy. Generally, the sooner therapy starts the better.
Many patients will need:
- Physical therapy to regain as much mobility as possible.
- Behavioral therapy to manage changes to mood and personality.
- Speech therapy, to learn how to speak and process language again.
- Occupational therapy, to help learn new ways of performing familiar tasks.
Not everyone who suffers a moderate or severe TBI will make progress. Some loss will be permanent.
Raise Awareness in Your Community
Brain injuries are a drain on society, and the more we can do to improve safety, the better our communities will be. You can encourage brain health by working with other people to raise awareness.
One population that needs education is young people, who are more likely to take risks that could result in brain injury. Children who play sports, skateboard, or ride bikes need to understand the importance of using safety equipment and behaving responsibly. They also need to be taught that even minor bumps to the head can accumulate over time to cause brain damage later in life.
Partner with youth groups, churches, and community organizes to amplify your message. Because drug and alcohol use increase risky behavior, you should also partner with drug prevention groups in your community.
Suffered a Brain Injury? Ladah Law is Here to Help
Sometimes, brain injuries are caused by someone else’s negligence, and in these situations your best option might be to bring a claim against the person responsible. At Ladah Law, our personal injury attorneys have represented many clients in slip and fall, auto accident, and premises liability cases.
To reach one of our Las Vegas attorneys, please contact us today, 702-252-0055 or send us an online message.