Brain Damage

The brain can be damaged by many different forms of injuries to the head. The actual term brain damage refers to the damage to the tissue of the brain and is divided into two different types. One type is widespread damage which encompasses many parts of the brain and is often brought about by poisoning, infection, lack of oxygen or a neurological illness. The other type of damage is focal impairment and this is usually caused by physical trauma such as a bullet to the head, a blow to the head, stroke aneurysm or neurological illness.

A person that has suffered a head injury has probably incurred some brain damage, be it mild, moderate or severe. The symptoms of these types of harm start with cognitive difficulties, dizziness and a short period of unconsciousness and upgrade to severe headache, vision problems, inability to think or speak and long periods of unconsciousness. Anyone with any of these symptoms should receive immediate medical care. Unfortunately, the impairment that has already occurred cannot probably be arrested, but there are measures that can be taken to make sure the impairment goes no further. At the hospital, the patient will receive a CT scan and an x-ray to determine the extent of the injury and whether or not the spine is involved.

The prognosis of a person who has sustained some type of brain damage is dependent on the type of the injury, the depth of it, the age and overall health of the patient. In the case of a foreign object entering the brain, such as a bullet, everything depends on where in the brain the object left damage. Nonetheless, a person who has sustained some injury to the brain could be looking at some sort of lifelong disability. They may no longer have the ability to return to their previous line of work and may even not be able to work at all. There can be devastation to the family unit due to financial difficulties and often the changed behavior of the injured person. The patient will need some type of rehabilitation, both vocational and physical to make use of all the uninjured parts of their brain to the maximum. If the person has been the victim of someone else's negligence or intentional harm they should be able to receive not just compensation for their medical costs, but also funds to help out with their loss of ability to work and other financial difficulties. The Catastrophic Injury Resource Center has been set up for this very purpose, to help people whose lives have been changed by circumstances beyond their control regain their place in society.

If you want to help someone with serious brain damage please contact the Catastrophic Injury Resource Center at 1-800-669-7700 or visit their website at http://www.catastrophicinjury.com for more information.