Minnesota Brain Injury Lawyer

Gempeler, Butwinick & Donaldson Injury Lawyers

Minnesota accident victims may feel like they have nowhere to turn. A Minnesota brain injury lawyer at Gempeler, Butwinick & Donaldson can help. Thousands of individuals every year are victims of head trauma that result in traumatic brain injury, also called TBI. This type of injury occurs when the brain is driven into the side of the skull by a sudden blow, by a shaking force, or “whiplash.” The impact can cause bruising and swelling of the brain, and, in some cases, the impact will be sufficient enough to tear blood vessels in the brain, causing intracranial bleeding. If you or someone you love has suffered a severe head trauma, contact a Minnesota head injury lawyer at our law firm today. Gempeler, Butwinick & Donaldson representing all Minnesota TBI injuries have the experience and dedication you need to represent you in these complex cases.

What are the types of brain injuries?

There are several different types of head injuries. If the trauma results in damage to the skull itself, such as a crack or break, the trauma is considered a penetrating head injury. More difficult to diagnose are closed head injuries, where the skull is not obviously damaged but the brain is still injured. This can occur from a blow or impact, or from severe back-and-forth shaking, such as whiplash. Babies and small children can suffer such injuries from being shaken, known as “shaken baby syndrome.”

What are the signs of a brain injury?

A medical professional should evaluate anyone who has sustained a blow to the head or whiplash-like injuries to determine if the victim has experienced a TBI. Even if symptoms are so slight that the victim does not realize that a serious injury has occurred, treatment should be sought before further injury can develop. Often the symptoms may be delayed for many hours until swelling in the brain reaches a point that if affects the victim. Some signs and symptoms to look for include:

• Physical Symptoms
  Dizziness, loss of balance, headaches, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, drowsiness, and confusion

• Mental Cognitive Symptoms
  Intermittent disorientation, amnesia, short-term memory loss, poor judgment, and poor concentration

• Emotional Symptoms
  Depression, agitation, irritability, apathy, confrontational attitude, explosive temper, fearfulness and impatience, personality changes in general, sleep (early morning awakening) and appetite disturbances

What are the possible long-term problems?

TBI can cause serious, life-threatening events and can result in permanent, irreversible damage to the brain. With severe brain injuries, the impairments are obvious and profound. They can result in paralysis, weakness, or abnormalities including loss of sensation, coordination, or intellectual capacity. The more difficult, often overlooked cases are those where neurological and mental changes are subtle. These may happen as a result of what appears to be a minor accident in which the brain is jarred. Symptoms, called soft signs, begin to appear afterwards, sometimes after long periods of time. In either case, a TBI can have a profound effect on quality of life, including inability to work, inability to interact with friends and family, and loss of body function.

Relevant terminology:

• Concussion
  Occurs when the head receives a trauma and the brain is jarred inside the skull, which can end in a period of confusion

• Retrograde Amnesia
  Loss of memory of events that preceded the injury

• Anterograde Amnesia
  Loss of forward memory after the injury

• Brain Contusion
  A bruise to the brain

• Focal Injury
  An injury to one part of the brain leaving the other parts intact

• Diffuse Injury
  Denotes widespread damage

• Contrecoup Injury
  Brain damage occurring at the side of the head opposite the trauma, caused by the cerebral spinal fluid drifting backwards. If the blow is hard enough, it forces the brain against the back of the skull.

For more information or support, please visit the Brain Injury Association of America.

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