Consider the following TBI statistics:

• The young and the elderly face an increased risk of negative impact from TBIs.
• As stated above, nearly 2.5 million people suffer TBIs every year, and roughly 50,000 of those individuals die as a result of the TBI.
• Acquired brain trauma is one of the most prevalent disabilities in the United States. In fact, almost 14 million Americans live with acquired brain trauma.

Defining Brain Injuries

The Mayo Clinic offers a concise definition of traumatic brain injury:

• A disruption in the normal function of the brain that typically results from a bump, jolt, or blow to the head or body

Children, the Elderly, and TBI

The young and elderly face a collection of unique risks when it comes to TBI. Children tend to be more reckless than their adult counterparts, and sometimes, children put themselves at heightened risk.

TBI is actually the leading cause of both death and disability in American children because:

• Children and adults are completely different anatomically and physiologically
• Children have greater differences in their unique, individual physical abilities; adults tend to be more evenly-skilled across the board.
  • Lots of children suffer unique injury patterns because of this, which can make treatment challenging.
• Doctors find it difficult to evaluate and treat neurological symptoms in children.

What You Should Know About Getting Older and TBIs

TBIs aren’t just an issue for the youngest amongst us. In fact, it’s a known issue in older adults, too. Almost 100,000 emergency room visits occur every year due to a person aged 65+ suffering a brain injury.

Roughly 75 percent of those visits lead to hospital admissions.

• Falls are the leading cause of TBI for older adults, accounting for roughly 51 percent of brain injury cases.
• Auto accidents cause the second-highest number of TBIs in older adults, accounting for 9 percent of all brain injuries.

Old age may aggravate TBI symptoms and reduce the chances of full recovery. Without good clinical data, most doctors struggle to accurately predict outcomes and provide appropriate care for older adult TBI victims.

Brain Injury Lawyers at Gomez Trial Attorneys

At Gomez Trial Attorneys, we have decades’ worth of collective experience litigating personal injury cases, including those that involve TBIs. Our team is well-positioned to partner with brain injury survivors and help them pursue justice in court. If you or somebody you love has been impacted by TBI, contact us today. You can speak to a legal professional in our Palm Springs office who can help determine your eligibility to file a personal injury claim.

Palm Springs TBI victims need to partner with a trustworthy attorney as soon as possible. Not only will your attorney help fight for your rights, but he or she will work hard to ensure that your recovery goes smoothly.

Brain Injuries and Different Parts of the Brain: An Overview

Brain injuries impact people differently depending on what part(s) of the brain sustains the injury. You may recall from high school science class illustrations of the human brain with lots of different-colored sections.

Those sections were probably lobes, and we have four of them:

• The frontal lobe
• The temporal lobe
• The parietal lobe
• The occipital lobe

Each lobe is responsible for controlling different parts of our bodies. The location of a brain injury determines which lobes it impacts and, as a result, how the injury affects the victim.

The Frontal Lobe

Problem-solving and emotional expression come from the frontal lobe. This lobe gives us the ability to perform cognitive functions, too. Lots of doctors help simplify this explanation by likening the frontal lobe to a control panel.

Without it, we cannot effectively control the following:

• “Voluntary” movements
• Sequencing
• Judgment

The Temporal Lobe

The temporal lobe helps us understand how we communicate with one another using language and voice. This lobe process sounds and also serves as the home to our language and speech comprehension systems. The temporal lobe also helps us recognize other people’s faces, categorize objects, and perform a range of other basic functions.

Somebody who has suffered an injury to their temporal lobe may struggle to understand spoken language. In some cases, TBI victims speak excessively or their behaviors grow more unpredictable and erratic.

The Parietal Lobe

Our parietal lobes help integrate sensory information. Think of the parietal lobe as the lobe that actually allows us to perform the actions that other parts of our brain facilitate. Many parietal lobe injury survivors struggle to name objects or describe how things feel.

That’s because the parietal lobe also controls:

• Spatial orientation
• Hand-eye coordination
• Visual attention
• Object naming

The Occipital Lobe

Recent medical and scientific developments have left the true extent of the occipital lobe’s responsibilities (and capabilities) uncertain. Experts have realized that our occipital lobes take in input from all over our bodies. Nobody is sure exactly what this means, but medical professionals have stated that it’s an indication that this lobe likely does more than we know.

What we do know is that the occipital lobe serves as the brain’s visual processing center. It controls our vision.

Because of this, a lot of occipital lobe injuries result in side effects, like:

• Distorted vision
• Blindness
• Difficulty identifying colors
• Visual hallucinations

The Cerebellum

The cerebellum is not generally considered a lobe, but it does play a big role in helping our bodies function. In fact, it even controls how our bodies grow.

We rely on our cerebellum to control our bodies and help us perform the actions we want to perform.

If, for example, you wanted to reach out and grab a mug of coffee, your cerebellum would be the part of your brain that allowed you to:

• Reach your arm out
• Extend your fingers
• Wrap your fingers around the mug’s handle
• Bring the mug up to your mouth
• Open your mouth
• Drink and swallow your coffee

Cerebellum damage can have a range of impacts, depending on the injury and the injured person. Trauma to the cerebellum may cause:

• Staggering
• Tremors
• Other inconsistent bodily movements
• Decreases in motor movement coordination
• Poor spatial reasoning
• Diminished distance judgment capabilities

The Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Summary

Different types and degrees of traumatic brain injuries tend to produce different symptoms. With that being said, if you ever believe that you or somebody else may be suffering from a TBI, it’s important to contact a doctor immediately. These descriptions are only meant to help broaden readers’ knowledge of TBIs; you should always seek the advice of a qualified medical professional when it comes to a brain injury.

This list does not include every single possible symptom of a TBI, which would be impossible. It does, however, offer a good overview of some of the most prevalent symptoms. It’s also important to note that many TBI survivors don’t display or experience symptoms until hours, days, or even weeks after the injury itself.

Doctors may categorize a TBI as mild, moderate, or severe. Don’t let that description fool you—it only applies to the immediate presentation of your symptoms, not any long-term consequences or outcomes. Counterintuitively, a severe TBI might clear up quickly, while a mild TBI could cause chronic disabling symptoms—and sometimes it’s the other way around. The unpredictable nature of TBI can leave victims and their families deeply frustrated as they struggle to recover to the greatest degree possible.

Regardless of how your doctor may describe your TBI, you may suffer from:

• Physical: Losing consciousness, confusion or disorientation, headaches, fatigue, nausea, difficulties speaking, alterations in sleep patterns, convulsions, dilated pupils, and fluid drainage from the nose and ears
• Sensory: Blurred vision, odd tastes in the mouth, sensitivity to sound and light, ringing in the ears
• Cognitive and mental: Depression, anxiety, agitation, memory and concentration problems, mood swings

If the above describes you or someone you know, seek medical attention and call our Palm Springs brain injury lawyers.

Brain Injuries, Children, and Symptoms

You may recall that children face some unique risks when they suffer TBIs. Doctors believe that TBI works differently, on a baseline level, in children than it does in adults. Moreover, they find it difficult to evaluate and treat neurological symptoms in children—especially young children who cannot communicate well.

Parents should know that if their child may have suffered a TBI, his or her symptoms (if any present) may differ from those of an adult.

Any child who suffers a head injury should receive medical attention that monitors for these and similar symptoms:

• Unexplained changes in eating or nursing habits
• Loss of interest in preferred toys and activities
• Sadness or overall depressed mood
• Alterations to sleeping habits
• Unusual, persistent crying and irritability

I Have Suffered a Brain Injury. What Damages Will I Recover?

One of the primary questions that potential clients ask us involves what compensation they should expect at the end of their cases. It’s important to remember that nobody can tell you which damages you’ll recover or how much they’ll be worth. Even once you’ve teamed up with an attorney, he or she can only offer a best (educated) guess at what might occur.

We believe brain injury survivors should understand their options regarding compensation. At Gomez Trial Attorneys, we routinely assist brain injury clients in collecting these and other damages:

• Past, present, and future medical bills. Any medical bills that are associated with your brain injury are likely to qualify for compensation. If you have questions about which medical bills are recoverable in court, ask your attorney, but generally speaking, lots of specialized expenses, like emergency medical transport and specialized surgeries, are covered.
• Pain and suffering. Any instance of injury has the potential to cause somebody immense physical and emotional pain. Some brain injuries prove more impactful on survivor’s lives than others. If you or someone you know has suffered a brain injury and faced exceptional mental or physical pain because of it, you should seek pain and suffering damages as part of your claim.
• Disability. When we discuss brain injuries, there’s usually some understanding that these occurrences pose a unique threat; they’re very likely to cause disability. Brain injury lawyers have extensive experience helping their clients pursue compensation for disabilities caused by TBI.
• Lost wages or diminished earning potential. Sometimes, brain injuries cause injured individuals to take time off of work for the sake of their recoveries. When a brain injury victim temporarily loses wages due to injuries, he or she can generally recover lost wages. Sometimes, though, even this is not enough. If someone’s lifetime earning ability is altered by a TBI, the injured individual can request compensation for diminished earning potential as a whole.

Gomez Trial Attorneys Can Help After Your Palm Springs Brain Injury

At Gomez Trial Attorneys, we have extensive experience litigating brain injury cases, and we are dedicated to providing effective legal guidance to the Palm Springs community. Our team of Palm Springs brain injury attorneys is well-versed in state and federal law and grants every client the personalized, respectful service that all clients deserve.

Contact us today or call (619) 237-3490 if you have questions about a Palm Springs brain injury or if you need assistance pursuing compensation.

Brain Injury Testimonial

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“I know firsthand that Gomez Trial Attorneys is a professional and compassionate law firm. The entire office is a family and they treat their clients like family as well – these people truly care. Not only that, but they strive to make a positive difference in the community through their outreach efforts. Highly recommend.”

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