Living With Traumatic Brain Injury In Tampa Bay

The Brain Injury Association^[1] of America provides, that brain injury is unpredictable in its consequences as it affects who we are, the way we think, act, and feel. It can change everything about us in a matter of seconds. The most important things to remember:

A person with a brain injury is a person first.
No two brain injuries are exactly the same.
The effects of a brain injury are complex and vary greatly from person to person.
The effects of a brain injury depend on such factors as cause, location, and severity.

A Healthy Tampa Bay Brain

To understand what happens when the brain is injured, it is important to realize what a healthy brain is made of and what it does. The brain is enclosed inside the skull. The skull acts as a protective covering for the soft brain. The brain is made of neurons (nerve cells). These nerve tracts carry messages to various parts of the brain and the brain uses these messages to perform functions:

Coordinating Body Systems: Breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and metabolism.

Thought Processing: Thinking is manipulating information, as when we form concepts, engage in problem solving, reason and make decisions.

Senses: Vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Each part of the brain serves a specific function and links with other parts of the brain to form more complex functions. All parts of the brain need to be working well in order for the brain to work well. Even “minor” or “mild” injuries to the brain can significantly disrupt the brain’s ability to function.

Injured Brains in Florida

When a brain injury occurs, the functions of the neurons, nerve tracts, or sections of the brain can be affected. If the neurons and nerve tracts are affected, they can be unable or have difficulty carrying the messages that tell the brain what to do. This can change the way a person thinks, acts, feels, and moves the body. Brain injury can also change the complex internal functions of the body, such as regulating body temperature and blood pressure.

Injuries to the left side of the brain.

Difficulties in understanding language (receptive language)
Difficulties in speaking or verbal output (expressive language)
Catastrophic reactions (depression, anxiety)
Verbal memory deficits
Impaired logic
Sequencing difficulties
Decreased control over right-sided body movements

Injuries to the right side of the brain.

Visual-spatial impairment
Visual memory deficits
Left neglect (inattention to the left side of the body)
Decreased awareness of deficits
Altered creativity and music perception
Loss of “the big picture” type of thinking
Decreased control over left-sided body movements

Diffuse Brain Injury (The injuries are scattered throughout both sides of the brain).

Reduced thinking speed
Confusion
Reduced attention and concentration
Fatigue
Impaired cognitive (thinking) skills in all areas

Behavioral and Emotional Changes Caused by Tampa Bay Brain Injury

Depending on what part or parts of the brain are injured, an individual may experience significant behavioral and emotional changes^[2]. The frontal lobe, for example, helps govern personality and impulsivity. If damaged, there might be no “braking mechanism” for self-control. A person may find he cannot control his anger or aggression. He may also make inappropriate comments to friends or strangers not realizing they are off color. Some of the most common behavioral and emotional problems include:

Verbal outbursts
Physical outbursts
Poor judgment
Impulsive behavior
Negativity or intolerance
Apathy or lack of empathy
Depression or anxiety
Lack of motivation or initiative

An individual who sustained a brain injury may also suffer from mood swings caused by an inability to regulate emotions. Because of the damage to the brain, a brain injury victim may feel that they are constantly on an emotional roller-coaster. Another person may experience unpredictable bouts of laughing or crying, which have nothing to do with how the person is actually feeling or what is going on around him or her.

Contact a Tampa Bay Brain Injury Attorney

The effects of a brain injury can be dramatic and life-long causing temporary or even permanent injuries. If you have suffered a brain injury, it is important to speak to an experienced Tampa Bay brain injury attorney. At the Dolman Law Group in Clearwater, Florida, our team of highly skilled brain injury lawyers have helped many victims obtain the recovery they deserve for their injuries and related losses including lost wages, medical expenses as well as pain and suffering. Please call our office at 727-451-6900 today.

Dolman Law Group
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 3375
(727) 451-6900

https://www.dolmanlaw.com/legal-services/brain-injury-attorneys/

References:

[1] http://www.biausa.org/living-with-brain-injury.htm
[2] http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/behavioralsymptoms.html