What is Traumatic Brain Injury?

"Often people do not realize the extent of their head injury. With the right legal and medical help, traumatic brain injury survivors can seek damages that more accurately reflect the damage that has been done, including damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of income. If you have questions, please contact me for a free consultation." – Attorney Fred Pritzker

Brain Injury: Minnesota Lawyer with a National Practice Answers the Question, "What is Traumatic Brain Injury?"

Traumatic brain injury is sudden physical damage to the brain. The damage may be caused by the head forcefully hitting an object such as the dashboard of a car (closed head injury) or by something passing through the skull and piercing the brain, as in a gunshot wound (penetrating head injury). Shaking or a sudden impact that jars the head, for example a car accident, can also cause traumatic brain injuries. The major causes of head trauma are motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, violent crimes, and child abuse.

Focal Brain Damage

The physical, behavioral, or mental changes that may result from head trauma depend on the areas of the brain that are injured. Most injuries cause focal brain damage, damage confined to a small area of the brain. The focal damage is most often at the point where the head hits an object or where an object, such as a bullet, enters the brain.

Diffuse Brain Injuries

In addition to focal damage, closed head injuries frequently cause diffuse brain injuries or damage to several other areas of the brain. The diffuse damage occurs when the impact of the injury causes the brain to move back and forth against the inside of the bony skull. The frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the major speech and language areas, often receive the most damage in this way because they sit in pockets of the skull that allow more room for the brain to shift and sustain injury. Because these major speech and language areas often receive damage, communication difficulties frequently result from closed head injuries. Other problems may include voice, swallowing, walking, balance, and coordination difficulties, as well as changes in the ability to smell and in memory and cognitive (or thinking) skills.

Definition of Traumatic Brain Injury

There is no universally recognized definition of traumatic brain injury. However, in 1986 the Brain Injury Association of America adopted the following definition of TBI that has since been enacted as a statutory definition by serveral states:

Traumatic brain injury is an insult to the brain, not of a degenerative or congenital nature but caused by an external physical force, that may produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness, which results in an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning. It can also result in the disturbance of behavioral or emotional functioning. These impairments may be either temporary or permanent and cause partial or total functional disability or psychosocial maladjustment.

We hope this information about traumatic brain injury has been helpful to you. Contact us for a free consultation if you have any questions. For an online consultation, you may fill out our online consultation form. We are a national law firm and represent clients throughout the United States. Our offices are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To learn more about traumatic brain injury, please see the following:

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Traumatic Brain Injury

Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Elliot Olsen spoke at the annual Minnesota Association for Justice Brain Injury Seminar. They represent brain injury survivors in personal injury cases throughout the nation.

Brain Injury Association of Minnesota

The Brain Injury Association of Minnesota has been serving Minnesotans with brain injury since 1984. The Brain Injury Association provides support for traumatic brain injury survivors.

Brain Injuries and Motor Vehicle Accidents

One of the major causes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is motor vehicle accidents. Even a "minor" accident may result in brain injuries. We guide our clients through the process of determining the extent of the brain injuries, and we work to obtain just compensation for those injuries and the related pain and suffering.

Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries Related to Electrical Accidents

Another major cause of brain injuries is electrical accidents. Brain injuries from electrical accidents can occur as a direct result of an electric shock, from a fall after an electric shock, or from cerebral anoxia due to related respiratory problems.

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